The Sun.
London, England, 1868-12-23 00:00:00

WRECKS AND LOSS OF LIFE.

News has just arrived of the wreck of the John Duncan,
Captain Randall, which sailed from St. John, N. 8., for
Liverpool, on the 2nd of November last, with a full cargo
and a deck load of deals. Immediately after leaving
port she encountered fearful weather, which continued
up to the 10th, when it blew a hurricane from
N.N.W. At night there was a tremendous sea running,
and a heavy storm of rain and hail, almost every sea
pooping the ship. The cabin skylight was washed away,
and the cabin filled with water, the stores being washed
about in all directions. An attempt was made to throw
the deckload overboard, and two of the crew were washed
away. The remainder of the seamen were then
lashed to the standing rigging. At four p.m. on the
11th, the ship pooped a tremendous sea, which cleared
the poop of everything, carrying away all the boats, hur-
ricane deckhouse, the wheel, wheel chains, four of the
crew from the wheel, the captain, his wife, infant son, and
a male passenger. The stern was knocked in, and the
poop-deck torn up. The ship then broached to, split
three lower topsails, and lay on her port beam ends, the
sea breaking over and washing away the deck load.
At seven p.m. the ship fell over on her broadside,
with her masts and yards in the water. The fore and
main topmasts were carried away, as was also the mizen-
mast, with all the yards; the decks were swept of every-
thing, and the port side torn up. The ship then righted,
having her foremast and mainmast standing, but three of
the crew were drowned. The weather continued fearful
until the 13th, when it moderated, and some of the
wreck was cut away from alongside to prevent the
ship from breaking up. It was then found that all the
provisions were destroyed, but a pig was found, and at
once killed. The remainder of the crew suffered very
much from want of fresh water and the eating of the raw
pork, until the 17th, when a brig hove in sight, but bore
away without offering any assistance. On the 23rd, the
American brigs Dingo and Radboni fell in with the ship,
and rescued the unfortunate survivors.
The Malvern, a fine Liverpool ship of 1,341 tons, hence
for San Francisco, is reported abandoned off Cape Hbrn.
She left the Mersey on the Ist August ; and falling in
with heavy gales off the Horn, was abandoned off Sea
Lion Islands, her crew being all safely landed at the
Falklands.

The barque Anne Powell, of and for Liverpool from
Paraiba, with a cargo of sugar and cotton, has been
wrecked at Sucena, a small port about six miles north of
Paraiba, but the cargo would be saved.

L. F. Pourtales, of the United States Coast Sur-
vey, who dredged along the course of the Gulf Stream,
found that the bottom for four or five miles north-easterly
from Florida consisted of common coral sand with very
scanty traces of life. The next area, from ninety to three
hundred fathoms, is a rocky floor made of a very
hard limestone, derived from living shells. Life
was abundant. The third area was the regular and
common ocean bottom, from two hundred and fifty
to 300 fathoms covered with the chalky remains of fora-
minifera. He also dredged the bottom of the ocean off
the coast, and found, first, extending from the north of
Florida to Montauk Point, near Block Island, Rhode
Island, a bottom of silecious sand, perhaps 100 miles wide.
Outside of it was a calcareous bottom, occupying the
whole area south of Georgia. Between the two, off tho
Carolinas, is a limited deposit of green sand, containing
the foraminifera.