The Sun.
London, England, 1850-06-20 00:00:00

FURTHER PARTICULARS.

From a gentleman who was a..
lby passen er the Fe- I
'wile. steamer, from Fleetwood to Troo have re-
ceiyed the following additional particulars:—
we
thiatr d was at a quarter to six this morning, the weather
beautifully calm, when, us the Fenella passed
Poioorrt-u.Patrick, a boat came out with the Captain of the
would ttaokere
accordingly request that the Commander of the Fenella
a broughtut the g
survivors.the survivors on board. The Fenella
to for nearly an hour, and took on
board 10 of
that could be gleaned from their
appear that it was exactly
statements, it would a
From the
accounts
to two when thee;sseri struck, not
fsotreema
ny on, 0
fbtuhte cabinrather
towards the bilg anda quarter
; :11nd:immediately after she
dress,ad the water was up to their
psuasuskenggreardsuhaalldy
tbiymtehetohe
c
knees in the cabin.
second sunk, and
The first boat that was
the panic-struck passengers, o
almost all on board perished. In theboat, a
number of ladies were put, and they reached the shore
in sakty. In the meantime, the vessel gradually filled
with water, and the crew and passengers were left float-
ing on the surface of the calm wat..A.s.
As soon as the accident was discovered from the shore
a number of floats put off, and picked up all that could
be seen floating on the loose portions of the wreck, or
swimming towards the shore.
The wreck lies with the roasts and funnel vertical and
half out of the water ; and to the rigging several of the
survivors clung until they were relieved.
The place where the wreck lies is not 130 yards
from the shore, and quite close to the lighthouse of Port-
Patrick.
At the time the Fenella left,
only nine of the bodies
Earl been recovered.
Such was the awful consternation and excitement
amongst the survivors, after the catastrophe, that very
few particulars beyond those already stated could be
learned.
Our informant mentioned that amongst the
were a father, mother, and two daughters; the two eons
were saved, and one of the daughters reached shore, but
died soon after being brought to the hotel. drowned
Every one on board the Fenella were amazed at the


occurrence of the.wreck, a 3 the night had been beauti-
fully clear, and the sea as calm as a pond; and they
could only account for the untoward event, by sup-
posing that the officer of the watch had endeavoured to
pass between the well-known sunken reckon which she
struck, and the shore.
It would be imprudent to give the names of any of
those lost, until they can be authenticated; and at pre-
sent the only two actually known are those already men-
tioned.
_ _

The Tartar steam-packet, belonging to Messrs. Burns,
leaves the Broomielaw the moment she Smits, with Mr.
James Burns and Captain Douglas, the marine superin-
tendent of the company, the engineer, and other officers,
for the purpose of making every effort to save the vessel
and recover the bodies, &c.

She likewise carriee with her a quantity of clothing,
blankets, provisions, &c., for those of the survivors
who may stand in need of these necessaries; and like-
wise a number of coffins for the bodies of the drowned.

The number of passengers on board the ill-fated ves-
sel is now calculated to have been from 140 to 150, of
whom only fifteen wore steerage. The latter would have
the best chance of being saved, as they were on deck at
the time of the catastrophe.
It is ascertained that every cabin berth bad been taken
as well as every sofa; and the veisel was consequently
crowded with cabin passengers.
The greater number of passengers were saved by
clinging to those portions of the wreck which remained
above water. _ _

The Orion was originally fitted up with water-tight
bulk heads, and thereby divided into four or five com-
partments, and it has therefore been a matter of surprise
that there should not have been the means of keeping
the vessel afloat. The probability, however, is, that she
struck so severely that the central compartments, which
give the greatest buoyancy, were all completely st we in.
The following letter to the Messrs. Burns, from Capt.
Henderson, the commander of the vessel, has just been
placed at the bar of the Exchange, with a prefatory
notice by these gentlemen, that " it is the only informa-
tion they have as yet received:"—
" Port Patrick, June 8, 1850.
" Messrs. J. and G. Burns.

" Gentlemen,—lt has become my painful duty to an-
nounce to you that the Orion struck the rocks a little
to the northward of this place this morning at about a
quarter past one, and instantly filled, and sunk in seven
fathoms water. From the moment she first struck the
engines became useless, and I found it impossible to run
her on shore to save the lives of the passengers. I very
much fear the loss of life is great, but at present I can-
not ascertain the particulars.
" I have forwarded those passengers who aro in a fit
state to be removed, via Troon to Glasgow.
" I am exceedingly sorry to state that Dr. Burns is
among the drowned. His body is now in safe keeping
till I know your wishes.
" I send this to you by Mr. Langlands, my chief
officer, to whom I beg to refer you for particulars.
" Captain Dulzell* is on the spot, and has written to
the underwriters.

" I am, gentlemen, your obedient servant,
" THOMAS HENDERSON."

Mr. Fleming, one of the survivors, stated that he was
aroused from his sleep by the shock of the concussion,
and bis first impression was that a collision had taken
place. As soon as he tumbled out of bed he found the
mate rushing into the cabin; and before he had time to
dress, beyond drawing on his trousers, the water was up
to his knees. He immediately rushed upon deck, and
soon found himself afloat amidst the crowd of passen-
gers. He fortunately clung to the rigging of one of the
topmasts, and was thus providentially saved.
Captain Henderson, the commander of the Orion, and
his first mate, both remained at the scene of the wreck,
to give every aid to the unfortunate passengers, and t,)
use every effort to recover any of the property that could
be saved.

Almost all the survivors were in a state of all but
nudity, and they were unable to procure the requisite
clothing to enable them to come forward by the Fenella,
although the captain gave all the clothes he could spare
to cover them.