The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-01-15 00:00:00

THE MELANCHOLY EFFECTS OF THE LATE
HURRICANE.

WRECK OF THE PENNSYLVANIA.

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In theWbole list of casualties arising out of the hurricane,
public sympathy has not been directed to anything more
painfully or acutely than to the loss of the fine American
packet-ship Pennsylvania. She was a remarkably powerful,
well built vessel, and has been on the station about four years.
Her commander, Captain Smith, who formerly belonged to
the Napoleon, was a gentlemanly man, and deservedly po-
pular in the trade. Few persons in his profession have been
more universally regretted. The Pennsylvania's day of sail-
ing was the 25th of December, when she left the dock, and
proceeded to the mouth of the river, in order to take advan-
tage of the first favourable wind. Here she remained until
the fatal morning of Sunday last, when sh.e put to sea about
noon. After discharging her pilot, she made an extremely
expeditious run down the Channel, and was off the Skerries
about ten o'clock at night. At midnight the wind began to
rise from S.S.E., and orders were given to take in the main
topgallant sail. The wind continuing to increase in violence,
they close reefed topsails, furled the fore and mainsail and
jib, and in this state continued making considerable progress
until four o'clock in the morning, when a perfect hurricane
prevailed, the wind blowing S.W. During its continuance,
the fore topsail; as also the mizen topsail, gave way; and the
foresail, mainsail, and jib were blown into ribbons. Soon
after, the main topsail shared the same fate. The vessel was
then at the mercy of the elements, the sea making tremen-
dous heavy breaks over her.
When daylight appeared, on Monday morning, the fore-
staysail was bent. She was kept with her head to the south-
ward. In this state she lay to during the whole of the day
and the greater part of the night. On the morning of Tues-
day she bent her foresail, and Captain Smith made the requi-
site preparations for putting back. She run before the wind
in excellent style, until they made the Great Ormshead, when
the Captain shaped his course for the liht ship, and not
finding it, hove to. About ten o'clock, n anticipation of
meeting with a pilot, he proceeded onward, when the St. An-
drew and the Lockwoods appeared in sight. At this time
the lead was put in requisition, and finding plenty of water,
she continued her course: About noon, they got into ten or
twelve fathoms water. At half-past-one they made Hoylake,
when the larboard anchor was thrown with a sixty fathom
cable, and before the other anchor could be got over her bow,
she swung with her head to the wind, and struck on Hoyle
Bank. Strange to say, the Si; Andrew and the Lockwoods
struck on the same' bank, not more than half a mile from
each other, the Pennsylvania being in the centre. After
striking, and owing to the violence of the gale, which brought
her into collision with the bank, against which she struck
with great force several times, she filled rapidly with water.-
At this eventful crisis, she being then about three miles from
the shore, a brief consultation was held with the passengers:
the result was, that Captain Smith ordered the jolly boat to
be launched, into which Mr. Parsons, of Manchester; Mr.
Barrow, of New York; Mr. Douglas, of New York, and
Mr. Suiter, of South America, and another gentleman, en- i
tered, accompanied by the chief mate, Mr. Blightenburgh,
and a young Scotchtnan, named Downey, together with five
of the crew. Thea-fated boat did not long live in the tem-
pest.
About midway between the vessel and the shore, she
swamped, and all on board were thrown into the foaming
element. Two of the passengers, Messrs. Thompson and
Douglas, had taken the preceution to provide themselves with
swimming belts : they sustained themselves; but the rest of
the poor fellows, after struggling in vain for some time, sunk
to rise no more. Mr: Thompson, finding it hopeless to con-
tend with the waves, threw himself on his back, and support.
ed by his belt, trusted to the waves to carry him onward. As
the tide was cowing in, he was propelled. with considerable
speed, and eventually, much exhausted, reached the shore.
His fellow-countryman, Mr. Douglas, was less fortunate.
He early exhausted his strength in a useless conflict with the
waves. He succeeded in reaching the shore, but so com-
pletely prostrated, that nature sunk under the trial. He was
immediately conveyed to Leasowe Castle, where every atten-
tion was paid to him ; but he only survived his escape a short
time. He was a native of Dunfermline, in Scotland, and
was interred on Friday in Wallasey churchyard, together
with Mr. Sniter, his unfortunate fellow passenger, whose body
was cast ashore on the beach opposite Leasowe. The fune-
ral was attended by a number of the friends of the deceased
from Liverpool.
After despatching the jolly boat, Captain Smith ordered
the long boat to be got ready, when, to their indescribable
agony, they could not find the lines for lowering her into the
sea. After some delay, however, she was got ready, pro-
vided with a rudder, oars, and other requisites; but in the
act of lowering her, the ship heaved a dreadful sea, which
stove in the boat, and thus cut off their only prospect of es-
cape. The same vibration of the vessel threw Capt. Smith
with great force on deck; he lost his footing, but on regain-
ing it, another sea swept over the devoted ship, threw him
with great violence between two water casks, which were
on deck, and immediately after he was 'swept into the foam-
ing abyss beneath. The crew then got into the rigging
about three o'clock in the afternoon, where they remained
from that hour until the following morning about ten o'clock.
''heir sufferings during this period, without food or nourish-
ment of any kind, exposed to all the horrors of a night un-
exampled for severity, have hardly ever been surpassed
Among those on the rigging during the night was the stew-
ardess, a native of Shropshire, who survived its severity.
Three pour fellows, however—the second cook, John Lenya;
the second steward, Dewit Reitner, and a seman, sunk under
the accumulated suffering, produced by the storm, and in-
tense cold. They were literally starved to death of cold and
hunger.
On Wednesday morning, at seven o'clock, those on board
the Victoria, and the William Huskisson, inward bound from
Dublin, saw the Pennsylvania and the Lockwoods, but could
not render the crew and passengers any assistance.
The total number of persons on board the Pennsylvania
was forty, fifteen of whom, as we have described, perished,
and the merit of rescuing the remaining twenty•five belongs
to the Victoria Tug boat.
The wretches who infest this neighbourhood and the Che-
shire coast, better known by the cognomen of wreckers, were
not long in rendering the catastrophe a source of emolument
to themselves. The property of the passengers and crew was
plundered by them to an alarming extent. The steward,
who had in his trunk sixty watches and other articles of jew-
ellery, found on regaining the vessel that the whole had dis-
appeared—doubtless through the agency of the wretches
aforesaid. We are glad.o hear that several fellows, charged
with the inhuman crime of robbing strand-' essels during
the late hurricane, are in custody. The . I dealt viltb,
we hope, according to their deserts.
Till: letter wig!, reeorpred from the Pe';42,,. venia are nobs
at the office of the consignees, Messrs. tides, Pickerseill
and Co.; they are, as may be imagined, in woeful plight,
saturated with water, and the superscription of many of the
letters cannot be deciphered. Those which can be read, will
he forwarded to their destination by the Hibernia for New
York, which will sail, we understand, in place of the Penn-
sylvania. One of the bags, we hear, is missing.
We subjoin the following highly interesting letter from the
only surviving officer of the Pennsylvania :