Star.
London, England, 1818-09-16 00:00:00

EXTRACT OF A LETTER JUST RECEIVED PROM TIIE

CAPE IN THIB COUN7 RY :

In the catalogue of misfortunes, I have now to
narrate a series of them almost unprecedented in cha-
racter, at so early a stage of our winter season at the
Cape. These are a rapid succession of shipwrecks
in this Bay within the last month, some of thcm at-
tended with 'rcost lamentable egects. It is probably-
familiar to you that the winds in these climates are pe;
riodical, and the .changes they undergo influence the
seasons; accordingly, the lotith-eaist'wlnd- prevails
from October to April, and north-west from May.
to September inclusive ; the former charactcriseg the
dry season, the latter the wet period of the year. The
south-east blows from the land, the north-west on
the land from the Atlantic Ocean.

" Hein' thus explanatory, I shall proceed to in-
form you, that the present month was ushered in
with most delightful weather, and a continuance of
the stme for some time was expected. In general the
months of May and June fot m a second spring at the
Cape. On the 12th inst. however, the clouds from
the north began to condense on the summits of the
mountains, and on the 13th one of the most violent
hurricanes experienced in these latitudes visited Cape
'Town and the Bay. At nine A.M. immediately on
its commencement, two boats near the shore were

swamped in an instant, and in one, four out of six men
drowned ; the crew of the other boat were saved by
clinging to thr keel, and after being supposed lost,
were deposited by a single wave twenty yards en dry
land. At 10 A.M. a ship parted from three anchors,
and came with great yelocity on shore, but driving
on the sand, the crew were all saved, and the vessel
not Wrecked at the instant. At 11, a beautiful Ame-
rican schooner, carrying 26 guns, (formerly most
destructive to our trade, as the Prince of Neufchatel,
having taken 200 prizes during the war) also parted
from her anchors, and drove on shore a complete
wreck, but without loss of lives. Between 11 and
12, a Portuguese ship, having 200 slaves on board,
was discovered, by firing guns, to be in great dis-
tress, and great alarm was excited in consequence of
the many helpless lives on board ; after labouring
extremely at her anchorage, she at length yielded to
the tempest, and carrying away her bowsprit drove
violently towards the shore perfectly unmanageable.
Now was a scene about to be displayed as magnifi-
cent as dreadful in the contemplation. About 200
yards from the shore, in the midst of trzmendous
breakers, this unhappy vessel struck the ground
with her broadside to land, inevitably doomed to be
dashed in pieces in one short hour, and within that
space of time 250 persons were to be extricated from
a watery grave. To attempt description of so pi-
teous a scene to the full extent is impossible. The re-
flection of a Briton's mind, on viewing so many crea-
tures on the brink of eternity, who were forced from
their country for such a purpose And in such a state,
was truly horrible. These unfortunates were conspi-
cuous, clinging to all sides of the vessel; some fifty,
in the impulse of the moment, threw themselves into
the sea, twenty only struggled on shore, and those
almost lifeless. The exertions of every officer, sol-
dier, and civilian, were now unremitted and labo-
rious ; no communication could be made with the
ship, except by a rope, and the sea was so heavy as
to present an infinite obstacle in surmounting. Women
who had infants plunged with them to eternity, clasp-
ing them in their embraces, for with them no hope
could possibly exist of safety.
f _ _

. " In such 'dreadful dilemma, the force of huma-
nity superseded that of fear of death, and about half
dozen soldiers succeeded in convex ing a rope to the
'vessel, but not all had their temerity crowned with
success, being -swallowed in the waves. By this rope,
and by forming a'connected line of people from the
shore towards the ship, at imminent risk, the slaves
were conveyed to land, to the number of 98 or 100,
when at a tremendous crash the vessel parted in two,
-and all exertions for the time ceased. Upon the frag.
ments remaining, some forty. persons, chiefly chil-
dren, still clung, and by the mainmast falling in the
sea, several officers, &c. on shore, got on the wreck,
and brought the greater part in their arms, on shore.
In two hours after the ship struck, scarcely one
plank remained fired to another.-1 was on the spot
the whole time, and I hope was not as idle spectator.
One hundred and thirty of the slave; are saved, with
the crew of the vessel, and are we'll taken care of by
the British Government. TLey are from the coast
of Mozambique, and were conveying to South Ame-
rica. At the time I write this I have the prospect,
within fifty yards of my house, of three wrecks, and
two more net 150 yards distant. The Portuguese
vessel was wrecked within 100 yards of my doors,
and being a single house the assi.tance I was enabled
to render was truly satisfactory to me.'