The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-07-10 00:00:00

THE LATE FATAL COLLISION.

The Liverpool Shipwreck and Humane Society have
presented one of the gold medals of the society to R. B.
Forbes, Esq., of Boston, U.S., and a Trustee of the
Massachusetts Humane Society, fol. his courage and
humanity in leaping overboard from the Europa, on the
occasion of the late fatal collision, and assisting to save
the lives of the passengers from the Charles Bartlett.
Mr. Forbes is the gentleman who was the means of send-
ing to Ireland, and the Western Islands of Scotland, an
immense supply of provisions of the value of £60,000
during the year of famine. Mr. Forbes acknowledged
the receipt of the well-deserved testimonial, and gave an
interesting account of the collision, and of the part which
he took in saving the passengers of the Charles Bartlett.
From his account we take the following :
"At tw ) o'clock of the day named, not being well, I retired
to my state room, in the forward cabin, and lay down with my
clothes on, on the settee, and soon fell asleep. I was suddenly
awakened by a crash and a shock which I could not misunder •
stand. I rushed upon deck and to the port how of our ship
where the most appalling spectacle presented itself; the bow
of our ship appeared to be half way. through the bark, having
entered her just abaft the main rigging, on the port side. She
had all sail set ; one glance at the ill-fated bark satisfied me
that she must instantly g 3 down, and that no earthly power
could save many of the passengers. The after hatches were
obstructed by pieces of broken timbers ; the main hatch was
entirely clear, and appeared to be filled with women and child-
ren, vainly endeavouring to get on deck. I should judge that
the ladder had been knocked down in the general crush. The
water at this time was rushing into the vessel like a mill race.
Seeing that the only chance to save any one was to lower our
boats, 1 rushed aft, taking off my over coat and my frock coat
as I went along, on my way, and when near the after part of
the port paddle box, I perceived that men were already clear-
ing away the quarter boats. I stopped to endeavour to clear
away the life boat, but being alone, and having nothing but a
small knife to cut the lashings, I saw that my efforts would not
avail in time. Just as I was abandoning the effor', I per-
ceived a woman and a child, the latter some ten feet from the
woman, floating slowly past the paddle-box. I immediately
jumped down on the grating or sponson, abaft the wheel, cry-
ing to any spectators about the main rigging for a rope •,
for God's sake give me a rope ! But every one seemed stunned
and paralysed by the sudden and awful scene. A man came
floating along alive and partially sustained by a broken spar,
the only rope thrown over, which I should otherwise have got,
was thrown to him ; he got hold of it, and put the noose over
his shoulders, and was hauled up. The first part of this act,
for a moment, took off our attention from the two floating and
apparently insensible persons before alluded to, so that by the
time the man was safe, the others had sunk too tar to be
reached. As the sails on the main mast had not been backed,
and the wind was on the starboard quarter, the ship forged
a-head and to leeward, at the rate of one to one and a-half
knots. Supposing that the wrecked matter must be to star-
board, I jumped on deck, and passed immediately over to the
starboard paddle-box, as low down on the sponson as I could
get, and just in time to see a very stout man drifting along,
partly face down, and near the top of the main shrouds, to
whom I called loudly for a rope • one was thrown over, about
ten or twenty feet abaft me; I scrambled quickly along the
side, and seizing the rope, jumped for the drowning man. The
rope was rather short, but luckily the ship, not being steadied
by the wheels, rolled towards me; I took advantage of this,
and got the rope round the man's body, and the end up, and
twice passed round its own part. before the ship rolled to port
again •, as I was with the man partly under water, and the time
very short, this required a great effort. As the ship rolled to
port she jerked us both to the aide rather nudely; I cried,
haul up, haul up;' 134 it appeared, on subsequent examina-
tion, that the rope I had used was the main sheet, a four inch
rope, and that the upper end was fast by a moused hook to the
ships side, several feet below the gunwale, and at least eight
feet below the upper or monkey rail. The effect of all this
and the continued rolling of the steamer, was to drag me and
my man out of water, and again suddenly immerse us. I
could do nothing but cry haul up,' and endeavour, at each roll
into the water, to shut my mouth in time, and to try to make
the rope more secure, as it gave way a little every time we
came out of water. The man weighing at least 200, and myself
175 pounds, when dry, all of which was to be supported by my
hands holding two round turns of a short end passed round
its own part, and slipping at each ascension t Finally, some
hands succeeded in getting hold of our rope, and hauled us up,
so that my burthen and myself were above the water, or nearly
so. At this time I called to one of the party to come down
and help me to jamb the turns, as the man was gradually
slipping., in consequence of my weight being partially on him.
The individual, mistaking my order, put his foot on my hands,
and on the turns, and bearing down, caused the man to slip
out and go down underboard the second time, and apparently
uite lifeless. I ordered the rope to be let go, and went again
far
under, but did not reach the body ; being now nearly ex-
hausted, I thought it time to take care of myself, and took
advantage o a boat which came to my relief. I got into her,
and took the bow oar, the officer, (the 4th mate I think) putting
her head towards the pieces of floating wreck. We soon dis-
covered two persons; the first I had the pleasure of reaching
with a boat hook; hauled him on board, and the officer went
to work on him, reporting signs of life; the other persons sank
out of sight, while we were getting the first on board.
" We continued to pull round among the wreck until there
appeared no chance of saving any more, and some danger of
losing those we bad saved, unless proper means were used; it
being very f ggy, and the ship nearly out of sight, we un.
willingly gave up the search for more, and returned on board.
"Several hours elapsed before the man hooked up was
brought round, so as to speak ; the other boat had, in the
meantime, picked up a number, and among them the man I
had been trying to save. All recovered, excepting this last one.
He had a wound on his head, and it was generally supposed
that he received a stunning blow at the time of the collision.
" Although it has taken some time to write these details,
only one to one and a half minutes elapsed from the tine I
first jumped on deck until the ship went down. I was on the
port sponson less than that time, and on the other side sus-
pended to the man, perhaps altogether three or four minutes
more. Had the poor woman exhibited any signs of life, or the
child, I could not have resisted the impulse to go over after
them, without a rope or any support, and, being a poor swim-
mer, I might have perished, amid the confusion and noise,
before any aid could have reached us.
" Had I done this, successfully or not, I should have consi-
dered that the risk was so imminent, that I should not have
felt any delicacy in receiving your award ; as it is, I do not feel
that I have earned it by success or by any very great risk."

- -
Mr. Forbes concludes by recommending that all sea-
going steamers should have some means to make a loud
noise very often by a large bell, arranged to be struck at
each turn of the crank, steam whistle, or the discharge
of a small gun to give warning in foggy weather. He
adds that there should be life-buoys or floats in each
boat, and at intervals along the bulwarks inside, ready at all
times to be thrown over. Life lines at several prominent
places should be suspended—say to the paddle-box rails,
the quarter rails, &c. A strong and long painter should be
always ready to each boat, led along and made fast to the
paddle-boxes. The boats should not be so snugly covered
by canvas, and there should be a hatchet to each boat, so
that the lashings may be readily cut.
A passenger by the Europa has inserted an account in
the Bristol Mirror, from which we make the following
extract
" Of the 42 passengers
saved, it is observable that, excepting
the case of the Hungarians. there is not more than one of a
family or circle of .friends aboard saved, and, in a good many
cases, whole families have perished. Of the 40 women on
board but one is saved, Mrs. Conroy, and she saved herself by
swimming. Of the 35. children on board not one is saved, and
but one was seen floating after the vessel sank, and an attempt
was made to save it. Of all those lost we can take no particular
notice ; still there was one couple whose end is tragic, that
may be referred to. A young man came over from the United
States. The choice-of his heart made an elopement with him
from Ireland ; he-married her, wentto London, and shipped
• himself and wife as- passengers, under a false name. They
sailed from london, in the Charles Bartlett, for New York ;
buts on stating, he wrote aletter on. board the vessel. dating

it from London, stating that he was married to Miss -
and that they were gone to Sebtland on a tour. He handed the
letter to the pilot who conducted the vessel down the Thames,
instructing shim to post it in London. Neither he nor his
partner reached the deck of the Europa."