The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1853-10-25 00:00:00

the ship on the weather quarter-gallery, it being impossi-
ble to stand on deck. A sea broke into the maintopsail
and carried away the maintopmast with all its gear, and
likewise washed four men out of the maintop. Captain
Butterworth, the chief and second mates, the carpenter,
cook, and some of the crew, joined me on the weather-
quarter, and they dragged through the gallery-window
four passengers, consisting of a gentleman, his wife, and
two children, who took refuge with them. This de-
clarant and another seaman also succeeded in getting out
of the water a young lady who had come out of one of
the poop cabins. I lashed her to a large spar and placed
her with the rest of the party on the gallery. Immedi-
ately afterwards a large sea broke over the ship, which
washed off the gentleman above-mentioned, with his
wife and children (four in all), and they perished together.
At this time a schooner was observed about half-a-mile
to the eastward bearing down upon the wreck. The ves-
sel was at that time settling fast in the water, and it was
evident that she could not remain afloat many minutes
longer. I cut the lashings of the spar to which the young
lady had been made fast in order to give her a chance for
her life. As the spar went adrift, Captain Butterworth,
the second mate, and one or two of the seamen quitted the
sinking ship, and held on to the spar, in the hope of saving
themselves. Declarant being left on the quarter with the
cook and carpenter, many of the people had by this time
been drowned, but others remained holding on as they
best could on the weather side of the wreck. She lay thus
for about 10 minutes after Capt. Butterworth had left her,
and then sank, going down head first. I scrambled from
the quarter to the mizenmast, which I ascended as the ship
sank. I found the surgeon in the mizentop, and we went
up together in the mizen crosstrees, when we were sub-
merged. I lost sight of the surgeon, and I swam to some
deals, which I laid hold of, butshortly afterwards I saw near
me one of the chocks of the longboat, capable of affording me
better support than the deal, which I therefore left and placed
myself on the chock. The schooner was then within
shouting distance, being then about 100 yards to the lee-
ward of me, and I hailed her, begging her crew to go
about to windward, and afterwards drift down among the
Dalhousie's people, of whom several were yet alive and
might thus have been picked up and saved with a little
exertion on the schooner's part. The only response which
I could hear from her was given by some person on
board, who told me to "swim to her," but she was
drifting to leeward much faster than any man could
swim, and she shortly afterwards stood away to the
S.W., and left me and my companions struggling in
the water. I watched her for nearly two hours
afterwards, but she at length disappeared without
having (so far as I could see) made the least effort
to save any of us, although the schooner was close
to the Dalhousie when she foundered, and the crew
must have seen her go down. In the course of the
morning several other vessels passed near me, both
going up and down Channel, without seeing us. My
companions gradually perished one after the other, and I
was repeatedly washed off my frail supporter. At about 1,
p.m., the wind veered to the S.W., and towards 4 o'clock a
brig hove in sight to windward, standing down towards
where I was floating. I made signal to her with my
handkerchief in the best way I could, which was fortu-
nately seen on board the brig, and she bore down to me.
The wind was still blowing a gale from the S.W., and the
sea was running so high as to make it doubtful whether a
boat could live in it. The brig, therefore, came alongside
me, and, having lowered a rope with a bowline
in it, I made it fast round my body, and sprang
from the chock into the sea. Although the crew of the
brig observed every precaution in their power, I was una-
voidably
dragged under water for a minute or two be-
fore I could get on board, and when I at length reached
her deck, I was nearly senseless. She proved to be the
Mitchel Grove, Mr. Rawson, master, bound from Little-
hampton to Sunderland with timber. Captain Rawson
and his crew all treated me with the greatest kindness and
hospitality, and at four p.m. on the following day the brig
anchored in Dover Roads. The weather was then mode-
rate, and Captain Rawson, having lowered a boat, landed
me at Dover. I made application to the owner's agent,
who furnished me with the means of coming to London,
and on the same evening I arrived in London, and lost no
time in reporting the loss of the ship to the owner. I
further declare that when the ship went down the light
on Beachyhead bore from N.E. by E. distant about 16
miles, and, to the best of my judgment, in about 20
fathoms of water. I believe that every person on board
of her, with the exception of myself, perished. I cannot
account for the circumstance of the ship foundering in
the manner she did, otherwise than upon the presumption
that a butt-end must have started, either from her having
struck upon a rock, or from some other cause unknown
to me."