Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1845-04-26
THE GREAT GALE OF DECEMBER.


l. nal from Captain CALDWELL Of the late ship Dor
Of chester, to his former partner in business at Au-
70 gusta IN the State OF Maine. IL gives an account
i OF the wrecking OF that ship quite as exciting as
1t any OF the har-breadth escapes record This
o terrible gale was the most destructive which has
II been experienced for many years. About one hun
dred vessels il has been ascerained were lost in it,
, and of large number of them which had on board
several hundred souls, tidings have been
will be received. The Dorchester sailed from Lii
verpoo one day after the packet ship United States
and two days before the packet ship England, for
i New York. neither of which ships have ever been
& heard from. They made the northern passage, as
is customary with the New York packets, which
sail with strong crews for this purpose and, no
doubt, went to the bottom with their crews and
nearly one hundred passengers
II Bunker Hill Aur@u.
The DoRcHEsrEn left Liverpool on the 2sth Of November
about noon We had good weather in the channel and
cleared the land in about sixty hours from port The wind
prevailing westerly and souhwesey after that keeping
the NORTH but allowing make pretty good progress the
westward On Wednesday, December III, found myself
by observation at in lat so ~ and on % 30 w. The
wind was then southwest with fresh breezes and the ship
under double reefed opsais We making good course
and good progress towards home We used to blue
Ter and rough weather. and thought not Of danger We
deamed not how of be- called from the
scenes Of this world the solemn realities eternity. The
barometer standing at at 90 So II not again
observed until little after p. M, when it had fallen to
BIS, hreefourhs of inch in about four hours As
this unusually rapid fall, all hands Immediately
to take in sail and prepare for contest with the mighty
elements storm was evidently at hand our opsas were
close eefed, b spanker &C. well fuled for
the barometer told plainly that the gale would be heavy
one Nv hal had f,rIad hnff,
close eeed fore and manopsa and fore opmast stay sail
the barometer had fallen 49, so, and continued falling and
the storm had already commenced. AT r. NJ the gale was
heavy attended with ncessan flashes of lightning the
eastern board and raining torrents The wind had veered
to SS.W by compass, about s. by E. true
At 10 p. NJ the fore topsal and fore opmast
were taken in, and very after the wind changed to w.
and the gale terrific that did dare loose any
canvass TO ship. The barometer had fallen to 2S. 25
that quarter of inch lower than had be-
fore The watch all the employed during
the night securing the sails to the yards by putting extra
gaskets. II blowing hard that it with difficulty
the could go alo hold when there, and took four
or five ITO do what could easily have done moderate
weather Thursday, December l2th last dawned upon
and the presented of the grand and awful
sPstaces that the eye of man beheld Lahed into fury
by the tremendous force of the wind clear broad
sheet of angry foam far the eye could reach At
walled between immense heaps of
ter which seemed ready to enguph in the bowels of the
great deep the upborne the very summit
OF of these waery mountains, and looking down
into the valleys either side Every thing about deck
made snug possible extra lashngs put upon spa
boats &c., and every precauton taken 10 prevent damage
and the cautioned be about deck only when duty
called them there The Dorchester excellent
and strong ship built AT thirty minutes
past the cw Of the main topa gave way, and the
blew into r6ands Our ship continued light and strong and
complaints and scarcely bucket OF had been
shipped deck for the day Even after the loss of our
main topsal she continued to make good weather At
M the main spencer At about half-past 8 p NJ
as | standing in the companion way, the the
wheel sung out look out look there" Immediately
closed the companion door and stepped down
BY the time had done the upon us bringing in
the companion doors and carrying with them the cabin
below.
The crash deck loud and long tremendous beyond
the power of conception 1t seemed though the ship
be broken atoms If she had been lifted fifty feet in the
and dropped solid ledge, the conclusion could not
have seemed greater. Thetwaer continued pouring down
upon long that thought tie ship sinking, and
would rise had lost my breath and was completely
exhausted before ii ceased. AS soon as could dragged
myself deck Who my friend, can describe to you the
spectacle that met my sight, who describe my emotions on
behodng it, Mass all gone, bulwarks ON one side nearly
all gone boats stove houses and gone and the whole
surface of the water around covered with things from the ship
and fragments Of the wreck One man only TO be seen on
deck He had secured himself to the wheel by bowline
around his bosy and made fast the windward OF him
inquired all the rest Of the watch ere lost He said Mr.
Hooper econd ofce) was, and he believed the carpenter
he did know about the looked all round for these
men, but nothing could be Of them Mr. Hooper had
sailed with from the commencement of his sea life he was
my nephew, good officer, and seaman, beloved and
respected by every on board. Nothing, however, could
be done for the Dead and my aen Immediately reverted
to the living beings yet remaining Board and the question
for then TO solve What do save them from
watery grave Orders instantly given cut clear
OF the spars We found the main and mzen mast with
all the spars attached the weather side Of the ship
hanging by the lee rigging which led down under the keel
Strange as may appear, the ship had been carried The
pns Probably the great leak in the ship in her bottom
caused by striking against these spars when she over
them, or before we could get clear ofthem.
The order TO clear the wreck was no sooner given than
obeyed Axes hatchet and knives put in rcsuisiton
and resolution which seemed say, if our lives depend
escriors we will them BY the time we got clear
Of spars dark The pump sounded and two
feet water found in it. while much more was sgashnp
about between decks "ro the pumps men, to the pumps
The pumps were set to work, and now had moment for
reflection, II one could reflect in such was in the
middle OF the ocean, about 700 miles from the nearest land
about 100 miles north Of the usual track eses crossing the
Atlantic all my spars gone by the board my boats both stove
my ship broken down amdshp and leaking so fast that did
not expect to keep her aoat until morning old oceans angry
suges seemed ready TO swallow up every moment; the
blackness OF darkness around the wind roaring
Il L.