The Minnesotian. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn. Territory) 1851-1852, 1852-01-10

of this city, is as follows: The May
flower is ashore 5 miles below Conneaut.
Saw no land from Monday evening till
last night, when we went ashore. We
driited sLout the lake in the most awful
storm, with rudder and smoke pipes car
ried away. Nothing but the skill and
coolncss of Capt. Van Allen and officers
saved us from fearful death. Capt.
Van Allen and others, with myself, got
ashore with life line. The Capt. will
remain here till she is taken care of.
Loss Of the Mayflower.
STATEMENT OF THE PASSENGERS.
CLEVELAND, Dec. 10.
+, We left Buffalo at half-past 10 o'clock
on Monday evening; the night was clear,
but cold, and the wind was fair 10 the
northward. About IL o'clock it changed
to the northwest, and we met the full
force Of the gale; and such gale was
never before felt on this or other waters.
The cold was intense, and the mist so
thick that nothing could be seen. We
ran up the Lake till half-past 3, when the
storm became SO furious and the ice was
collecting in such quantities forward that
1t was no longer safe to breast it. We
then turned and ran down the Lake before
the gale until o'clock, when the Cap
tain, fearing that he might get too far
down, again turned and stood up under
easy steam, hoping that it would socn
clear up and give some landmark; but the
mist packed more closely upon us, while
the storm Of hail and snow increased
Then commenced the arduous duties of
the Captain and his crew through all that
dreadful day and night.
Capt. Van Allen and his mates kept
the deck. Neither the storm nor intense
cold drove them an instant from their
post. Covered with ice, and their hands
and feet frosted, they met every emer-
gency with that GOODNESS, courage and
skill, to which, in the end we owed our
lives. AN instant Of indecision at times
would have hurried us into eternity.-
About o'clock Tuesday morning heavy
sea struck the boat and parted her rudder
chains, and she preached TO and lay at the
mercy Of the waves, which seemed to
strike with the force of rocks hurled
against her. The second sea parted her
larboard log chain, and for five hours she
lay pounding in the trough of the sea, it
making clean breach through her gang
ways, we believing every sea would
break in her lower works. Her lower
guards were under water and her baggage
room gave way.
Finally her crew got ropes md tackle
to her rudder. which, owing to the ice that
covered the ropes, was work of great
suffering. The mate and crew froze
| their fingers. Now we were only able to
work the rudder about two and half
feet. Her first mate, Mr.. Caverly, took
his stand at the steering tackle, and work.
ing it with chains from above, remained
there until we were ashore. She was
now brought against the storm, working
to the southwark.
1t was now o'clock, and the gale had
increased TO hurricane. Still shut up in
imnenetrable mist, heavy sea struck the
boat and carried away her larboard smoke
pipe, and nearly all her fastenings. The
Captain was prompt to meet this new
misfortune. A man was stationed with
hose in hand, which was attached to the
engine, ready TO play on the first appear
ance of fire, where he stood until we
needed him no more.
The engineer, than whom a cooler OF
better man does not exist, now put out all
the fires but two furnaces, and worked
her at that. The boat was now virtually
wreck, her upper cabin had started
and she worked two feet forward and aft
with the sea. Capt. Van Allen made up
his mind to beach her, as she could not live
out in the lake, and endeavored 10 get her
before the wind for that purpose; but she
was loaded with ice forward, and the
scantiness of the rudder and steam, that
it was found useless. We now held our
course S. S. w. At Z we struck a field
of ice which stove in her wheel house
and started the decks forward. She was
now kept on her course. as was supposed
for Cleveland. She worked at the rate Of
about three miles an hour.
At 10 l-2 o'clock, the Captain had the
lead cast. No bottom was reached, and
at ii o'clock she struck, and soon, though
she was once backed, was hard and fast
on. She pounded badly and was imme-
diately scuttled. She came ashore half a
mile above Elk Creek, l8 miles above
Erie. At day light, we with assistance
from the shore, some two hundred feet
distant, got a life line out and made fast
to tree, and we were taken ashore by
that. Our hearty thanks are due to
Judge Miles, for his timely aid in getting
us ashore; in building fires on the beach
and for rendering us every assistance in
his power.
To Capt. Van Allen. his mates, Messrs
Caverly and Robert Maher; his engineer
Frank Furner, under Providence, we re.
peat, we owe our lives, and as such pre-.
servers, we shall always regard them. tt
the steward, w. G.. Corbet, our grateful
thanks are due, for his continued exer