Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1852-04-21
Total Wreck Of the British Frigate
D;rkenhead.


Loss Of -Four hnaired "ad F.t.y.t6ur L;res
IIon,ierta Dtscip'ine ct the British
Trooos.
Another terrible disaster has happened
at sea. A. , o'clock in the morning of the
4Gh Of February, her majesiy's steamer,
the Nirkenh 'ad, was wrecked between two
a1i ;hrte miles from the shore of Southern
Africa. The exact spot at which the ca
lnl..y n'pp.nea WAS Point Danger. off
.-.s point she s.ruc., upon i reef Of sunk
- r,cEs. The ship was steamins eight
and half knots at the time. The water
WAS smooth, ani the sky serene, but the
speed At which the vessel was passing
through the water proved her destruction.
The rock penetrated through her bottom
Just aft the .osemaSt, and in twenty min
utes' time there were few floating spars
and few miserable creatures ciingIng TO
.ucm. and this was all that remained Of
the Birkenhead Of 63S persons who
had left Simon's Bay in the gallant ship
nut Il few hours before, only lo4 remain
10 tell the taic No less than 10 En-. lish-
men have cone 10 so lamcn.ablo an end.
Tnere is no mystery about the calamity.
We are not left, aS in the case Of the Am
az,n, to conf urc the origin of the disas-
ter. Just what happened to the Orion off
tue Scottish coast, or to the Great tiniS-
,e.re, has happened now. Captain !Saimond,
the officer in command, anxious to shorten
the run to A,goa Bay as much as possible,
aud more than Was prudent, hugsed the
shore too closely. Four hundred aud fifty
four persons have lost their lives in consc-
qucucc Of his temcrity. As soon as the
vessel struck upon the rocks, the rush Of
.yater was SO great that the men on the
lower troop-deck were drowned in their
hammocks. Theirs Was the happier fate
they were spared the terrible agony of the
next twenty minutes; their manner Of
death was less painful than with others,
VINO were crushed beneath falling spars
and funnel, and then swept away to be
d-vourcd by the sharks, who were prowling
round the wreck. From the moment the
ship struck all appears to have been done
that human courage or coolness could
effect The soldiers We're mustered on the
afterdcck The instinct of discipline was
stronger even than the instinct of hie
The men fell INTO place as coolIy as on the
p.rade ground They were iold-otf into
reiiefs, aud sent-some to the chain pumps,
some to the paddle box boats. Capt.
Wright, of the ninety first regiment, who
Survives 10 relate the dreadful scene, tells
US:
Every man DID AZ he was directed, and
there Was not cry or murinur among
tlem uutii tuo vessel made her final plunge.
| could not name any Individual othcer,
who did more than another. All received
their orders, aud had them carried out as
if the men were embarking, instead Of CO.
ins u the bottom there was only this
difference that never saw any embarka-
ton conducted with SO little noise Or con-
fusion"
The women and children were all saved
They nad ueeu quietly collected under the
poop awning, and were as quietly got over
the sa.p : sl4e, aud passed INTO the cutter.
Tue hoa, stood off about 100 yards from
t.c ii.-sta..l1 D.rAsnhuad, and all were
saved he 0tnlr 5IIts, as is usual, were
mol IJ.c..eom.u, liz t..e hour of need. One
7io aud .wo cutters were al that could be
rendered available In one account, We
fuJ inat when the men ordered to get the
paddle box boa,s out, the pin OF the davits
was rusted IN, and could not be got out.
. Never Was destruction more sudden or
more complete. Within fifteen minutes
after the vessel struck, the bow broke short
off. Five minutes more elapsed, and the
hull of the vessel went III two, crossways,
Just abatt the englne-ioom. The stern
part OF the vessel immediately surged,
n.lcd. aud went down.-London Times,
Apru I. --..-.--..........-.
Prince SCnwARzESBERG, the Prime
Minister of Austria, who died at Vienna
ON the 9th Apr.i, was born Oct. I'd, 1900.
HIS life has bcen distinguished for Eeen-
tiousnc.s aud pertuy; politically aud
morally, he was u curse to humanity, aud