Washington sentinel. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1853-1855, 1854-10-13
From the Journal Of Commerce Of Wednesday.
THE ARCTIC.
STATEMENT os MR.. BURNS, OF ADAMS AND co.'s
tttt EXPRESS

| fFOm the JOufhdl ct commerce OF wednesday,.
THE ARCTIC.
STATEMENT os Mr.. BURNS, OF ADAMS AND co.'s
EXPRESS.
The steamship Arctic, with 226 passengers,
exclusive of children, IT'S employees, valua'
Bile cargo, and heavy mail is lost. Of the
more than four hundred souls who left Liver
pool on the 10th ult., full of hope, gaiety, and
health, many returning from an European tour
of pleasure, only thirty-two are known to have
been saved, and certainly not more than one
hundred can, by any possibility have escaped
a watery grave.
In addition to all this, another large steamer,
freighted with hundreds of human beings, has,
in all probability, met like fate. The details
| OF the horrible disaster are as follows:
| On Wednesday, September n, precisely at
| IL o'clock, m, dense fog, we came IN contact
with barque-rigged iron propeller, with black
hull, salmon-colored bottom, lead colored poop
and boats, and black pipe. She was bound
eastward, and had all sail set, with strong
fair wind. The speed of the Arctic at the
time was about thirteen knots an hour. The
shock appeared TO us slight, but the damage to
the other vessel was frightful. Captain Luce
instantly ordered the quarter boats cleared
away, and the chief mate, boatswain and three
sailors sent to her relief; before the other
boats left, the order was countermanded. The
Arctic then described circle twice round the
wreck, during which time | caught glimpse
of more than two hundred people clustered on
her hurricane deck.
At this iuncture it was first ascertained that
we had sustained injury, and the water was
pouring in at our bows. When the first officer
came alongside to report, the Captain was UNI
able to take him up, but headed N. N. W., in
the hope of making land. Our position on the
| previous day, at IL O'Clock, was latitude 48 80,
longitude as 81. We had run about three
hundred and ten miles from the time OF this
observation until the moment of collision, and
was supposed to be forty miles from Cape Race.
The pumps were vigorously worked, and an
Choir chain thrown overheard but, in spite of
all exertion, the engines stopped, and the water
extinguished the fires.
| -Four Of the five other life boats believed to
have been well provisioned, containing the en-
| gineers, sailors, a few passengers, and all the
officers except the captain and third mate, left
the ship at an early stage. The majority OF
the passengers were working at the pumps
some firing the signal guns, and others launch
| ing spars, under the direction of Captain Luce
and Mr. Dorian, the third mate, to form
raft
In order to facilitate this latter work, the
| sixth and last boat was lowered. Dorian, one
or two firemen, three of the other passengers
saved, and myself, were busily engaged lashing
water casks and settees to the main yard, two
| topeallant Yards, and several smaller spars-
| the captain, with a number of gentlemen, pro-.
tecting the work by keeping back the crowd
| when panic seized all on board, rush was
! made, passengers and fremen precipitated
themselves headlong over the bulwarks on to
| the raft, aud in o moment our little boat was
| full, and in imminent danger of being sunk.
| In this emergency, Dorian ordered the rope
which held us to the steamer to be cut, and
with our hands and axes we padded from the
RATS side The mate, who throughout pre-
served great presence of mind, Gnd iabored
with heroic energy, cried out for God's sake,
Captain. clear the raft, so that we can work.
won't desert the ship while there's timber
| above water"
But the sea was now flush with the dead lights
| In less than three minutes from the time he
| spoke, the stern sunk--the foam went boiling
over the tum blingheap Of human beings-many
were dashed forward against the pipe. heard
one wild yell, (still ringing in my ears,) and
saw the Arctic and the struggling mass rapidly
engulphed. Numbers yet chung TO the imper-
f.cily constructed raft but, alas, we could rem
der them no aid. Our own situation was no
| less precarious; and, cruel as it seemed, we
| were forced to abandon them to fate. Heaven
| forbid that should ever witness such another
scene We however picked up two more men,
ard then. with an overloaded boat, without oars,
| tbolep;ns food or drink, avoiding with difficulty
the fragments of the wreck, and passing many
dead females. prenared for q night upon the
ocean. We secured d floating pumpkin and
cabbage to guard against i'm Mediate starvation,
dashed spar to the bow of our HSnat 10 Keep
her head to the wind and sea, and thus eu'sh
until daylight; the night was cold and foggy,
with a heavy swell and, in cramped, drenched
and half naked condition, we suffered terribly
Without dwelling upon our miseries, ale.
waited much by the consciousness that we had
endeavored to do our duty to our fellow men,
suffice it TO say that at FIVE o'clock on the after.
noon Of the 18th, we espied sail, and raised
| a handkerchief to attract attention. We we're
successful. With the rude substitute for oars
which we had constructed during the day BY
flashing planks TO capstan bars, with view OF
attempting to gain land when the sea subsidized,
we pulled towards the ship. On our way we
passed the remnant of the raft, with one man
on it apparently alive.
The barque proved TO be the Huron, of St.
Andrews, N. B., Captain A. Wall, bound for
Quebec. Our men safe on board, the noble
hearted Dorian, with some Of the Huron's crew,
returned TO the raft, and rescued the poor
fellow who for twenty-six hours had chung 10
the spars. He states that after the steamship
sunk, he counted seventy-two men and four
women on the raft, but at 81 o'clock he was
the only one alive. In the morning, two bodies
were beside him, much eaten by fish, and at
the time he saw our boat he was on the point
of voluntarily dropping into the sea to end his
agony. Coming from the raft, Dorian encoun-
tered and examined the life car of the Arctic.
1t contained bottle of water, some cheese and
lady's garment.
By the humane captain Of the Huron, and
Mr.. Wellington Cameron, a son of the owner,
we we're received with great kindness, our
wounds dressed, fires kindled, and food and