Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1854-10-14
SOME FURTHER PARTICULARS OF THE LOSS OFF
THE STEAMER ARCTIC.


announces the arrival at ST. Johns, IN. F.) on the
Sd instant, of the screw steamer Vesta, with her
foremost and bows shattered to pieces she being
the vessel that came in collision with the Arctic
| The Vesta picked up and carried into port
thirty-one of the Arctc's crew. She lost thirteen
of her passengers supposed to be those who were
run down by the Arctic in small boat.
| Three of the Arctc's boats are yet missing, but
being fe-boats, it is not improbable that they have
been picked up. The vessels sent in search from
St. Johns returned on the Sd instant without hav-
ing discovered any trace of them or of the wreck.
We extract from the New York Commercial Adj
vertiser Of Wednesday evening a few additional
particulars of this appalling calamity:
gloom has been thrown over the city this morning
by the dreadful news that the steamship Arctic has
foundered ut and that Capt LUCE the wife, daughter
and son of E. K. COLLINS, EDWARD SANFORD, and many
residents Of New York. beside Git is supposedly than
hundred of the passengers and have persisted
In token of public for this awful disaster the flags
Of the custom-house the Merchants Exchange, &c., and
all the shipping in the harbor flying at halfmas
The brought to the city by the pilot boat Chris
tian Berg which boarded the ship Lebanon outside the
Hook and took on board Mr.. GEoRoE H. BURNS, Adams
express messenger VINO WAS Que Ol
Of the wreck and had statement Of the disaster
prepared for the press This statement published in
| the National Intelligencer of yesterday
| We have seen and examined Thomas Brennan oiler,
Edward Brian Patrick Mahon Patrick Carey and Patrick
Tobin, remen, five survivors Of the wreck, who
saved in the boat with Mr. Burns, and they
borate his statement in every particular Of which 1t
possible for them to have any personal knowledge We
have also derived from them additional particulars
| of interest.
We learn from Brennan that the iron propeller was
French After the collision she launched boat and sent
it with ten aboard to communicate with the Arctic.
This boat struck the side of the Arctic and mmed
ately swamped and swept under her starboard wheel,
which killed FIVE of the men, and the rest drowned
except who picked up by the crew Of the Arctic
This man could not speak English.
Our nformants who saved in the Francis metallic
fe-boa No. 727, with Mr. Dorian third officer &c., say
that all the other Ave boats larger and better than
it, except the in which Mr. Rogers chief engineer
his party took refuge and that Of the size
as No. 727. Mr. Rogers's boat well supplied with
provisions, having ITO lbs Of cooked beef five buckets
Of water full of boiled potatoes and lot Of
pies and preserves Mr. Rogers had compass other
nautical instrument, and the weather too thick
the day after the wreck to take observation of the
yet it is thought that his boat would be likely
reach land which supposed to be than forty
miles distant As to the four other boats, inform
could not tell whether they provisioned had
| any instruments.
Alexander Grant, fireman. Michael Russell coal passer
John Riley coal passer and several forward cabin pas
sengers foated off from the Arctic DOORS planks spars
other fa RATS which, 1t is feared could not sustain
them long amid the heavy Most of the forward cabin
passengers English Welsh miners and Germans
going to California
There great number Of preservers board,
but the India-rubber proved almost useless. The
tin ones did good service Our informants number
of bodies Of dead and men, with preservers on,
/ floating on the waves
I Richard Makan, fireman, who Is one of the number
taken to Quebec by the Huron, standing the star
board wheelhouse Of the Arctic when she went down.
Having good lfepreserver, he to the surface
and although he weighed down by overcoat and
other heavy garments he continued to swim about three
quarters of mile toward Mr. Dorians boat which pick
/ ed him up.
Among families the afflicted by this calamity
are E. r. COLLINS and JAMES Brown of Brown Brothers
g. Co. MIR. Collins has lost his wife, his only daughter
and son. Mr.. Brown has lost his son. w. B. Brown
with his wife and child his daughter, Mrs George F.
/ Allen with her husband and child aud his daughter
Miss Maria Brown aged about H. 1t is seldom that
have to record many victims Of death in family
The sympathies of the whole community deeply
aroused toward these afflicted families well to-
ward all who have lost relatives and friends by this ter
rible disaster.
Mr. Collins returned this morning from Washington,
and the sad intelligence communicated to him az he
crossing from Jersey City, about o'clock A. NJ
on his way home. Overwhelmed by the extent of this
calamity, he immediately left the city for his residence
i in West Chester county.
Since preparing the foregoing narrative for the press
have conversed with two of the passengers who
rived here in the Lebanon They confirm the statement
of Mr. Burns in all its parts 1t compiled after con-
sutaon among those saved and with the aid of oil the
facts within the knowledge Of each will be observed
however, that have CLEANED additional parti-
culars.
The most important Of these is in relation to Of
the female passengers having been saved Mr. Thomp-
son. of New Orleans says that he eight of these
in of the boats Of whom, he informed, was
Miss Schmidt, who, with her father, was board on
her return from tour in Europe The father was
among those seen on the wreck when it went down.
The opinion Of both gentlemen is that all in the boats
are saved The first officer who had been sent in the
boat if those the propeller in need Of
lief when informed that the could not wait for
him. was directed to the course it was necessary to
steer for the land in the hearing of all those who subse
queny took the other boats and the inference is that
they were fully instructed on that head
The weather perfectly calm at the time Of the
cident, and the smooth the waters of
inland bay 1t continued for about twenyfour hours
when stiff breeze sprang up, accompanied by rough
II is hoped that before this happened the boats
reached place Of comparative safety.
Both the passengers with whom We have conversed
were below at the time Of the collision They afterwards
heard however, that the propeller stem to the
her stem. 1t supposed that the Arctic had escaped
without serious damage and the only felt
for those on board the propeller. This the
until after the first officers boat had left the ship.
Directly after the collision the steam pumps put
in motion, and all the hand pumps were manned. The
former kept going long d. the engine worked,
/ and the latter until the ship went down.