The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1854-11-22
Z | C q M0ND, VA;
WEDNESDAY MORNING, NOVEMBER "a, 1854
THE DISASTER TO THE U. s. STEAMSHIP
MASSACHUSETTS

We have already given brief account of the
disaster to the U. s. steamship Massachusetts 8,
which sailed from Rio on the 2lst of September,
with the-U. s. sloop-of-war Decatur, and encoun-
tered terrible gale on the following day Letter
in the Portsmouth Globe, dated on board at Rio on
the oath, Gays:
We had fine wind, and kept in company with
the Decatur that day and night; the next morning
II commenced TO blow and rain and continued TO
increase till two P. \, , when the commander
deemed necessary TO shorten sail TO the shortest
sails possible At 30 she was very near thrown
on her beams end. She remained down for mo.
ment, when she was relieved by the main mast
going by the board close by the deck carrying with
It the miZzen top-mast and lee bulwarks. They
then cut the mast adrift and while doing So ii got
under the ship where, presume it has very near
thumped hole in her; however. with some trouble
1t was cleared, to our great relief but only for a
moment, for another sea struck her, which carried
away the mzZen mast about two feet from the
decks, carrying the bianacle lee quarter boat bu
warks. Captains gig, and smashing in the poop
deck. by this time she was running before the
wind, aud rolling so that it was utterly impossible
to stand. However, by severe labor cleared the
deck 30 that we could get about the deck
1t was then discovered that the foremast was
working badly but by getting extra stays on it we
Kept II standing, although she woudfrequently roll
so much that the water would very near come over
the poop which you know is unusually high A.
, ocltc we started to tack her. and in doing so
thought she would capsize, and believe we would
have done 80 but for the engnes-they worked ad.
tnirabiy and were got in operation in en- hour and
hteen minutes after the sccident We then COM
fnenced to fire minute guns for the Decatur as she
was seer fifty minutes before the masts were car
ried away but rainad SO hard presume she did
not see or hear. That night we kept her head to
the wind and steamed her full power which forced
US ahead at the rate OF one, two and three knots
as the wind increased and decreased The next
morning she still continued to pitch badly. We
saw bark before the wind We fired signal
gun, but she kept on scudding
On the 13d the wind decreased, but we were labor
ing under great fear for the foremast hch vbrated
ike pendulum; but the enFiaes contiU ued to work
well, so we put all of our reliance in them. although
the boilers bad commenced to leak caused, thins,
from the working OF the ship. At night we rolled
badly, which made the engines work irregular "
towards morning we disc vered the lights at the
Honth of this hal bnr. The wDd moderated and we
got to our anchor about ten this morning perfectly
exhausted, for we lad not eaten slept since the
storm came on. which has been three DAYS
w hat Is most surprising, have not lost a man.
although several are jured. Mr. Patterson has his
arm scaided but not badly Mr. Howell has Loaf the
end OF his thumb Mr. Forrest had his sd cut open
and ell the rest are bruised.
Two days later the same correspondent writes that
survey has been held, and the Massachusetts has
been taken to the navy5 ard in Rio and she is to be
fitted out for in two months