Weekly national intelligencer., 1854-01-21

held on to. Before night succeeded In getuhg On
board the Kilby upward Of one handrea nJ Family
women and children, including Col. Gates anu nanny
Major Merchant and family, Capt Juda anu my,
Fremont and family Lieut. Loeser ana fanny, GaPaa
Gardner Lieut. Murray Of the q. g. N, MT asPt W.T.
Mr. J. L. Graham Mr. J. Farnesworth, ana MT SCUM
vark Also sent on board quantity Of stores during
the night the wind increased to squay weather nv aoo
10 o'clock the Kilby let go our haWser, anu AZ n ~
ing nothing to be seen OF the hoy nS
the night strong breeze from the southwest anu
during the night Lewis Testador, colored waiter ded
DEo 3O-Cloudy weather with strong gales from
southwest ship laboring heavily employed IN stopping
number Of the troops hands had become sick Of
diarr6na and many dying daily. Continued to throw
coal overheard and to free the ship from water
DEG 31-Moderate gales from the southwest all hands
employed stopping water out of the ship and throwing
coal overheard Two A. NJ made ship standing to west
ward; fred guns throughout the night and at A. was
spoken by the ship Three Bells Capt Robert Creighton
OF Glasgow who told to be OF good cheer for ne would
lay by US. VIM. Wilson, colored waiter, died
SUNDAY JAM Throughout the day heavy gale from
northwest accompanied by heavy sea; ship aboring
very heavily The Three Bells still in company and oc-
casionally passing under our lee.
JAM 2.-Gale from the northwest continued, with high
sea, although the wind was somewhat more moderate
We built two rafts launched of them and made IT
fast but at daylight it was gone The ship, however,
still kept in company Latter part Of the DAY mucn tne
same sort Of weather The Three Bells passed quite
der our lee and communicated with u.s. Still great many
sick and dying among the troops and hremen;
TUESDAY, JAN 3.-Commenced with moderate gales
from the northwest. Boat Of Three Bells came along
side and Mr. Greton second officer was sent on board
by Major Wyse senior United States ocer on board 10
charter her for the Government During the ngn iresh
gales continued from northwest fred guns through tne
night and the Three Bells holding on to windward Az
eight A. NJ made another SAIL running before the WIND
and apparently steering directly for us Holsted our
soors union down. md shs stranger saul
close under our bows She proved to be the ship
tic bound to Liverpool. She spoke us, and asked
we wished to the ship to which Capt Watkins re-
piled that he did, The captain Of the Antarctic then told us
to be Of good cheer as he would take us an or ne
filed his mantopsail and shot ahead some three miles
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 4-Wore ship and lowered away
two boats The Three Bells also sent her boat and we
succeeded in embarking some seventy or eighty passen
gers before night The Antarctic had her two boats
stove Just at night During the night the weather was
moderate and pleasant with prospect of hne day Fired
guns through the night and our companions burned
blue lights At A. NJ. commenced embarkng our pas
sengers again Latter part of nghtweaher quite mode
rate pleasant The Three Bells got her long boat and
she being short provisions and water the long boat
much used for transporting water and provisions To-
day the Antarctic able to lower only one boat LOT want
of oars.
THURSDAY, JAN. s. The weather being moderate and
pleasant got along quite fast in embarking the peo
pie and provisions and by sunset we had all the troops
and quantity Of provisions and water embarked The
night continued moderately pleasant At A. NJ, 9Th
again commenced sending water and provisions to the
Three Bells. We then embarked the crew, and by hall
past every soul out Of the ship
engineer. These then embarked-Capt Watkins being
the last to quit the wreck.
Mr. Melus states that the sickness and deaths were
confined entirely to the troops, hremen and waters
Having of cooking on board, they eat impru
denty of preserved meats and fruits which resulted II
diarrhea There was sickness among the cabin pas
sengers officers Of the ship, crew Mr. Melus states
that the captain of the Three Bells of Glasgow and thu
captain of the Antarctic, well the captain OF tht
Kby deserve the highest praise for their persevernl
exerons to the lives Of the people on board OF h
San Francisco. ,'. Nj. ....'..'
STATEMENT OF LIEUT.. w. A. wINDER. ..
The noble steamship San Francisco, which left New
York the 23d ultimo, in thirtysx hours after sh'
passed Sandy Hook was total wreck. On the night O.
the third day violent gale set in, and Lieut. w. whose
stateroom was the upper deck found that the afte
guards tearing close by him and that water wa
flowing in copously In short time it was foot deep
and the trunks and other movebes were washing about
About day light he got up and ascertained that th
ship had broached to- presenting her sides to the heavy
seas which fearfuy rough. He then went into th
lower cabin, where he found group OF ladies collected
the foot Of the stairway mattresses to keep then
from the water, of which there was good deal on th
foor Laying his head Of the steps and holding
on to the bansters to steady himself hc soon asleep
But only short time elapsed when the ship was struc
by a heavy sea- Immediately followed by rush Of wate
sweeping down the companion way carrying with piece
Of timber and various articles. Lieut. W. was struck OF
the head and breast by the latter, nurng him severely
and he was swept across the cabin with force amos
sufficient to stun him. After repeated efforts he
abled regain his feet and persons climbing up the
steps He followed and the presented reaching
the deck was such pen describe The ship was
rolling from side to side at the mercy OF the waves the
sea breaking completely over her at every roll Before
him Law the bodies OF two dead soldiers, killed by the fol
Of the upper cabin and the surface Of the waves for
considerable distance strewed with great number
Of soldiers who had been into the cabin to pro
tect them from the weather) struggling for their lives
ALI the boats were swept away both Wheehouses Wer
gone besides large quantity of live stock, intended fo
provisions hen-coops, &C. AT least one hundred ant
fifty men, including four officers, among the lost
The struggles Of the drowning animals frustrated the OF
forts of many themselves, which otherwise nigh
have been ayailng. AS it was nothing could be done II
save them, and the whole were soon enguphed In wa
terry grave. The officers lost were COL Washington, Ma
jor Taylor land wife,, Capt Field, and Lieut.. Smith
Nothing but the top Of the upper cabin remained all tn
staterooms having been washed away, with those VIII
occupied them. Some of the mass went previously
The primary cause of this disaster the breaking
Of little pistonrod to the airpump, probably not NOR
than two and half inches in diameter.
During the gale many persons were washed off the YES
sell but were enabled regain their position by the re
turn of the which bore them away Sergeant Brow
was washed off less than four times. The first wav
swept him away twenty feet and the next bore him back
Several soldiers and two cabin passengers had similar
perience.
The next move of Lieut. W. was to scramble over tn
dead bedies before him to seek place more O
fcers were holding to the deck themseve
from going overheard. The ship now looked as thoug
she was full of and had settled down to the water
edge and Lieut. W. thought the deck separated fror
the hull forming sort of raft In addition to these h9i
rors the cold intense and it being impossible to re
tain hold, Lieut.. w. went to the mizzen mast wher
was Lieut. Murray u S. NJ whose impression also wa
that the ship had broken in two. This position
tanned until the first mate approached with an axe t
cut the mast away, but in this he failed.
"a. ~ -r~u-l .a~knr r1xnrn t,nr