The Union and eastern journal. [volume] (Biddeford [Me.]) 1854-1858, 1856-04-04
Collision with an Iceberg. -one Hun
dred and Thirty-Five Lives Lost!
The ca,as,rOphs to The SHIP John RAti'dge'
Thrilling Narrative.

We have already given an account oil the
laundering at SEA of the packet ship John
Rutledge; ON her passage from Havre for
New York. We subjoin from the New
York Tribune further particulars of the
voyage together with the deeply affecting
statement Of Mr.. Thomas W. Nyc, Of Fair
haven, the only survivor of the voyage.
On the Goth of February the packet ship
John Rutledge, Capt. Kelley, of New York,
while on her voyage fiom Liverpool to this
port, struck upon an iceberg and sunk, with
the mate, carpenter, and 80 to 80 passcn-
gers on board Our information in regard
TO this disaster is derived from the only
known survivor, Thomas W. Nye, OF New
Bedford. 80 Ear rs we have been able 10
learn, the subjoined narrative contains all
OF the facts in the case:
The packet ship John Rutledge lelt Liver
pool on the 10th Of January, with 10 pas
sengcrs, and crow Of officers and men
numbering, all told, l6 persons. During
the passage she encountered severe weather.
Ono Of her crew was washed OF the bow
spirit, and male passenger was carried
through the bulwarks by heavy SEA and
drowned. On the Goth of February the
John Rutledge was struck by an iceberg,
and went down. From the log book OF the
mate. which was saved in the boat with the
boy Nye, we extract the following entries /:
MONDAY, 18th February-.Sa. m, thick,
foggy, with drizzly rain. Middle and latter
eral icebergs on both sides. Passed one
within ten fee. Of the weather side. Lat.
deid reckoning, 49, 81 N; Ion. ID. r., 40
Sc W"
TUESDAY, 10Th, p. m.-Follows with
light winds and hazy. Ths vessel was sur
rounded with iceborgs; il bemg very diff
cult TO steer clear Of them. At saw a
largo field Of ice ahead tried to steer clear
of it, but there being little wind 1t gOtdown
To the ship before we could get past it, and
the wind dying away, we could not steer
clear. At III the ship was completely
wedgcd in with drift ice and very large lee
bcrss in all directions, and the breeze spring
Ing right aft, there was no alternative but
to proceed through it. The further we got
in the thicker the ice got, and the greater
the number of iccbergs. Midnight, light
winds and the ship making very little head
way through the ice. 1, morning, the
same. 8, steady breeze, and the ship max
ing moro Roadway. Passed some very large
bergs. At 0 the l."
Here the log abruptly terminates. From
this we infer that the collision with the
iceberg took place between . and 10 O'Clock
on the morning of the 10Th OF February
And il would seem that the mate was writ
ing up his log when the fatal shock occur
red. The ship was abandoned about six
o'clock the same evening. Before leaving
his vessel, Capt. Kelly, finding that she
leaked badly, manned the pumps with pas
songcrs and scamcn; and US the leak con
tinucl 10 gain upon her, had about 100 bags
Of salt and u number Of crates of crOckcry
broken out OF the fore-hold and thrown
overheard. Getting clear of the Ice soon
after, il was discovered that a pla8S was
started from tho iorefOot, and an attempt
was made to stuff the leak with blankets and
rags. II app,ars that this was not very
successful, rs the captain subsequently dcci-
ded t. abandon the vessel. There were five
largo boats on board, in which l3i persons
himself ut this time we could not learn as
the survivor lies in very critical situation {;
aud il was as much as his life was worth to
question him closely. We only know that
four boats put or before that in which Nyo
was. The captains boat was the only one
of the four which had compass. How
Capt. Kelly distributed the provisions and
scImcn We could not learn. The last boat
which left the ship contained only thirteen
persons. Ii appears that Atkinson, the
mate, put his wife into this boat, AMI, with
the carpenter, went to sound tho pumps
While they We're gone the boat was struck
by heavy sea, which broke her from her
fistcnings, and she rapidly driftcd from the
ship, leaving the mate and carpenter, with
from thirty tn thirty-fyc of the passengers,
on board. When last seen the ship was
down TO her mizzcn chains in the water !;
and from the character of her cirgO-sllt,
iron and crockery-she probably went down
in short time aitcrward. OF the thirteen
persons in the last boat, there were four
women, one little girl, five male passengers,
Mr.. Nyc, Scotch sailor, and the bOatswain,
an lrishman, whose wife resides in New
York. For the subsistence OF these people
there was only one gallon Of water and six
or eight pounds Of bread. The mate had
placed a compass in the beat, but his wife,
in leaping from the ship, had broken it,
Cast thus helplcssly upon the open sea,
among the fogS and mists of the Banks of
Newfoundland, and surrounded by drift and
berg icc, their prospect could hardly have
been more gloom Soon after the boat
broke adrilt, night came on-hOw il passed
may bc imagined. From what we could
l,lTn, but little was said by any one, and
probably all Of them soon came TO realiz-
ing sense Of their dreadful situation, for as
soon rs Mrs. Atkinson entered the boat she
scizl the vessel containing the water, and
being large robust woman, fought of all
who attempted to obtain drink from it,
Nyc got only two or three swallows: the
rat was drank by hersclfand the boatswain.
What disposition was made Of the bread does
not appear. The probability Is that there
WIS no organization whatever among the
little party, bat every one looked out for
himself. Having no compass, nor sign by
which to steer, they did not exert themselves,
other than 10 keep the boat before the Sca.
The sailors were warmly clothed, rs was
also Mrs. Atkinson; but the passengers. for
the most pIrt, were very scIntily attirrd,
and suffered kcenly from the cold. Day af-
ter day only dawnd to rIiSo their spirits
ancw with hops of succor. which the long
and drcary nights turned TO the bitterness
of despair. Thus time paSssd until the
third day, when ono Of the little band,
man whose clothes were quits too thin to
shiold him from the bleak weather, sank un
der the combined eiijrts of cold and hunger,
and his body was committcd to the deep
Then woman died in the arms Of her hus-
baud and little daughter, and her corpse
was silently dropped into the sel. The
fourth day came, and with il the same an
cry scl. the same leldcn sky-no ray OF
hops anywhere visible. The cold was 81 in
tense that il almost froze the marrow, and
not a drop Of water could he obtained,
while only a small quantity Of food remains
ell. Human nature could not boar up much
longer against this exposure and primtion,
when, just ~ they were about 10 give up all
n A H