New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1856-03-25
COLLISION WITH AN ICEBERG
A NEW-YORK PACKET-SHTP FOUNDERED.
ONE HUNDRED AND THIRTY
FIVE LIVES LOST!
Nine Days of Horror in an Open Boat.
ONLY ONE SURVIVOR.
T HRILLING NARRATIVE E..

ledge, Capt. Kelly, of New-fOrk, while on her voy-
age from Liverpool to this port struck upon ice
berg and sank with the mate carpenter and 80 to IS
passengers on board. Our information in regard TO
this disaster is derived from the only known survivor
Thomas w. Nye Of New-Bedford. So far as we have
been able to learn the subjoned narrative contains all
ofthe facts in the case:
The packetshp John Rutledge left Liverpool on the
10th Of January with 40 passengers, and crew of
officers and numbering, all told, l6 persons
During the passage she encountered severe weather.
One of her crew was washed of the bowsprt,
and male passenger was carried through the bull
warks by heavy sea and drowned On the Goth Of
February the John Rutledge struck by an ice
berg, and went down. From the ogbook of the mate,
which was saved in the boet with the boy Nye, we
extract the following entries:
"Monday 18th February-6 m, thick, foggy,
with drizzly rain Middle and latter part, strong
breezes and rainy. Passed several icebergs both
sdes Passed within ten feet Of the weather side
Lat dead reckoning, 45s 81 NJ; Ion. d. r.. 40 Sc
W."
"Tuesday, 10Th. p. m-Foows with light winds
and hezy The vessel was surrounded with ioebergs;
it being very difficult to steer clear of them. At
saw large field of ice ahead tried to steer clear of
it, but there being little wind got down to the ship
before could get past it, and the wind dying away,
we could not steer clear At IL the ship was COM
pletely wedged in with drif-ice and very large ice
bergs in all directions and the breeze sprngng right
aft there was alternative but to proceed through
it, The further got in the thicker the ice got, and
the greater the number OF icebergs. Midnight, light
winds and the ship making very little Roadway through
the ice. D. morning. the same. g. steady breeze, and
the ship making more headvay. Passed some very
large bergs. At 9 the l.
Here the log abruptly terminates. From this we
infer that the collision with the iceberg took place be-
tween and 10 o'clock OF the morning of the Goth of
February. And it would seom that the mate was
writing up his log when the fatal shock occurred The
ship was abandoned about six O'Clock the same even
ing. Before leaving his vessel, Capt. Kelly, finding
that she leaked badly, manned the pumps with pas
sengers and seaman and the leak continued to gain
upon her. had about 100 bags of salt and number Of
crates of crockery broken out of the fore hold aud
thrown overheard. Getting clear of the ice AFTER
it was discovered that plank was started from the
forefoot, and an attempt was made to stuff the leak
with blankets and rags. 1t appears that this was not
very successful as the captain subsequently decided
TO abandon the vessel. There were five large boats
on board in which 1874 persons were to be saved
How the captain bore himself at this time could
not learn ~ the survivor lies in very critical stua
tom and il was as much az his life worth to ques
ton him closely. We only know that four boats
put off before that in which Nye was.
The captains boat was the only one of the four which
had a compass How Capt Kelly distributed the
provisions and seamen could not learn. The last
boat which left the ship contained only thirteen per-
sons. 1t appears that Atkinson the mate, put his
wife into this boat and, with the carpenter went to
sound the pumps. While they were gone the boat
was struck by heavy seo which broke her from her
fastening and she rapidly drted from the ship, leav
ing the mate and carpenter with from thirty to thirty
FIVE of the passengers, on board. When last seen the
ship was down TO her mzzen chains in the water and
from the character of her cargo-sa, iron and crock
ery-she probably went down in a short time alter
ward OF the thirteen persons in the last boat, there
were four women little girl, FIVE male passengers
Mr.. Nye, Scotch sailor, and the boatswain an Irish
man. whose wife resides in Newlork. For the SUBJ
sistence 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 boat, but his
wife. in leapng from the ship, had brokea it. Cast
thus hepessy upon the open sea- among the fogs and
mists of the Banks of Newfoundland, and surrounded
by diff and berg ice, their prospect could hardly have
been more gloomy Soon after the boat broke adrht,
night came op-how it passed may be imagined. From
what we could learn, but little said by any one,
and probably all of them soon came to realizing
sense of their dreadful situation fer as soon as Mrs.
Atkinson entered the boat she seized the vessel con-
tanning the water, and being a large robust woman,
fought of all who attempted to obtain drink from it,
Nye got only two or three swallows; the rest was
~ Inat hot ,srNnai m
was made of the bread does not appear The probabp
ity is that there organization whatever among
the little party, but every one looked out for himself
Having compass, nor sign 10y which to steer, they
did not themselves other than to keep the boat
before the The sailors were warmly clothed, as
was also Mrs. Atkinson; but the passengers, for the
most part, very scantily attred, and suffered
keenly from the cold. Day after day only dawned to
raise their spirits anew with hopes of succor, which
the long and dreay nights turned to the bitterness of
despair Thus time passed until the third day, when one
of the little band whose clothes were quite too
thin to shield him from the bleak weather, sank under
the combined effects OF cold and hunger and his body
was committed to the deep. Then woman died in
the arms of her husband and little daughter, and her
corpse was also silently dropped into the sea. The
fourth day came, and with it the same angry sea- the
same lcaden sky-no ray of hope anywhere visible.
The cold intense that il almost froze the mar
row, and not drop of water could be obtained,
while only small quantity of food remained. HumaR
nature could not bear up much longer against this
exposure and prvation, when, just as they were
about to give up al hope, the wind lued, and 10
brig hove in sight. She was not very far Oh, and
they pulled for her with might and main. Signals
were also made. For some time they seemed TO gain
nnon her but she did not see them, and the wind
fIeshepipr she was soon out of sight. With her went
all hone burning thirst soon fell upon all of them.