The weekly Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1854-1861, 1856-04-03
NARROWING CALAMITY AT SEAL.
Fearful encounter Of ths John RHfledgs 9th an
tas iceberg.
Probable Loss OF one Hundred
mud Fifty Lives.

NHF lceberg. A
Probable Loss Of one Hundred
mud Fifty Lives.
Several Persons Starved to Death in an
Open Boat.
ONLY ONE MAN RESCUED.
A Erightful Narrative of Suffering.
OTHER LOSSES g. MISADvENTUREs
Our citizens were startled yesterday with
news Of another terrible disaster at sea-
The sad fate Of the Pacific, almost certain
now; the news successfully brought by the
Arago, the Atlantic, the Baltic, the Persia,
the A fricG, the EdiRbur9, and by numerous
sailing vessels which have arrived at this
port, impressed upon the community the
fact that there never has been more ice, and,
consequently, more danger, encountered in
the navigation of the Atlantic ocean, than
in the last three months The bad wealth.
er which we have experienced on shore adj
ded to our anxiety for the tempest.tossed
voyagers at sea. Ships have been out
forty, fifty, sixty, even one hundred days
And many, many hearts are throbbng with
the keenest anxiety at the moment the read
er is perusing this paragraph, for the fate of
beloved friends who were consigned this
last Winter to the perils of the ocean.
The news which troubled the City yester.
day was very terrible in its character In
one of Smollett's or Cooper's or Captain
Marryatts, or Eugene Sues naval roman
cas-, it would have made frightful episode,
and held the reader breahleos. In Sues
SaidmGnder there is a vived and awful scene
of the kind, and yet it does no possess half
the horror OF this reality.
The GsrmGnia, a packet ship, command.
ed by Captain Wood, sailed from Havre on
the Goth of January. She encountered Sc.
we're westerly gales during the entire pass.
aye. -....e
Some days, of course, were worse than
others. A hurricane Of unusual violence,
came from the South, and met her. She
braved its fury for twelve hours, but her
sails were blown out of the gaskets. The
barometer stood at ~ deg. SO min. when the
hurricane commenced. Alter it terminated,
the gues from the West, violent though
they were, seemed almost aszephyre in
comparison. II was one of the hurricanes that
that sailors come out of with exhausted
lrameseand large expenditure OF tobacco,
for seumen always chew violently when
there is real danger of going to the bottom
out of which landlubbers OF passengers pro-
duce themselves, with palid faces, unkempt
hair aud resolution to be constant in fu.
ture attendance al church.
The westerly gales continued. and scarce
ly Stacked at all till in latitude 45 deg. 3
min. NJ, and longitude 4G deg. 40 W., the
Germaaia fell in with icebergs. These were
! large, but scattered; but the intense cold
prevriiing showed that large field of ice
was in the ueighborhood. Shortly before
dusk 10y, which had prevailed Tor so me
time cleared away, and tie Id OF ice pre-
Sented itself of enormous extent, stretching
to the north east as far as the telescope
! could penetrate. The danger to the ship
was immineti but by standing away imme.
diately to the southeast she escaped direct
peril, and in about three hours rot clear OF
lit altogether. In her Southern course, how
ever, he still had ice in view. AS far as
latitude so deg % min. w., icebergs were
visible between her and the hJrrizcn. Grad
ualIy they grew less and less numerous, till,
ntter having penetrated fur enunah 10 the
SDuth, once more turned herself tow ards the
American coast
The horrors were yet to come. Feb. 2S.
a hips bout was observed in the distance,
rowed or steered by no individual, although
human beings were plaiay seen lrom tn,
! 10 nf ha 4
fell with the waves, and was evidently at
at their mercy. Capt Wood orwardpd II
boat to the rescue OF the sufferers ON board
the little drifting craft When it WAS reach
ed very horrible spectacle presented itself,
and one which will never be forgotten by
those On whose eyes it fell
There were five people in the boat, OF
whom tour-qnd one of those wnmau--
were dead young seaman, aged 23 yrarh,
Thomas w. Nye, of New Bedford, sat
among the dead bodies OF his more .unior-
iunatc companions, his hands and teet ter,
ribly froZen, and his strength altogether
exhausted by starvation. lIe could not
rise without as' s'istance; he could not muyu
bis feet when he was risen. They lifted him
with care into the GermoniaS boat, and
they rowcd buck to the chip. Then they
learned from the youn. sailor the whole oi
the terrible trugety
The packet ship John Ruttedye, command
cd by Captain Kelly, OF this city, and own.
ed by Messrs. Rowland g. Ridgeway, sailed
from Liverpool on January IS. She met
with severe weather, and fell in with ice, on
Feb. Is, in lat. As deg 34 min. NJ, Ion.
46 deg. w. The following day, abou,
mon, she entered field of ice, but cleared
Il. A few hours later she was precipitated
against an iceberg, which steve hole in
her bow, into which tae water poured IN u
volume. At sunset she was evidently sink.
ing, and had to be hustiy abandoned. Be.
sides the crew, there were ll9 passengers
on board. When she sailed from Liver
pool, there were 100 passengers, but one
OF them met with un accident before the
ice was encountered, and died in conse.
quence. There was only one cabin pass
enger; all the rest were in the steerage,
and were a mixture of English, Irish and
Scotch, but belonging to better class OF
emigrants than those which usually land.
upon our shores. AS soon as it was certain
that there was no possibility of saving the
ship, and that she must soon 60 TO the bot,
tom, her five boats were lowered, and us
many of the passengers and crew 0s could
find their way Into them, Immediately did
50. What food could be snatced up, in the
extremity Of desperation, was placed in the
boats, together with demijohns of water and
| compasses. Men, women and children,
were huddled together, with no more cover
ing than they had Oh them at the time Of the