New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-09-23
THE GREAT WRE}Il

| America calamity, the officers OF the Unit d n ties
Mail Steamship Company have been enga ed u the
preparation OF full statement by the surv wing Or
Of the steamer of the facts connected with the
disaster ard its causes. At O'Clock yee'erde7 the
statement, in the form Of marine protest, wa con
| pleted q. the office Of Messrs. johnson Egsns,
corner of Wall and Water streets and was sxorn 10
and signed by Messrs. Frazer, Black, Asbby and
| Keefer.
The document is as follows:
UNITED STATES OF AaERIcA-Sfa,e of Nar. York
| CITY Of York, $50 all People to whom these
Presents shall come or may concern: l, Charles A.
Rapallo public notary in and for the State Of New
York by letters patent under the great seal Of the
said State, duly commissioned ard sworn, dwelling ia
the City of New-York, send greeting Know ye, that
oNe twenty second day of September, in the year Of
90 kCrd thousand eight hundred ami eft seven
| beNis me appeared James NJ. Frazer, second mate,
and senior officer known TO be surviving, of the steam
ship called the Central America ard noted in due form
of law with me- the said notary his protest Tor the
uses AID purposes hereinafter men;iOned and at
this day-to wit the day OF the cate hereof-befOre
me- the said Rotary, at the City of NewYork afore-
seid, again the said James NJ. Frazer, aud
qures to extend his protest. and together with the
said James NJ Frazer also come John Black boat
swain, George e. Ashby (chief engineer and Henry
Keefer second assistant engineer, belonging to the
aforesaid steamship, all of whom being by me duly
sworn the Holy Evangelists OF Almighty God,
voluntarily freely and soennly DO declare, and de-
pcse as follows that t. - say that on the afternoon
Of the Sd day Of ptemher, 1857, at about halfPast
four o'clock he. the said James NJ. Frazer set sail
and departed in and with the said steamship Central
| America as second mate thereof from the port OF
Aspnwall In Central America-the ssid John Black,
| George f. Ashby and Henry Keefer being also on
ties above stated; that William l.. Herrdon was
| master, and &. NJ. Van Rensselaer, first mate OF
said ste amshp; and that the said steamship had
ON board a cargo of merchandise and treasure
nd A Number Of ma and hound FL the
port of NewYcrk via Havana; that the said steam
rhp then stout stanch and strong had her cargo
well and sufficiently slowed and securedi Wa well
masted, manned tackled, vctualed, eppaTeled aud
appointed: and ives in every respect fit for sea and
the voyage she about TO make. That in the due
prose cuop Of said voyage the said steamship srrived
"a Havana in safety the afternoon OF the 9TH day OF
September 1857, where che remained until about -
O'Clock on the morning Of the 9Th day OF september,
1851 That fhe thence proceeded on her voyage with
ordinary weather and without any unusual occurrence
until about midnight when the wind began perceptby
to fefhen from the northeast that the wind and
weather continued without much variation until mid
night OF the 9th of September 1857, when began 10
increase and continued increasing until the morning of
the lth wheD at o'clock a. it blew violent gale
from pOIh northeast with heavy sea, aud the de-
ponents James NJ. Frazer and John Black,
kept her course but had been much retarded by
the wind. The Opponent james M. Frazer, vas
10 cha,ge Of the deck until q. m. OF the lith,
when he left the in charge of tie third officer,
who If not DfeetLt SLU Is suppostu 10 Dt Iost nv
ship was then according his calculation in latitude
81 4j' N ana long AIDE 7S' 10. T1e gale continued
ma eisIng until noon. when deponents watch on ceek
recommended, and or taking charge Of the deck be
fouId the ship still lie course, aud was informed
that the storm spencer had been act during his Alb
soncc TO keep the ships head 10 the wind bat that It
had b. en- Immediately blown away by tue violence OF
the gale, and some Canvas had bern put 90 the MAN
and mizzen rigging as substitute Cor it. The depo-
nent, John Black, says he was on deck dur.
g the whole of the Gay Of the 18th, and that the
storm spencer was ret at 10 o'clock a. IN,
xnoer the direction of Captain Herndon, who
was present deck, and that immediately aflerwart
the fore yard was sent down by the captain direction
These facts reported to the deponen' James NJ.
Flazer oil his taking The deck at Aud the said
James b. Frazer further says that Capt HeindOn aud
Mr. Van Rensselaer,, the first mate were on deck dur
ing Opponents watch; that the ship was enabled 10
keen her course for about hall or three-quaters OF
an hour after o'clock. The wind Was hauling to the
norhwsrd and westward, and before o'clock p. m.
she was driven by the wind on her course toward the
southeast: Up to the time when she was 60
driven Of her course she had behaved weIi
At about | o'clock p. m. the depOnent, james
M. Frazer, wss directed by Mr. Van Rensselaer, the
first ,icer to g the bige pumps, which order depo'
nent Immediately obeyed, and found that the lee
pumps worked well and discharged water aoundantiy,
but The weather pumps did not work, there not being
water enough the ship TO supply them. The vessel
then had heavy liet 10 the starboard, and lead
further off into the trough of the sea. The wheels OF
the ship were then turning slowly. At this time
buckets being pas sed into the engine room, but
ma this work was not under deponents charge he de-
voted his entire attention to bis duties on deck.
AT about = o'clock p. M, it having then bsen
found impossible to get the ships neso 7. me SEQ,
the forestry sail with the object OF getting the
slim of before the wind and the canvas was at the
same tine taken from tie main and mlzzen rigging,
but Immediately on being set the staysa was 9o~a
To pieces. There was sill very heavy seq, ano lo
vaie continued unabated. An attempt was tnen
made to hoist the oreyald with the eeHs OF Ihe iore
ss lashed to eyebots in the deck in order to get
the ship before the wind, but before Inc yato nao
been raj ed three feet from the deck the san Dew
into fraguents The ib then cut from the Tore
topmat STAY to set iorestsysa but before was
bent on the forestay orders given 20 get drag
over to Try AND get The ships head TO the sea ins
drag consisting of the foreyard, with heavy Hedge
| anchor WAS then got over, with a nne'ineh haEser
| bent to the middle of the yerd. larger anchor
would have been used but Tor the reason the snip was
listed over on her beam ends that We could not gettne
ysrd tothe bow where these anchors were hung make
East 10 one of them We veered out on that hawser
SOME forty ffIy fathons. Then orders were gwen
| by the captain 10 cut away tne lolehas,' "Icn "as
done; ana after that we pad out ninety to iurdred
| fs,hcms ON the hawseT, which was made last
round the stump of the foremost, and led out OF the
forward cathead. During this penod we were aware
that the after pump was working lnc iorw1e pump
was not work king as the forey ara, from s position, y
ing across the roll prevented the working or 1t. A
10 the work going this time below deck or AT, our
ste ton beng entirely eDgrossed with our duties on
! the forward Geek, we knew nothing OF IT, As
| son as the yard was got drag,
| The forward pump was started aud worked
The drag had bo eject in bringing the ships head up
and that the last effort toward that ocject whcn
II was in our power TO make. Aftar that renamed
for several hous at the forward pumps, which were
worked steadily; the lee pump hove water all night
the weather pump hove water up to about midnight
| when the chamber burst The dep0neni, John BLACK
depoees that he remained at the forward pump antil
| about Il o clock a. n. The dtponeDt, James NJ
Frazer deposes that he remained them until about
| 10 or IL ocloek p. M when he weEi down lnto the