Daily national Democrat., 1858-10-29
The Burning Stenmer-PartIcuInrs about
the Ausfria

The Burning Stenmer-PartIcuInrs about
the Austria.
1t is now ascertained that the burning
steamer seen on the 18th of Sept in the mid
Atlantic, was the steamer Austria. The New
York Herald of the 9th, has long article
on the subject The following is telegram
containing the fullest description of the burn
ing vessel:
HALIFAX, Sept. %.
Capt Shaw, of the bark Arabia, which
arrived this morning. reports thatat o'clock
Oh the morning of the 10th inst, he fell in
with an iron screw steamer on fire. apparent
~ of twelve hundred tons She had gilt
crown eagle head and a straight stem, head
raked well forward, and her bottom had red
paint on Her upper works were destroyed
and the wood work above and below was al
consumed. Her masts were gone, and her
sides were falling in. The funnel was lying
on the starboard side, but its color could not
be told. The Arabian passed round the
stern of the steamer, but no name was dis
tinguishable She is supposed to have been
| burning corty. eight hours. The Arabian
sighted a brig four miles to leeward. Could
not descry boats or signs of sufferers in the
distance.
Numerous regrets were indulgcd in on
Saturday and yesterday that the Atlantic
| Telegraph is not in condition to furnish lis
with list of the missing vessels from the
other side, or whether any of the unfortunate
passengers had escaped and been conveyed
in eastern bound ships
The Austria sailed from Hamburg with 40
men and women aud l9 children in the l st
cabin l03 men and women and s children
in the I'd; and oil men and women and 80
children as steerage passengers-makug in
all 420 The crew consisted of about 100
persons; besides which she may have taken
ut Southampton some so or 60 extra steerage
passengers; making III all about 500 souls
We learn that the consignees are in some
doubt about the number of steerage passen-
gers, as one of their letters from Hamburg
states the number at only 220. The Austria
had eglfr life boats, which could not contain
anything like the number of passengers she
had on board but as the Arabian reports that
she had the appearance of having been burn.
ing for only forty eight hours and after sail.
ing round her and making close eXamna.
ton of the wreck, no signs of life were dis
covered, or boats, bodies, spars or remnants
of rafts, there is every reason to hope that
everybody on board had been taken off the
wreck. If such had not been the case there
would have been some evidence about the
wreck, for we have had abundant instances
of the support of life at sea for much longer
periods than forty eight hours Every YES
tige of five hundred or six hundr people
struggling for life, with boats, spars and ma
terals to build RATS, could not otherwise
have disappeared in two days, nor even in
week The spar or remnant of raft seen bv
the ship America, being some 500 miles to the
westward of the scene of the wreck, was too
far distant to have had any connection with
the burning Austria. The brig seen bv the
Arabian some four miles to the eaward, may
have the passengers on board or they may
have been taken off by some other vessel, per
haps some eastward bound steamship, in
whose direct track the wreck of the Austria
was found
The passengers might also have Lad n
CHARGE of escape from the close proximity of
| the Azore islands and the fact that the ulf
currents would bring boats back to those is
lands.