The Tiffin tribune. [volume] (Tiffin, Ohio) 1848-1859, 1858-01-29
FEAWFuL BURNING or TnEsARAn
SANua SCREW STEAMER

TO India from Portsmouth, with the head .
quarters aad large portion of the men
uf the 5ith Regiment on board. whose
preservatio0 and that of the crew may he
fairly considered one Of Ihemo marvellous
on record, as may be inferred from the
Caot that the ship was burning furivusly
in a heavy gale Of wind for sixteen hours.
iho whole Of her a0efpaFt being burnt out
10 a she'll.
The Sarah Sands was an iron ship Of
1900 tuus burden and was formerly EN-
ployed in running from Liverpool 20
North America, She was chartered by
The East India Company for the convey.
qnoe Of troops to lndia, aud on the 10Th
OF last August she left Portsmouth for
Calcutta, under the command Of Capt ].
5. Castle, with portion OF the 54th Reu
imenl on board comprising Lieut.. Col
Molfat, Capts. Brett. Thompson aud Gil.
lum: Lieuts. Galbraith. Hughes and
Crompe, Ensign Wood, Lieut.. and Ad-
iutant Houston. Surgeon Grant, Assint.
ant Surgeon Donovan, Quartermaster
Hipkin, Paymaster Daniel. 81 Sergoants,
Is Corporals, IL Drummers, 306 rank
and Gle. Q women. Z children and a
number Of ladies, relatives of the officers
The voyage appears to have been favor.
able until the llth Of November, when
the ship had reched lat "a s, lon. SO f
upwards Of 400 miles from the Mauri-
tus). About 3 O'Clock Ia the afternoon
Of that day the troops berthed on the az
ter deck noticed q strong smell Of burn
ing which apparently proceeded from
beneath them in the hold. IL rapidly
increasing, the alarm was given to Capt
Castle, wao At once ordered the after
hold to be examined. and to the horror Of
all, the cargo slowed there proved to be
on FIRE. II was stated that the bulk of
lhe cargo consisted Of Government stores.
Bale after bale WAS hauled up, in the hope
of G tting at the seat Of the lire, but ia n
short time the smoke bncsme so dense as
10 defy any Of the crew getting further
into the hold and it flied the whole Of
the cabins with the sutfocating efIluvia,
the ladies sought relief on the quarter
deck. By this time the outbreak became
general throughout the ship. and, rs
natural result, much alarm was excited
There was no confusion, however, and
every order was obeyed by the men will
coolness and courage. The course o
the ship was stopped. Col MnfIat wal
seen in earlJ-,- consultation with Capt
{ Castle. deciding upon measures for sup
, pressing the flames, while the crew wert
actively employed in taking all sail in
aud bringing the ship before the wind
Others run out lengths Of hose from the
( Ere engines, which were passed down t
hands below, while hose was also put on L
, the dOnkey-engine. 1t soon became ap
, parent that all these exertons failed il
checking the progress Of tho fire. Col
+ Moth,t, 40 the suggestion Of the com
mander, directed lis men to at once cas
overheard all their ammunition. and in a
short time they succeeded in clearing ou
the starboard magazine. The remainder
of the powder in the port magazine, how
ever, excited great apprehension. Al,
ready had the after part Of the ship be.
come almost untsnable, from the dense
smoke and heat which filed every portion
Of it. The Colonel appealed TO his men
as volunteers to attempt the rescue Of the
contents Of the magazine, now so threat.
ened. Several brave fellows instantly
came forward, aud heroicaly succeeded
10 reaching the magazine, and clearing
IL, with the exception of one or two bar.
rels. IL WAS very hazardous work,
and several nearly lost their lives, as they
became overpowered with the smoke and
heat, and fell; aud when hauled up BY
ropes to the deck, they were senseless. -
The flames soon aflerWard burst ur
through the deck, and running along the
various cabins, speedily set the whole on
fire, There was heavy gale blowing al
the time, and the ship was rolling aud
pitching. Captain Castle, perceiving the
critical position Of the ship, at once took
measures for the sac lowering ST the
boats. They were launched without the
least accident; the troops mustered on
deck. there was no rush 10 the boats. and
the men complied with the commanis OF
4 their officers with as much order as on
parade. Colonel Mofat informed them
that Captain Castle did not despair OF
saving the ship. but for their own pleser-
yation il had been deemed advisable "a
keep the boats od. so rs TO act IN ,ase Of
emergency. The ladies. women and
children were lowered into the port life.
boat, and she was directed to stand Of
till further orders. All hands then turned
to constructing RATS Of spare spars. In
q short time three were put together
which would have been capable Of saving
r large por,ion Of those on board. Capt
Castle succeeded in lauching two over.
boar . and the ihird was left across the
deck 70 be lowered at a moments notice
In the meanwhile, the flames had made
terrible progress. The whole Of the
@ bins. saloon. &c.. where one body o
Gre. about nine o'clock the flames bursl
through the upper decks and ignited the
mizzen rigging Through the forethough
Of Capt. Castle in bringing the ship be
fore the wind tho FIRE and smoke were
swept sternways. but serious anxiety wa,
felt lest the ship should pay Of, and sc
, render it's destruction inevitable. Amid
this fearful suspense, fearful explosion
. took place. no doubt arising from one Of
b two barrels left in the port magazine
~ a 4