Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1858-10-01

geher and the stewardess and assistant steward arm in
arm, followed. One Hungarian gentleman, with seven
fine children four of them girls, made his wife jump in,
then blessing his six eldest children made them jump In
one after the other and followed them with an infant in
his own arms T. about this time standing outside
the bulwarks holding by the davits leaning out to
avoid the hames which were leaping. towards me. I
saw swamped boat under me, spinning by rope still
attached to the ship; the oars were tied in her.
thought if could get to her. would be enabled to save
myself and some Others.
| let myself down by rope, passing over man who
cinging to it, but who refused to come with me
took out penknif to cut the tackle, the large blade
broke and I then severed it with the small blade The
ship passed ahead AS the screw approached, found
the boat drawn towards it. tried to keep the boat OH
but the screw caught and capsized her over me. l
dved away from the ship and came to the surface near
boat which was keel upwards. l got upon her, and
by pressing on one side with the assistance of
she rghted but was still swamped The oars had been
knocked out by the screw. The only thing could find
in her to paddle with was ahs nailed together as
sheathing for the sides When looked around, the
ship was quarter of mile away from me. could see
the ladies and gentlemen jumping off the poop into the
water in twos and threes of the ladies in flames
Several hestated to leap from the burning ship until the
last moment the heg ht was y feet, and were only
at length compelled to throw themselves OFT to avoid
more painful death.
In half an hour not soul was to be the poop
pulled after the ship and picked up German, who
was swimming strongly. | got him beside me on the
boat, and padded after the ship with the laths
now a vessel under sail approaching She reached
the steamer at about ), p m. We continued pulling
towards them and about hafpast seven o'clock after
being five hours in the water got within hail OF the sail
ING vessel which put off boat and took us on board.
She proved to be the French Bark Maurice, Captain
Ernest Renaud of Nantes, bound from Newfoundland
to the Isle of Bourbon with fish, She had up to that
time rescued forty passengers of the burning steamer
chiefly taken off the bOwsprt though few were picked
up floating around About o'clock one of the metal
lie boats up with about twentyhree persons, IN
Guiding the first and third officers afterwards three or
! cur picked up floating upon piece OF the
broken boat. The second officer was taken up having
been swimming with nothing to float him. for six hours.
The second and third officers severely burnt one
male passenger was burnt frghtfuly, and some other
male passengers slightly. There were but six women
saved, three of whom were burnt one in shocking
manner
Capt Remand acted with the utmost kindness He
gave clothes as far he could furnish them to the suffer
ing passengers and acted nurse doctor and surgeon
to the burnt people, dressing the wounds OF the females
with ecacy and tenderness that evinced benevolent
and amable disposition. did not see an officer of the
ship during the fire, and certain there was not one
Of them the crew on the poop, except man at the
wheel for a short time | understood that when the
captain heard OF the fire, he rushed on deck without
cap and when he saw the flames exclaimed Owe are
all lost !" He tried to get boat which, when lei
down, was swamped and whether accidentally or not
do not know he fell into the sea, and was soon left fal
behind. The fourth officer was in this boat He cut
her loose from the days she was carried under the
screw and smashed and several in her drowned Three
four escaped on a fragment and were picked NJ
by the Maurice as before stated About the same time
one metallic life boat let down from the port bow
and swamped but got cleared away with about thirty
three persons in her. including the first and third officers
and seven women. The in the boat capsized hel
two or three times in trying to clear her Of water
Ten persons were thus drowned, including some wo
men, They afterwards baied her ont with lifepre
servers cut in two, and pulled to the Maurice, having
picked up two three passengers before reaching the
barque Altogether there sxty-seven souls taker
into the Maurice during the night.
r A Norwegian barque came up with the steamer
the next morning and boat observed going a
round the burning ship. They may have picked up
few persons but only very few The Maurice had
no communication with the Norwegian. At about I
O'clock the Maurice sailed for Faya to deposit the
rescued passengers. At about O'Clock the same at
ternoon she fell in with the barque Lotus, Captain
Trety, of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia from Liverpool fOl
l Halifax. AS I anxious to get British terri
tory, Capt. 1refy kindly gave me passage. He was
!; also anxious to take all the American citizens but
there such rush of foreigners into the boats
that only one load of eleven could be got off anC
: even several of these were foreigners.
The fire is known to have arisen from very pabt
negligence of of the The Captain and Surgeon
deemed it eXpeden to nm gate the steerage with burn
ing tar. The operation was to be performed by thu
boatsWan under the superenendence of the 4th officer
= The boatswain heated the end of chain to dip in tai
to produce smoke The end got too hot to hold and HI
let it drop upon the deck, to which set fire. The tai
upset, and Immediately all about in flames. A
feeble attempt made to extingush it, but without
eect-there nothing at hand to meet such emer
= gency.
The rescued passengers saved nothing but the clothe
their backs and the greater part of these
torn off and otherwise lost. Six hundred souls Wer
supposed to be on board, including many women ant
children. Mr.. Drew is the only British subject saved
He is in the British civil service, and his way tt
- British Columbia. He will proceed to Boston in tn
steamer Eastern State on Tuesday, en- route for New
York.