New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1858-04-10
Loss of the ship Kennebeck.

The ship w. F. Schmidt, Capt. Sears, arrived here
yesterday, having on board Capt. Curtis and part
of the OF the ship Kennebeck abandoned at sea.
The others were transferred to the ship Sophia,
bound to Falmouth The following are the particu
lars
She left Liverpool February I'd, and went out the
North Channel, getting all clear OF the land on the
morning of the 9Th From that time until the
morning of the 18th we encountered nothing but
heavy gales from South to Southwest. On the
morning of the 18th, when in lat 1850 and Ion.
$500 w. the weather looked very bad, and the glass
down to %, and still falling wore ship to South
east and hove her to at IL A. NJ, she was struck
by hurricane, accompanied by two flashes OF light
nng-the first merely iarring the ship, and the
ond striking the ship under the forward part OF the
poop, instantly killing two men, and started the
whole forward part OF the poop clear of the ship.
After getting the corpses into the poop returned on
deck just at which time my spars all went over the
side, leaving nothing but the foreyard, and that
in crippled condition. All of the wreck worked
under the ships bottom, striking the ship very
heavily. We went to work cutting away, and got
all clear about P. NJ, when we found the ship, as
far we could see badly chapel and cut up. We
could not tell what was done under her bottom,
where the heaviest Of the striking Sounded the
pump and found two feet water there. We tried 10
get the crew to the pump, which was impossible,
whilst the eorpses were in the poop and after hav
ing consigned the c0rpses TO the Deep It was almost
impossible to keep them at the pumps without one
OF the officers standing over them making but little
progress on the water the ship rolling heavily at
the time. After we lost spars, we had a success
sion of gales until the morning of the 23d when it
moderated, with a heavy running, and the
weather looking very bad, with the glass falling. At
7 O'Clock, A. NJ, made sail standing to the West
ward. The poop was working very badly, and the
deck breaking up abont the mainmast, and five feet
water in the hold. then gave up all hopes of saw
ing the ship and thought it useless risk of life to
remain any longer on the ship, and the weather
being so as we could boats (for the first time
which proved to be the ship w. T. Schmidt, Capt
Sears, (Of New York; bound to New Orleans, who
came near us and hove to- sending his boats 10 assist
US, our boats being badly stoved in launching them.
We succeeded in getting on board OF the W. f.
Schmidt without any further accident, Tor in the
meantime the gale had increased so much that we
were fearful that the last boat would not reach the
ship la safety That night it blew heavy gale,
which would probably have been the last of all OF
had not the ship come to our relief
And now, Messrs. Editors, allow me, through your
columns, to return my sincere and heartfelt thanks
to Capt. Sears for his kind and humane conduct. ia
both assisting US from the wreck and whilst on board
of his ship. He gave us welcome such as none but
a sailor in situation knows how to appreciate,
| and long will | remember his words when he spoke
us, hurry and get board, for we shall soon have
another gale but will stay by you as long as |
have an inch of canvas let.n May fortune favor him
and his good ship, and may she always prove as
good as she has in this instance.
Your ohedent servant,
j