Southern shield., 1858-10-09

swimming strongly: got him beside me on tbe boat, and we paddle after the ship with the laths; l now saw vessel under sail approaching; she reached the steamer at about , P. M.; we continued pulling towards them, and about T o'clock, after being five hours in the water, got within hail of the sailing vessel, which put of boat ard took us on board She proved to be the French bark Maurice, Capt. Ernest Remand, of Nantes, bound from Newfoundland for the Isle of Bourbon, with fish. She had, up to that time, rescued forty passengers of the burning steamer, chiefly taken off the bow spirit, though few were picked up floating around.
 1t about 8 o'clock one of the metallic boats came up, with about twenty three persons, including the first and third officers; afterwardsThree or four men were picked up, floating on 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 were severely burned one male passenger was burned fmghtfulIy, and some other male passengers slightly. There were but six women saved, three of whom were burned, one in a shocking manner. Capt. Renaud acted with the utmost kindness. He gave clothes as far as he could furnish them to the suffering passengers, and acted as nurse, doctor and surgeon to the burned people, dressing the wounds of the females with a delicacy and tenderness that evinced be- nevolent and amiabe disposition. 1 did not see an officer of the ship during the fire, and am certain there was not one of them CT the crew on the poop, except a man at the wheel for a short time. l understood that when the Captain heard of the fire, he rushed on deck without cap, and when he saw the flames, exclaimed, ''we are all lost" He tried to get out boat. which, when let down. was swamped, and he, whether acci- dentallv or not, do not know, fell into the sea, and was soon left far behind. The fourth officer was in the boat. He cut her loose from the davits; she was carried un- der the screw and smashed, and several in her drowned. Three or four then escaped on fragment, and were picked up by the Maurice, as before stated. About the same time one metallic life-boat was let down from the port bow and swamped, but got cleared away with about thirty three per sons in her, including the first and third officers and several women.
 The men in this boat capsized her two or three times in trying to clear her of water. Ten persons were thus drowned, including some women. They afterwards bajled her out with life-preservers cut in two, and pull cd to the Maurice, having picked up two or three passengers before reaching the bark. Altogether there were siXty-seven souls ta- ken into the Maurice during the night.
 4 Norwegian bark came up with the steamer the next morning, and a boat was observed going around the burning shlp.- They may have picked up a few persons, but only a very few. The Maurice had no communication with the Norwegian At about o'clock the Maurice sailed for Fayal to deposit the rescued passengers. At about , o'clock the same afternoon she fell in with the bark Lotus, Capt. Trefy, of Iar- mouth, Nova Scotia, from Liverpool for Halifax. As was anxious to get on Brit ish territory, Capt. Trefy kindly gave me passage. He was also anxious to take all the American citizens, but there was such rush of foreigners into the boats that only one load of eleven could be got off, and even several of these were foreigners.
 The fire is known to have arisen from very culpaDle negligence or some ol tue cftN.-- The captain and surgeon considered 1t ex- pedient to fumigate the steerage with burn ing tar. The operation was to be perform ed by the boatSwain. under the supcripten- dence of the fourth officer. The boatswain heated the end of chain to dip in the tar to produce smoke. The end became too hot to hold. and he let 1t drop upon the deck, to which it set fire. The tar upset, and im- medately all about was in flames. A fec ble attempt was made to extinguish it, but without effect There was nothing at hand to meet such an emergency.
 The rescued passengers saved nothing but the clothes on their backs, and even the greater part of these were torn of and oth- erwse lost.
 Six hundred souls were supposed to be on board, including many women and children.