The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1859-11-18
AirIlmonn pispattlr.
THE GREAT EASTERN IN A STORM.

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FRIDAY MORNING., NOV. Is, 1850.
THE GREAT EASTERN IN A STORM.
Thrilling Acseunt of Her Movements.
Washing Away OF a Breakwater. Mar
row Escape of Other Vessels. &C.
During the great gale of the a5th ult., the
Great Eastern was lying in the harbor at
Holyhead, On the night before the gale was
so heavy that two anchors We're cast out
On the night of the 18th the storm reached its
| height. A letter in the London Times gives
the following description of the manner in
| which the G reat Eastern rode IL out
| At last soon after 8 o'clock, monstrous
wave came in upon the horizon Nearer and
nearer il rolled, II white crest towering high
| above the green wall of water as it reared up
| its monstroGs buik, and seemed to gather
! night for one great rush upon the prey. In
another second The foam lowered a hundred
| feet over the head OF the hreakwater, and the
/ red light was seen no more, while the wave,
| broken. hlt not disabled, came tearing on.
| of timhers, ewElk SlkGess~llka rocks among
/ the seethtng waters. This was introducing,
| SO to speak, the Thin edge OF the wedge, for the
| work of demolition, once commenced, went
| rapidly forward, and The massive timbers
/ began TO disappear by a hundred feet and
/ more at time, melting away into the angry
| sea Ike q mere ITtI-wOrk OF SugaG-cs
The cranes and machinery at the top dropped
| off into tie water one by one. as If the sea pos
! seSSed the properties of an universal solvent;
| for when once the waters covered them, OBJ
| staeles We're seen no more. Some lengths of
| framework however, held out long and
| galiantly. resisting every effort to overthrow
| them, till the tide was At It's height, and At
| last they, too, disappeared, some IN splinters
| and chips like tire-wood as the beams were
| rent 10 pieces. some in great angular masses,
| as ii an island of timber had come TO sea. The
whole harb0r was covered with such RATS,
| Till their black masses showed up like reefs of
rock in all directions. Still the storm swept
| on as wild as ever, and where the breakwater
| makes that mostinludcious inward curve ana
! forms a concaye surface for the sea TO act on,
| the waves broke high and fercely, even here
| damaging the cranes upon the high seaffold-
| ing, aud threatening clean breach into the
| harbor.
| GENERAL FEARS FOR SAFETY.
| This scene of destruction was, for the time
| il asted, as grand and awful sight as can well
| he conceived. The great waves not only looked
| Irresistible but showed themselves to be so in
| sad and sober earnest, and everything went
| down like sand before their terrific onset
| Matters now began to look very bad, and such
! tremendous evidences of danger, on the part of
| the wind and sen. were by no means overlooked
| by those on board the Great Eastern. In fact.
| it was with most considerable anxiety that
| Capt Harrison saw the turn affairs were taxi
! iag, for the wind was now dead from the north
| east, and the whole sweep OF the Channel was
| gains might have been made in Great Eastern
| shares, had the shareholders been on board and
| seen the state of the weather-the lee-shore
| behind, and the timber work OF the breakwa-
| Ter 1.-THE great and only shield ahead) disap-
| pearing by hundreds of yards at q time. Yet
still the Great Eastern rode out lightly for her
| bulk, and without sign of dragging, though
| the chains apparently could bear nothing
| more. The whole harbor was now one i'm
mense mass of wreck wood, the huge piles
| tumbling over and over one mother, and rear
| ing up fifteen and twenty feet from the wafer,
as The waves tossed them to and fro like play
| things. The sea had set in TOO, so Violently
| that IL was necessary at once to do something
| 10 relieve the ship from the strain upon the
| cables, and 10 effect this the screw was set 10
| work. But here an obstacle interVened of the
| most serious kind, as the masses of timber
| wreck We're round the ship going down upon
| the screw at every minute, and once or twice
| so fOHling II as to force the engines to n dead
| stop. To clear these it was necessary to put
! the helm hard a-port, though this was only
| choice Of evils, as the vesseii> head fayed
| round and threatened soon to foul the anchor
| chains. The latieraccident, in fact, took place
| ct last, and the heaviest anchor ard longest
| scope of cable on the starboard bow appeared
| 10 be doing nothing to retain the vessel, while
| the small anchor appeared to be doing too
| much and its cable tlipped up out of the
| ter with every surge i'll startling and omln-
| Gus manner.
| THE ANCHORS AND THE ENGINES.
| Towards or 9o'clock the wind went round
! more to the n. F.. sending in a beam swell, to
| which the Great Eastern began 10 roll very
| heavily. As the surge swept in, the position
| Of the vessel hourly became worse, and at last,
| at 10 O'Clock, Captain Harrison had no alter
native but TO try and raise the heaviest anchor,
| get the vessels head more under the lee OF the
| breakWater, and then let IT go again. Ihis
| was a difficult and most critical task, for every
part of the harbor was now so completely
| covered with drifting beams that the screw
| could only be used with the utmost caution
| The paddles, unless in case of a most danger
| Gus emergency. could not be used at all, as the
| timbers would of course knock the floats to
! pieces. Gradually. therefore, the Great East
| ern was brought up to her sfarboard. anchor,
| though with the utmost difficulty. Before the
| screw could well get play, it was touled and
| had to stop. Directly this occurred the steam
| from the screw boilers was lei into the paddle
| engines, which, in turn, went ahead, till the
| propeller was free and able TO work again. At
| last. after some time the anchor was under
| the bow, the slack chain hove III, and the huge
| mass of iron got up 10 the bow ready for let
| ting go again in a better berth. The vessel had
| partly swung off into a beam sea, which was
then sweeping over and past the breakwater
| with awful force and the Great Eastern began
| to roll quickly and heavily. In spite OF the
| relief afforded by the screw, the cable of the
| remaining anchor kept taughtening more and
| more until at last, at about half past 10, il
| spraug up like a cord out OF the water, and in
| another moment the Great Eastern was adrift,
| rolling and tumbling like a drunken ship to-
wards shore
So quiet and orderly was everyth when
this most alarming incident toek place, that
very few knew what had really happened,
though all could pretty well guess by the hea-
w lprches OF the vessel some thing had indeed
gone wrang. Capt. Harrison and Mr.. Kett
were forward and in instant all was ready
for letting go second heavy anchor, while
werd was passed 10 go ahead with the screw
for the great ship, lurching from side to side.
was making rapidly for shore The second
anchor was let go and the screw moved ahead,
but the vessel had now great way on her, and
could not be easily stopped on what seemed
her road 10 destruction. Just as the screw be-
gan to tell an immense mass OF wreck wood
fouled il and brought the machinery to a dead
stand Not Il second could be lost in waiting
till il cleared so the steam was at once turned
into the paddle engines which were driven
round at speed. though the floats got hur
| among the mass of wreck, and the great iron
work of the wheels was bent in many places.
| To avoid this and the serious damage it might
| eccasou the screw was set TO work again the
| instant il was freed, but it was seldom able TO
| reyolye more than a few moments without
| becoming jammed again, when the paddles
| were again resorted 10. But for the Great
! Eastern's double engines, very little could
have been done. The anchor which was let go
| "bit - at once, and as much scope was given 10
| the cable us dare be let out when the vessel
| had driven back so far and the lee shore loom
| ed so close aStern.
Sill, for a time, the position continued dan
esrous in the extreme, as in spite of both wind
and steam the great ship lay open to the sea,
| rolling dangerously for such place, and MAX
| ing way as II nothing would hold her. AT las u