The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1860-01-21
The Wreck Of the Flsra Temple an
frightful Loss Of Life.

The Wreck Of the Flsra Temple ANT
Frightful Loss Of Life.
We have heretofore noticed the wreck of tn,
clipper ship Flora Temple of baltimore. In
the China Sea, on the eth Of October last. with
the loss Of s5u coolies and - Europeans. A
correspondent Of tie New York Herald
writing from Hong Kong, give; highly in.
teresting narrative Of the disaster, front = his
We copy the following:
The boats were lowered about ten o'clock
Abcnt twelve the other small boats were 90,
out safely, and there now remained only iht
'"pSpcats which the panic.stricken men had
deci:redjt was snnposs ible to get out. Fifteen
with the eapiais; sendained on board. The Ia.
po: ana chi,culiy Of getting 'his hpat out was
immense 1he captain had 10 climb the main
stay to LOCI on toe tackle; but at last it wa,
got out at about. = AZ. and with its crew
passed safely over the breaHe.s
In very short time the wind increased till
II became a severe gale from W. S. W.. acco1...
panied by tremendous sea and heavy rain
the Doats parted company, and henceforth ]
can oniy speak Of the one in which. bv the
proV'aenceAof God, after fourteen days and
nights OF egposute, we arrived safely IT Tou.
ran, in Cochin China. During Saturday. the
l3th, sunday, Monday, TUESDAY, Wednesday,
thursday and Friday, the gale continued wiis-
out Abatement, and we remained hove to un-
ger close reefed mainsaii, wit!r a bucket
an open one. and we were drenched with the
sees that broke over and with the rain,
N'f'"h nfsht aad day continued almos, with
out ihtormiss-31 - it'seeraed 70 us. We were
covered with salt Wa.er coils orr feet were
terribly swollen and painful; We hr5 saved
hothing but what we stood in, and had no
chHnge Il wet biscuit and half 4 pint Of water
DAY was all we dared to venture on sleep " as
aNnost impossible; the fflen sat moody v wretche(i
and cisheartened. How an open boat small
as TIE one We had could live i'll such a sea, was
iysiery. So1ne were never disheartened; but
"hen the ehecrless day declined to Il more
cneetiess night n an open boat, with heavy
gale of wind, d frenlenao us sea, an angry sky,
Win lightning and thunder " the n,os. start
mig kind. none of US could have Jeen SO s.otitl
as no! 70 feel what it was 10 watch "as these
VINO sTitt for the morning. .
On Saturday tTa ~ind and sea abated. and
Sunday was fine. Fortunately, the captain
hao saved ms scXtant and a chart, a.iS as he
found we had dritted rs far north as l3 deg. .,e
cetermlued to make FOR Touran, the French
settlement in Cochin China hoping also to fall
In with a sail. t'n the following "Wednesday.
the l2th day from the wreck we made the land
TO TIE south OF rorran. and reAfaine:. all nigh t
tied to p fishing stake, on aceouu OF the strong
current V,aic:. tce night hetore had swept us
10 tie South, and the Ee-Et evening. 10 our
great joy, came in sight OF the It.agts of the
French So uadrOn al TOuran. 1tWas impossi-
Die Tor us to weather the cape 50 rs 10 reach
them that night, and we went in Il small har-
Dor at the foot Of the mountain TO the south
OF the outer bay ofTouran. where the inhab,-
tants OF a small fishing village received us hos
pltabiy ana We again on ioyed the Injuries OF
warm food ana fire. fhe next evening we
reached Iontap, more feeble and exhausted
than we ouTseiv IS Believe and were received
on board Ii. l. NJ. steamer Giionde, and from
her officers and the French au tGoyitieS We re-
celNed the utmost kindness and attention.
We were thirty-one in number, including
Captain johnson and his brother The star
tltkly to NJ
MarshaiI.) nine men and two boys. The port
quarter boat con ,aii.d the second mate Mr..
Wai:on.) and five men. Serious appreheisions
must be felt for the safety OF these boats. The
gale VS. experienced sTas most severe. and was
accompanied BY Il tsrrih,. sea, III which il is
feared the boats must have paftshet.
immediately OH our arr val at Tour&n, Capt.
johnson called on the French Admiral, M.
Page, and begged him to send in search OF the
missing boats, as well AS to the rescue OF tie
coolies. With the greatest readiness this re-
quest was at once complied with, and the
steamer GironGe was dispatched with orders
to proceed to the scene of the disaster. Our
men We're tran sferred to another vessel TO be
sent on to iong Kong Cant Johnson his
brother and myself proceeding in the Gironde.
On Wednesday, The 2d o1 November, at TWO
O'Clock, We Were 4 gain in sig ht OF the reef. NJ
relic OF the gallant ship hi,si left appeared,
till en- proceeding closer in Il boat, the port
side, from The main chains forward, rOuld be
seen floating, GttachPd to the remainder OF the
wreck by the rigging, together with the bow
spirit and ljibboom and the top CT what seem
ed to be the main skysail mast. Of esght hun-
dred and fifty coolies not one remained.
/ was Impossible for us 10 make any at
tempt to save these coolies. More humane
men than Capt. johnson and bis brother. MI
J. I. Johnson, do not exist; but the crew were
SO terrified on that disastrous night, that ii
was only By e1sertfons almost beyond belief.
ON the part cf the captain. his brother and
lie" others, that the safety OF the ere" even
was secured. They would have hurried from
the shi u without provisions, and would ln!ai-
libby have perished. / can affirm that no IN
termediate passengers, not even English sail
ors in an English transport, receive better
treatment Oh board ship than did these coolies
on board the Flora Temple. Everything re-
lating TO them WAS perfectly well ordered and
lean: their food was plentiful and good; their
luxuries even were plentiful; they We're ct
lects of The first consideration on board; the
necessary order and discipline among them
was enforced by men chosen from among
themselves. l had an interest in the suhleci,
and took care 20 inform myself of all that
went on.
Ine Monday after we left Macao all seemed
quiet and cheerful--an outbreak was the last
thing in the world we anticipated. On the
next morning (Tuesday,) three days after We
had left Macao, the watch on deck being scat
tered about the ship and the guard at the port
gate of the barricade-whch had been erec ted
between the coolies and the crew, Who slept
aft-being away from his post, the coolies, who
had collected on deck i'll large numbers, sud-
denly fell upon the guard at the stArboarG
gate, struck him on the head with an iron be-
laying pin. drew ont his sword, cut him with
II frightially and dispatched him with the ear
pen ier's hatchet: they then made Il rush to the
cabins for The arms. While this was going on
att, the coolies forward We're calling out sire, -
"fire,'' 10 induce the watch forward to go below.
Fortunately the captain had come ON the
poop Just in time TO see the rush aft. Re i'm
nediateiy ran into his stateroon, seized his
himself, and half a dozen snot from them put
the nntineers to rout: but not before one OF
the crew had been hacked to pieces and killed,
and several others wounded. The coolies,
were armed with the cooks axes, chain hooks,
iron be!ay ing pins, iron bolts, knives, hand
spikes, mariingspikes, and every thing they
could lay their hands upon. Some of the more
had penetrated to the staterooms,
and but for the sudden panic produced by the
shots, it is i'm possible 10 see what could have
saved us--au must have been lost.
Il strict inquiry brought to light Geap- laid
and widely extended scheme for killing US all
and taking possession of the ship, all those
who had agreed to join III it giving up their
onIraot papers a Kind of pledge or guaran-
tee to the ringieaders, from whom they were
to receive $40 4 man. We could lind no limit
to the mum Der OF those who. directly or indi-
richly, We're implicated in this plot. 1t was
clearly iEpossib ole for us to place any conf
dence in them again. 1t WAS necessary for us
10 be constantly on our guard, and this it WAS
that, as soon as the ship first struck, produced
such apprehension and terror ia the minds OF
the crew.
THE HANGING AFFAIR AT NATCHEZ.-We
have noticed an outrage committed by one
Smelzer, at Natchez, Miss, and the prompt
penalty paid by authority of Judge LYNCH
The following additional particulars. from
the Free Trader, are of interest:
DR.. Chase, Coroner. held an ING uest on Tues
day nigh and yesterday, on the body Of Chas
Smelzer, found dead, hung by the neck to
frea In The Court. House yard in this city ON