St. Cloud Democrat., 1861-10-31
The Great Eastern Disaster.

oe1o"'"Soo W VIZ AaIIulo OF tne great
scheme on which he had staked his repu-
tation and ruined his friends. Capt. Har.
rison, whom we remember as one of the
noblest specimens Of humanity, and stand
ing at the head of British sailors. lost his
valuable life in his endeavors to contrib
ute to the success Of this gigantic vessel,
During her last attempt to cross the At
lantic, the Great Eastern became unman-
ageable in a gale, by the breaking of the
rudder-pin, which was a piece of strong
wrong ht iron ten inches in diameter; and
after a week of indescribable distress and
confusion, this wild Lcviathan of the ocean
was, by the assistance of some skillful
American passengers, conducted back to
the city of Cork. The passengers referred
to are Capt. A. H. Schultz, Of N. Y, who
did the duties Of First officer of the ship,
and Hamilton +. Towle, Esq, of Boston,
Mass, young American Engineer, on
his way from Russia, where he had been
employed by the Government. A meet
ing OF passengers was held, and resolutions
betting tue occasion were passed. The
meeting was presided over by Rev. Doctor
Patton The following meritcd tribute
to the young engineer above spoken of, is
embraced in the resolutions:
'That we would also acknowledge with
deep thankfulness the sense we entertain
Of the valuable scientific suggestions of
one Of the cabin passengers, Hamilton 4.
Towle, of Boston, United States, civil en-
gineer, made in order to repair the inju-
ries sustained by the steering apparatus of
the vessel; and Of the patient attentiun
with which, at much personal inconvc-
nience. he assisted Captain Walker until
the ship was enabled again to proceed
"That some suitable testimonial of our
appreciation Of the skill and services of
Mr.. Towlc be provided and presented to
him by the passengers"
A passenger writes to the Chicago Jour-
nal:
"No description can do justice to the
scenes of those eventful days of anguish
of those slcepless nights, illumined by
no ray Of light and scarce of hope. But
your imagination must fill the picture
Think of men, women, children, chairs, ta-
bles, crockery, etc., rolling necessarily
| from side to side, in one indiscriminate
mass three times a minute, like so many
peas on shovel, and for days continually!
I he din and claugor of the iron, of the
smoke stacks grating against their Innings,
the creaking and shricking of timbers and
machinery, we're terrific, and made an i'm
pre- ssion on my mind which I shall never
forget.
AS for the officers of the ship, there
had better have been none at all. In
fact, we were indebted to the passengers
for our safety.
must do the fair sex justice, by chron-
icling the fact that when all expected mo-
meutarily to 60 to the bottom, they were
calm, and much more resign to their
impending fate than the stcrner sex. The
baggage Of the passengers was entirely de-
,troyed. Many of the passengers lost not
only all their clothes, but their money as
we'll, and am afraid that the truth would
reveal that the sailors shared in plunder-
ing the passengers.
The Liverpool Post in describing the
condition of the ship in the storm, says:
"Thc fore-staysail was run up, but the
wind Immediately split it to ribbons The
tore'trysail was also run up, and that was
blown away. Everything breakable was
broken,-furniture. fittings, services, glass;
es, pianos, we're all involved in one CON-
mon wreck. It now became known that
the rudder was unmanageablc.
About 6 o'clock the vessel had to be
stopped again, owing to two rolls of sheet
lead, weighing some cwt. each, which
were in the engine room rolling about
with every oscillation Of the vessel with
fearful force. These having been secured,
another start was made, when tremendous
grinding was heard under the paddle box
es. The paddles had become twisted, and
the floats were grinding against the sides
of the ship. The paddles were stopped,
and thenceforwaro the scene is described
as awful in the extreme. The chain ca
bles p9G Gshed themselves bri ght with fric-
ton oil the deck. A spare-riding bit gave
way on the cable deck, and knocked hole
through tie ships side. The oil tanks
also on the cable deck were so much dam.
aged by another conclusion, that the two
thousand gallons fish oil they contained
ran into the hold aud caused, during the
rest of the voyage, a most intolerable
odor. ..,. 49,.
! Twenty-Five fractures occurred from
conclusions caused by the tremendous lur.
ching Of the vessel, and cuts. and bruises
were innumerable. Several clergymen
were on board. Religious services were
frequently held; and the: ,demeanor OF
the passengers was sufficient, apart from
signs Of disaster around them, to signify
the distressing nature of the crisis, Sc
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