The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1861-10-17
The Great Eastern Disaster..Breakage
of the Rudder..-Terrible Scenes on
BOard-.Thrilliuy Narrative of the VOy-
age.

FATHER POINT, Tuesday, Oct. l, 1861.
The following in regard to the dis
aster to the steamship Great Eastern
is taken from the English papers:
"The Great Eastern left her moor
ings in the river Mersey at u o'clock
on Tuesday, the 10th of September.
The pilot left her at O'clock. She
Immediately put on full speed, and all
went well with her until o'clock on
Tuesday, when strong breeze pre-
vailing, the aft tackle of one of the
forward boats on the port side became
unbroken, leaving it suspended by one
tackle. The Captain endeavored to
steady the ship while this was rectified,
but found to his surprise that she would
not answer the helm. The fact was,
though it was not known at the time,
the rudder-pin was broken. The fore
staysail was run up, but the wind I'M
mediately split it into ribbons. The fore
trysail was then run up, but it was
blown away. The paddle engines were
now stopped, and the boat lashings
ordered to be cut away, when the Great
Eastern once more started OH her course.
The passengers then went down to
dinner, and from that moment com
menced a chaos of breakages, which
lasted without intermission for three
days. Everything breakable was des
troyed. Furniture, fittings, services Of
plate, glasses, piano-all were involved
in one common fate. 1t now became
known that the rudder was unmanage
able. About six O'Clock the vessel hat
to be stopped again owing to two rolls
of sheet lead, weighing several hundred
weight each, which were in the engin,
room, rolling about with every oscilla
ton of the vessel with fearful force
These having been secured, anothe
f start was made, when tremendou
grinding was heard under the paddl,
f boxes. The shaft had become twisted
: and the floats were grinding agains
6 the side of the ship. The paddles wer
stopped, and thenceforward the seen
is described as fearful in the extreme
The ship rolled so violently that tn
boats were washed away. The cabin
beside undergoing the dangers arisin:
J, from the crashes and collisions whicl
were constantly going on, had shipped
r probably through the portfolios,
!, great deal of water, and the store
: were floating about in utter confusion
r and ruin. Some of the chandeliers fe
r down with crash. A large miro
u was smashed into a thousand frae
ments, rails of bannisters, bars, an
numerous other fittings, were broke
' into numberless pieces. Some idea {
the roughness of the nights inciden,
may be gathered from the fact that tn
,c chain-cables polished themselves brigf
a with friction on deck. A spare ridin
bit gave way on the cable deck, an
knocked a hole through the ships sid
If Two oil tanks, also on the cable decl
y were so much damaged by anoths
lg concussion that 200 gallons of fish o
contained in them ran into the hol
OF and caused, during the rest of the III
happy voyage, a most intolerable odo
The luggage of the passengers in tt
lower after cargo space was living
= two feet of water, and before the d
" liverancs of the ship was effected. II
luggage was literally reduced to ra.
: and pieces of timber. Twenty fly
) fractures of limbs occurred from IL
conclusions caused by the tremendo
llurching of the vessel. Cuts and truis
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