The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1869-01-28
Terrible Scene at a Shipwreck.

The ship Gossamer, buund from Lon
don to South Australia, with thirty passen-
gers, besides her crew, was lost about the
middle of December last on Prawle Point,
on the coast of Devonshire, England. Capt.
Thompson, the master, had only been mar
ried three weeks, and his young wife was
on board The Glasgow (Scotland) Her
aid gives the following account of the
wreck:
sThc ship was beating down the channel,
under the charge of the pilot, in the face
of strong wind and a heavy sea. The
captain was in the cabin with his young
wife, unsuspicious of danger, and the mate
stood beside the pilot on the deck. About
noon the vessel appeared to be getting dan
gerously near the rugged coast OF Devon
shire, but the pilot refused to change her
course, although the mate warned him OF
the risk which they were running. Shortly
after this the pilot became convinced that
he was 'hugging the shore too closely, and
gave orders to tack, bnt the order came too
late. They were approaching the Prawle
Point round, which heavy sea was sweep
ing, and the ship was found to be driving
upon the rocks. The uproar which ensued
brought up the captain in time to see his fine
vessel within an ace Of destruction. Two
anchors were let go as quickly as possible,
but they failed to take hold, and in a minute
more the Gossamer was beating upon the
Jagged rocks, about sixty yards from shore,
with the sea breaking over her, aud sweep
ing the decks from stem to stern, 1t was an
awful situation, and, to make matters worse
no one on board seemed equal to the emer-
gency. The captain could think of nothing
but the peril Of his young wife, while the
crew were seized with Panic, and numbers
of them leaped overheard with view of
swimming ashore, but few managed to reach
the land. The captain threw off most of
his clothes, and was preparing to follow, in
the desperate attempt to save his wife. when
a powerful negro seaman, an ex cellent
swimmer, offered to take Mrs Thompson
along with him, but the offer was refused,
and the next moment ii heavy sea tore the
wife from her husbands arms and swept
her overheard. Capt. Thompson instantly
jumped into the sea after his wife, but the
! attempt to save her was in vain, and both
persisted within a few yards Of each other.
Meanwhile the officers of the Coastguard
had been watching the course Of the Gossa-
mer and felt almost certain that she was run
ming upon destruction. In these circum-
stances they got their rocket apparatus in
readiness even before the vessel was driven
upon the rocks, aud the result was that they
were close at hand almost as soon as the
catastrophe took place. They could not
prevent the panic OIL board NOT the sad
events which followed, but they succeeded
in saving the remainder Of the crew and
passengers, to the number Of seventeen per-
sons and it is affirmed that all might have
been saved under better system OF man
agement on board. AS it turned out, thir-
teen persons were drowned, including the
captain and his wife and that loss of life
is all the more deplorable when it is con-
sidered that the wreck took place within
sixty yards of dry land, and with delivers
ance at hand almost as soon as it was re-
quired."