The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-04-28
PERILS OF THE SEA.
Narrow Escape from Shipwreck Of the United
SLnIes ErlGnte IInncnAter.

Narrow Escape from ShipwrPck of the United
states Frignte Lancaster.
By letter received at the Portsmouth Navy
Yard from on board the United States steam
frigate Lancaster, flagship of the South Atlantic
Squadron dated at Montevideo, March 13, it is
learned that the ship encountered a very heavy
gale going from the Falkland Islands to Monte
video, and came near being lost.
On Thursday the 10th of January, the ship
was in the worst of the gale, the seas rolling as
high as the mainmast head, and the fore aud
maintopsail carried away. The letter describes
what followed:-
"Things began to look decidedly dangerous,
and there was manifest alarm on board. No
one knew where we were, and we had not seen
glimpse of the sun for over two days. At 6
o'clock the water began to get muddy, which
caused us to believe we were near land. We
got on soundings and found twelve fathoms of
water-thirty minutes later ten fathoms, and at
o'clock nine tathoms. / went below, and soon
after an acquaintance rushed in my room ex-
cited and eXclaiming, we will all be lost! The
ers have been reported!' Soon after the
captain of the foretop reported 10 the
Admiral that there were breakers one and
a-half miles off the lee-bow. During this time
the engineer had orders to get up steam imme-
dately. Having no wood to start fires with,
barrels of salt pork were ordered into requisi-
ton, but junk and rosin gratings being handy,
were used first. About this time passenger we
took on at the Falkland Islands says to me:-
You had better be getting on deck. Every
body has been ordered on deck. We are in six
fathoms of water, and it is getting less every
minute y took a life preserver from locker,
and, putting it on, went on deck. | had hardly
started before heard the engines working.
SIN the meantime jib having been gotten on,
as a good Providence would have it, the ship
wore around with shifting wind, and slowly
steamed off in diagonally opposite direction.
When the ship turned | noticed that our stern
was within stones throw of the breakers and
every sea that washed over the deck wou Id leave
small deposits of pebbles. just previous to this
moment officers taking off their boots and coats
could be seen all over the deck. When the
breakers were reported to the Admiral he
became SO excited that he actually wept,
replying vehemently, we are lost if we
cannot wear ship y Wearing ship would
evidently have been of no use if we had had no
steam; for the breakers were Immediately on
our leeward; but at this critical moment the
engineer reported steam ready. Here Captain
johnson took the deck with determined COM
posure, and ordered the jib to be hoisted
which threw the ships head off, and immedi-
diately every pound of steam that could possi-
bly, be carried was put on, and the noble vessel,
| with four hundred valuable lives, was saved
from destruction. 1t afterwards proved that
we were on Seal Island banks, seventy live miles
from land. ... . ..
''This occasion was a serious moment in my
| life, and l believe to all on board. Captain
Trenchard, the commanding officer of the Lam
caster, became SO conyulsed with excitement
that he could not speak. Captain johnson, an
experienced sailor, says that If we had been but
| TWO minutes laIer III ReLLlnS up SJeam Lnere
would not have been one soul left to tell the fate
of the Lancaster" .a .
Loss of an American Bark = Phiiadelphians
Rescued from n Desert Island.
By an arrival at Panama from San Audres,
news is received of the loss of the
American bark Kremlin, of Boston. The cap
tain's letter is as follows:- ....-- -
ISLAND OF ST. ANDRES, ". s. c., March 90
| At 10 P NJ, on the night of the 22d, we were
| piled up on the Serranna Keys; by my reckoning
| we were long way to the westward of it, and l
| felt assured we were going all clear, but it
| proved otherwise, so we remained on board until
| morning, when the bark began to break up. We
| then took to the boats and landed on the South
| west Key to get ready for our voyage to Old
| Providence, but what was our surprise to find
on the Key two negroes and big dog; they
| had been there over year digging guano for a
| Philadelphia firm. The vessel which brought
them to the Key was to return in three
months time and take the guano, but she has
| not been there since. According to their story,
they left Philadelphia January 10, 1869. They
have subsisted on birds eggs alone for over
| what month it was, and they were so emaciated
and weak they could not walk down to the
beach. We took them along with US and landed
them in Old Providence, where they are i'm
proving rapidly. / firmly believe they would
have died in fortnight more. Myself, mate,
| and one man are going home on the schooner
Samuel E. Fabens. We shall touch at Old
Providence whore l shall get more particulars
| from those poor fellows, and report the case
when get to New York. The United States
commercial agent here will send the remainder
of my crew to the American Consul at Aspin
wall" ..