Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1872-06-12
The SCal-Fishers' Disaster.
ST.. JonN's, NEWFOUNDLAND,
Nav Ia. 1879.

The steamer Nimrod has just brought
sad news from the coast of Labrador, of
the loss Of one of our sailing vessels catk'
ed the Huntsman, with forty five men, all
of whom have met with watery grave.
The following are the details of this de-
pressing event as far as known at present.
The Huntsman, Capt. Robert Dave, of
Bay Roberts, was of Cape Charles, on
the coast Of Labrador, on the 2Sth Of
April A tremendous gale set in FROM
the north east, and the field ice was quick
ly broken up into foes, and formed into
one of those drifting packs that are so
dangerous to navigation. Scores of huge
icebergs were also moving about rending
the feld-ice with their blows as if with
the hammer of Thor, and dashing against
each other in wild commotion. The
fierce northeaster was pressing the ice up-
on tbe land, and under the lee of the ves-
sci, grim and frowning. were the savage
shores of Labrador. The only chance
of the Huntsman lay in battling her way
through this pack near the shore, so ac
to reach the more solid ice, at some dis
tance, where she might find har5or of
refuge. For time she fought her way
bravely, dodging the outsets of the foes,
escaping marvellous y the crush of the
meeting ice-bergs, and seemed to have
charmed life. But before she could
clear the dreadful pack of icemonsters
that were roaring around, night came
down dark as pitch, and the storm seemed
to increase with the night. The illfated
Huntsman was now at the mercy of the
waves, and in the grim darkness nothing'
could be done to avoid peril. About
nine o'clock tremendous sea struck her
hurling her bodily on Fish Rock, where
she Immediately began to break up
Three Of the crew leaped overheard, hop
ing to escape, just as she was about to
strike, but the poor fellows were struck
by foe and killed in a moment. The
remaining fifty -nine men took to the rig-
ging, as the sea was breaking over tho
ship but they were only few minutes
there when the masts went overheard,
hurling the whole of them into the seeth.
ing caldron. Forty-fvc Of them sank to
rise no more, or were crushed among the
floating ice masses, the captain and his
son among the number. Seventeen man-
aged to scramble upon the ice, but in
most pitiablc plight; some had arms brok.-
en-, some broken legs and ribs. Only
three escaped uninjured. When morning
at length broke. after the weary hours Of
that terrible night, they saw vessel at
some distance with the auspicious name
of Rescue. The poor fellows managed to-
crawl along the ice, riding one another as
best they could, the sound men half-car-
uying the others with broken limbs, and
SO they passed over nearly mile of bro.
ken ice, and at length got on board the
Rescue, more dead than alive. One Of
the saddest features of this case is that
the whole of tie men who perished be-
logged TO one little fishing village, called
Bay Roberts, which is now literally
"place or weep ing" for there is hardly d
family but has lost connection or mem
ber. There are thirty y-four widows. and
more than hundred children left father
less, most of them destitute, by this cat
astrophe.
The steamers Bloodhound and Retire.
yer were crushed by an iceberg during
the same gale in which the Huntsman was
lost.and near the same place. The Blood.
hound was the first to meet her fate.
About midnight she struck en- mighty
berg, half a mile in length. With great
difficulty she was kept afoat till morning
and then the crew was forced to abandon
her and take to the ice, without anything
but their clothing. She sank Immediate
ly after. The men painfully scrambled
over the ice to the RETRIEVER, two miles
distant, but only to find that she, too,
had received her death-blow from the
same ice-giant aud was sinking. Both
crews then took to the ice, and managed
to reach Battle Harbor.