National opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1865-1874, 1873-12-26
A Disaster nj Sea.

The purscr OF the lost steamer, WIZ
du Havre has furnished the following
narrative Of tho disaster
We had been ont OF New YORK seven
days whom our ship accomplished her
terrible destiny. A thick fog settled
over our course during tho hrst I'VE
days Of the voyage, but on the night oil
wosful event tho mist had cleared away
and the sea weather was fine and pright;;
] retired TO rest ut the usual hour, ana
was sleeping in nv cabin when the col
lision occurred. The shock, of course,
awoke me, and ] Immediately rusieo
on deck TO ascertain the cause OF 'he
unwonted disturbance. i deserted a
sailing ship, and / knew ut once that IL
had come in contact with our right side.
The rigging of the main.mast was gone,
and five minutes afterwards there broke
over me the fearful conviction that the
ship was going down by the bow. The
scene which followed will ever remain
with me as living memory, but can
not attempt 10 describe it. Some thirty
or forty of the passengers had managed
to get into the long. boat, lowered by
order OF the captain, and the feeble hope
which had remained with them that they
might escape with dear life grew strong
when they found themselves thus freed
from the sinking ship. Just ut that
moment, however, an awful fatality
happened. The mizzen-mast fell on
the left side of the vessel, and either
killed or wounded Leerly the whole OF
the occupants of the boat. Half min
ute afterwards the mainmast fell on the
deck, killing two and injuring several
others. The horrors of the catastrophe
seemed, as it were, to concentrate Mt
this point, and surely n more terribly
heartrending scene was never enacted
in mid-ocean. hear even now the
groans of the wounded, the grievous
but unavailing cries of Help help -
the heartrending shrieks which pierced
the air AS :" one was taken and the other
left" i hear even now the calmly ex-
pressed determination issuing from
many manly heart to "die nobly, as
die we must. / hear even now the
sound of the water rushing down the
windpipe into the hold with velocity
which convinced all who knew what IT
meant that the vessel was sinking, not
gradually but with wondrous, awful
rapidity. ! undressed and, with an
other, jumped into the water. We
swan towards the English ship Loeb
Earn. which had then hove of distance
of half mile from the Vile du iiavre.
| heard the ship cracking. and, turning
my head round, saw that the vessel
would be under water Immediately.
| exclaimed to the gentleman who was
swimming by my side, "Look behind
you the ship is going down" As n
rule when vessel sinks she reels and
" shivers," but in this instance the
ship went down forward. For moment
mightier shrek rent the air, and the
cries from the vessel were evidently the
outbreak of the last great agony. Then
all was peace where all had been con.
fusion, deathlike calm succeeded
noise and tumult, and | knew that the
good ship and the souls on board her
bad sunk into watery grave. | should
like to add that our captain remained
on the bridge during the whole of this
scene, and went down with the vessel
He was rescued, however, in the course
of an hour afterwards. All the officers
saved were picked mp out of the water,
with one single exception, viz, the first
lieutenant, who left, by command of
the captain, in boat for the English
ship in order to ascertain whether it
was sinking or able to receive the pas
sengers. There were fifteen officers in
all, and only six of these remained to
tell the tale. With regard to myself l
swan in the direction | before indica-
ted for half an hour, but when | did
succeed in getting close to the ship l
missed the ropes thrown out to me. /
continued swimming for ten minutes or
a quarter of an hour longer, when /
was picked up by the life-boat belong
ing to the Loeb Earn.