Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-04-03
THE ATLANTIC HORROR.

1AH M nAN x1O AVAAVAs
Egr8S1-t - rsr
Further Details Of the Fearful Ship
so wreck. e IA
The Number Of the Lost $50,
Including $50 Women and Children.
Many Die Of Exposure after Rescue.
A Lady Frozen Dead In the Rigging.
BOSTON, April 2.-The following is a
special to the EUening Traveller:
HdlJdr, April 2.-Only three or four
cabin passengers were saved from the
wreck of the Atlantic, one English and
two or three Frenchmen. Only one lady
passenger attempted to save herself She
was frozen to death in the rigging and fell
into The water. The purser is among the
lost. Some of the passengers arrived in
this city to day to give narrowing details of
the calamity. The Atlantic had $50 steer
age passengers and thirty saloon. There
had been two births during the voyage.
The crew numbered l42, and IA stow Always
were discovered. Three hundred in all
were saved out of the total number of
1,038.
The Story OHa Steerage Passenger.
HALIFAX, April IA steerage passen-
ger makes the following statement:
turned into my berth about IL o'clock
Monday night. The night was dark but
starlight and the weather fine. knew the
ship was going into Halifax for coal. The
last Remembered was that the two bells
Gone o'clock struck. | then went to sleep
and woke up with the shock and remarked
to my mate "there goes the anchor"
thought ofecurse we were safe in Halifax
harbor, but as soon as she made the second
plunge said "Good God, she's ashore"
With that we got up and dressed. The
companionway was thronged with the low
er steerage passengers seeing that the sea
was commencing to break over the ship,
and lower down the companionWay l got as
many as possible to take to the hunks and
hold on by the iron stanchieons. There
we remained until after daylight. The
ship had plunged over and the steeraga was
full of water, one side only being out of it.
Our only chance for escape was the port
holes. A number of men, probably twenty,
got out through the ports to
the side of the vessel.
remained until all who were alive were out.
There were great many drowned in their
hunks, and others were drowned while try
ing TO reach the ports. l got out through
port and held fast TO the side of the ship for
about two hours, and then went to shore
by the lifeline. When l left the ship there
were still great many in the rigging.
The LOst and Saved.
A list of the cabin passengers lost is Civ
en-10 men and 10 women. Fourteen
of the cabin passengers were saved, all men.
No cabin passengers from the South. The
Captain and the first, third and fourth off,
GERS and surgeon were saved. The second
officer, Purser and Chief Ste ward were lost.
About 10 Of tie crew were lost and the
same number saved. -Four hundred and
thirteen steerage passengers were saved,
which is about one half of the number on
board. "
The Captains Story.
The following is the Captains state
ment:
We started from Liverpool March 20.
During the first part Of the passage lad ia
Vorable weather and easterly winds. On
the 24.h, 25th ald 26th experienced heavy
southwest and westerly gales which brought
the ship down to one hundred and eigh-
teen miles day. On the 31st of March the
engineers report shows but ABOUT 127 tons
of coal on board. We we're then 46 miles
east of Sandy Hook, with the wind south
west, and high westerly swell and falling
barometer, /the ship steaming only eight
knots per hour. Considered the risk too
great to push on, as We might find our
selves in the event of gale shut out from
any port of supply, and so decided to bear
up for Halifax. At l P. NJ, of the 31st,
Sambro Island was distant 10 miles,
the ships speed varying from 20 10 knots
per hour, wind south with rain, which
veered to westward at P. NJ, with clear
weather. At midnight judged the ship to
have made 122 miles, which would place
her 4S miles south of Ssmbro, and l then
left the deck and went into the chart-.oom,
leaving orders about the lookout and to let
me know if they saw anything, and call me
at 3 A. NJ, intending then to put the ships
head to the southwark and await day light.
My first intimation of the catastrophe was
the striking of the ship on Mars Island
and remaining there fast. The seas imme-
diately swept away all the port boats. The
officers went TO their stations and com.
menced clearing away the weather boats.
Rockets were fired by the second officer.
Before the boats could De cleaIded, en- y ten
minutes having elapsed, the ship keeled
heavily to port, rendering tie starboard
boats useless. Seeing that no help could
be got from the boats, got the passengers
into the rigging and outside rails, and en-
couraged them to go forward where the
ship was highest and less exposed to the
water. The third officer, Mr.. Brady, and
Quartermasters Owens and Peakmsn by
this time having established communication
with the outlying rock, about 40 yards dis
tant, by means of line, got four other
lines to the rock along which about 200
people passed. Between the rock and the
shore was passage one hundred yards
wide. A rope was successfully passed
across this, by which means about fifty got
to land, though many were drowned in the
attempt. At A. NJ. the first boat appeared
from the island, out she was too small to
be of any assistance. Through the exer-
tons of Mr.. Brady, the third officer, the
islanders were aroused, and by 6 A. NJ.
three larger boats came TO Our assistance.
By their efforts all that remained on the
side of the ship and on the rock were
landed in safety and cared for by q poor
fisherman named Chsnch and his daughter.
During the day the survivors to the num-
ber of 429 were drafted off to various
houses and scattered about. The resident
Magistrate, Edmund Ryan, rendered v2lu-
able assistance. The chief officer having
got up the mizzen rigging, the sea cut off
bis retreat, He stood for six hours by
woman who had been placed in the rigging.
The sea was two high to attempt his rescue.
At P. NJ. a clergyman, Rev. MIR. Ayerent,
succeeded in getting him line and getting
him off.
Many of the passengers, saloon and steer
age, died in the rigging from cold. Among
the number was the Purser of the ship.
Before the boats went out | placed two la
dies in life-boat, but finding the boat use-
less, carried them to the main rigging,
where left them and went aft to encour-
age others to go forward on the side of the
ship. At this juncture the boilers exploded
and the boat rolled over to leeward, the ship
at this time being on her beam ends Find
ing myself useless there, went to take the
ladies forward, but found them gone, nor
did see them afterwards.
Many passengers at this time could not be
stimulated to any effort to save themselves,
but lay in the rigging and died from fright