The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1873-04-11
TERRIBLE CALAMITY.
The Steamship Atlantic Wrecked on tho
Nova Scotia Coast-Over 700 Lives Sent
toa Watery Grave.

The Steamship Atlantic Wrecked on the
Nova Scotia Coast-Over 700 Lives Sent
10 watery Grave.
from the Halifax IN. 81 Chronicle, April IL
1t IL our painful duty this morning to record
the most terrible marine disaster that has ever
occurred ON our coast-the loss OF a great
ocean steamship with about $50 lives. Yester
day afternoon a report became current that u
steamer had been wrecked somewhere on the
coast and one or two lives lost The report
was regaI led as ono Of the canards put afloat
on All FOOLS day and little regard WAS paid to
it, Soon the report became more definite, and
we knew that the steamer Atlantic, of the
White Star line, was ashore near Prospect, and
that several lives had been lost. Even yet the
public were inclined TO regard the story as
MALICIOUS HOAX.
little later, however, it became known that
the report was well founded, and but that
small part of the story had been told, the fact
that the Atlantic had been wrecked on Meagh-
ers rock, near Prospect, % miles west Of Hall
fax, and out of about 900 souls on board 730
were lost. Need we say that the terrible an
nouncement created
PROFOUND FEELING OF HORROR
throughout the community.
Having ascertained that one man from the
wrecked ship had arrived in town reporter
went in search OF him. He proved to be Mr..
Brady the third officer Of the Atlantic, bruised
and worn out, and almost speechless after the
terrible events of the morning. Nevertheless
he cheerfully gave such information rs he
could. The Atlantic, Brady said. left Liver
pool on Thursday, March 20, for New York, and
touched at Queenstown the next day to receive
the mails and passengers, after which she
started on her voyage across the ocean. She
had full cargo of general merchandise and
very large number of passengers. Brady could
not give the number, but thought there were
A l.. 49, -,
the cabin These, with her crew, would
probably make the total not less than 900
souls. She was commanded by Capt. James
Agnew Williams
ROUGH WEATHER
was experienced, but nothing worthy OF note
occurred until noon Of Monday, the 3lst, when
coal being short, Capt. Williams resolved 20
captain and Mr.. Brady had the night watch up
to midnight, when they were relieved
by the chief and fourth officer. At
that time they judged that Sambro
light then bore N. n. w. 80 miles.
The sea was rough and the night dark. The
chief and fourth officers having taken charge,
Brady went below and turned in his berth.
The captain at the same time went to his room
to lie down. What occurred between mid
night and o'clock, the time of the disaster,
Brady cannot tell, as he was sleeping. He was
awakened and
THROWN OUI Of HIS BUM
by the shock when the steamer struck. She
struck heavily three or four times. Brady ran
up to the deck and found it full of passengers.
He found an ak, and with 1T commenced to
clear away the starboard life-boat. He OBJ
served that the captain and other officers
were engaged in clearing the other boats
Brady succeeded in getting the hfe-boat out.
This was
THE ONLY BOAT LAUNCHED,
and it had no sooner touched the water than
crowd made rush to get into it. Brady had
to use force to prevent them crowding i'll. He
put two women and about dozen men into it,
and also got himself in. just then the steamer
fell over and sank. The boat, with it's hgvin
freight, was
CARRIED DOWN WITH THE STEAMER,
and all in it were drowned, except Brady.
The hull of the steamer became almost
wholly submerged, and only the bow and masts
remained above water. The greater part Of
the passengers were in their rooms below at
the time, and were Immediately drowned. In
deed, so soon after the striking did the steam
er sink, that many of the passengers were no
doubt sleeping peacefully, i'll blissful igno-
rance Of all that was going on around them,
and
OF those on deck numbering several hun
bred. many were washed overheard when the
ship fell over, and their cries for help ~ they
struggled in vain for life were most heartrend-
ing. Many had taken refuge IN the rigging
and on the bow and were still living. but with
the prospect of almost certain death before
them for they knew not where they were, and
were III momentary expectation of the ship
sinking further and engulfng them all. Even
as they were clinging in desperation to the
rigging, while the sea was washing them con-
tinually, their situation was most trying, and
every few minutes some of them. benumbed
by the cold and exhausted from their struggles,
loosed their hold and persisted.
THE CHARACTER OF THE VESSEL.
The Atlantic was built at Belfast, Ireland, in
1871 was 400 feet long, 40 feet beam, and %
feet depth of hold, and registered 3, 723 tons.
She was constructed of iron, and had four
masts and six water-tight bulkheads. She was
fitted with eleven boilers and four cylinders on
the compound principle, under which the aver
age consumption of coal was only 10 tons. The
disaster is believed to be traceable to the car
ryinG Of an insufficient supply of coal for a
voyage OF more than ten or eleven days.