The Portland daily press., 1873-04-09
THE ATLANTIC.

natural Larents were committed to Jail.
THE ATLANTIC.
The Testimony of the Fourth Engineer.
HALIFAX, N. s., April S-The Court resumed
at nine O'clock this morning " m. PATTERSON
was sworn: Was 4th engineer OF the Atlantic,
was on duty and had chargeof the engine room
from IL to in the afternoon, and from IL TO
in the morning; the engines were going slower
from II to than they had been going during
the twelve hours previous, but they began to
improve from II o'clock; when the engines are
uolnS their best we work about "a pounds OF
steam with the expansion valve fully OPEN be-
tween II and o'clock the lowest pressure of
Stealn ss an curing the night was reached, and was
p"u. pounus Win the expansion partly on when
to "1ne On duty at y o'clock the gauge indicated
oV; account for that because when T went on
the watch there We're no Goals on the nlatas and
no ro9nd Goals to fill in the two fires: after tbe
CRATE mad been cleaned the fires were a 1ittIe
tom, e, We % LOOK some time TO get the coal out for
hres, tnen farther time to get out the round
e coals,to put on the fire. our speed increa sed he.
tween two and three O'clock; we had t;ftv
pounds pressure on the gauge at the time that
she struck; the gauge stood ffty-one, and we
had increased the speed with the increased
pressure; l was standing ON the stoke-hole
plates opposite No. boiler, when 1 felt the
ship touch the bottom almost under my feet on
the starboard side of the keel, as if she was
grazing over something; at the time was sur
facing the fire cf No. / of the starbOard boiler;
Immediately shut the surface cock and ran up
to the engine-room; when l got there l saw
that the telegraph had been thrown around be-
yond the usual mark for going astern full speedl
as if it had been pulled violently and the sigma,
had been answered from the engine-room; the
fifth engineer (since dead) was in the act of re-
versing the engine; the greaser, James Devine
(slnce dead) was there in there in the act of as
sIstlng hlm; came to his assistance, and from
the time got to the platform until the engines
were going astern occupied about 15 seconds; /
then watched the telegraph for short time to
see if any more kilograms were given from the
deck; at the same time looked at the engine
room clock and found it was o'clock; the
clock was reset at noon; went below to start the
surface cock; as soon as got to the foot of the
engine-room ladder the long lines went away
with q race very suddenly: called to the en-
gineer to stop her. then turned to go into the
stoke hole, and just as l was going there l
heard her go a way with another race; turned
back to see what was the matter, and saw the
engineer in his shirt sleeves with the throttle
valve in his hand; the chief engineer (Foxley)
then stopped the engine and ordered the fifth
engineer to shut the main stop valve; l sup
pose that he (the chief engineer) opened the
safety valve, at least he told me that be done
so far as heared the steam blowing off; when
l got to the stoke-hOle all the men had left the
fremen's room; was above the stoke-hoe and
called to the men to attend to the fires; this all
occurred in the space Of two or three minutes,
that is from the time that she strrcx fill sbut
the sea cocks; while was shutting them down
l saw water coming out of the starboard bunk
er; had only about twelve feet to rum and be-
fore reached there there was about foot of
water on the floor; then made my way to the
deck, being the last person to reach the engine
/ room. --
Horrible Scenes in the Cabin OF the
Steamer.
New York, April S-A newspaper cores
pondent, who went down to the wreck of the
Atlantic, Yesterday in divers costume SAYS
that the hull lies well down on the port side,
and is broken in several places from contact with
the reef. Fish were swimming around, eagerly
devouring the particles of food found floating.
He found the forward hatch open and saw that
the cargo there had broken the bulk and lay in
confused heaps, with the bodies of men and
women jammed among the cases and crates,
bruised and torn. Fishes were swimming in
and out, feasting upon the dead bodies. Limbs
are strewn around having bee broken from
the bodies by the continued action of
the waters, which when agtated, drive against
ugly pieces of the broken hull that here project.
The correspondent then went to the compan
ion way of the steerage cabins, and found a
hundred or more bo-ies lying in an immense
heap, looking as if alive, with arms dislocated,
eyes staring wildly faces grinning and moving
backward and forward with the under current.
Some were dressed, but many were half nude;
| chile ren were clinging to mothers; stout men
death with calm resignation. The scene was
| horrible beyond description.
The correspondent then went to the compan-
ion way of the steerage, where the Inen passen-
gers were by themselves. The bodies of strong
| men, old and young, were huddled together on
| the stairway, with distended nostrils, gaping
mouths staring, CLASSY eyes, giving some con-
| ceptioE of terror, which seized them as they
| eagerly struggled to gain the deck. From
another part OF the vessel view was obtained
| of the sleeping apartment where piled upon
| the port side were numbers of bodies of men,
with bed clothing strewn among them from an
abrasion, with broken stanchionS, and jagged,
| splintered woodwork The flesh had been
| torn from the faces of many; others are bruised
| and battered about their heads, which are red
| and bloody, contrasting horribly with the pale
/ livid features of others.
| Examined by Mr.. McDonald.-It appeared to
| to me that from the time she first struck until
she finally settled she was rattling and grinding
over the rocks, it was about two or three
minutes If the ship had been afoat and free
1 would estimate that it would take
| from three TO five minutes from the time the
| engines were reversed till she would be going
| astern.
| Cornelieus L. Brady, third officer, was re-
| called and examined by Mr. McDonald-I had
| a certificate Of competency as master, and also
passed in steam; do not remember the date.
| Testimony of Capt. MulIiSan of the Car
| lOtta.
| Edward D. Mulligan WAS sworn.-Am cap
tain of the steamer Carlotta which runs be-
tween this port and Portland, Me; have been
| master of steamships coming and going be-
| tween here and Portland for four years and am
familiar with the Nova Scotia coast from Cape
Sable to Halifax. The Carlotta is 549 tons. |
| made Sambro Light on Monday night, March
21st, at ten o'clock, Portland time, being about
1920 Halifax time. I judged that Sambro
Light bore N. E. by E., distant between three
and four miles. The night at this time was
disagreeable dark and thick up to nine O. clock.
l 7 unsettled southeast
wind. After that time the wind set in w. S.
W., somewhat high and drizzling, after that it
| improved. At tweye o'clock it was clearer and
the light could have been seen easier and at a
greater distance than at ten, but the weather
might have been different there from what
had it in the harbor. l got in here bout ten
o'clock and saw other lights. ASH came up
made Chebucto Head, Devils Island and Mea-
gher's Beach Lights. 1 steered E. S. E. coming
up. When made Sambro light l was not
| sounding. Cannot say anything about the cur
rents they are irregular and uncertain; cannot
say how they will set for twenty four hours at
| a time. The currents are greater in the winter
than in the summer, and are much governed by
the winds. We appear to have stronger wes-
terly current in the winter than in the summer.
There was better chance of seeing the light
| when coming in from sea than when running
along parable to the coast. Did not make Cross
Island Light. it being thick when passing; had
no mere difficulty in making the light that
night than at other times. AT ten o'clock that
night instructed the engineer W siach sPseu.
but while in the act of doing so got hold of
the light If had not got hold of the light |
would have slowed the ship and have her head
off shore Would not have sounded because
the soundings are irregular: l use Massy's pa
tent log. My speed at the time that saw
SambrosL Light was ten knots. always find
Massy's log correct. Ell .-.s.
Have had every opportunity of testing it; !
use the log at all times irrespective of the
weather, and have tested it frequently and
found it correct. We always tested the log in
the morning from light to light, and found ii
satisfactory but never considered it safe to run
up to the last mile that the log would allow
but leave margin. l think the accuracy o.