Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1873-02-21
Tne sinking Of the NOrthaeet IN the
z, t-s English Channel.fs

u b tt tff
NEW YoRK, FebruaryT.
THE details Of the terrible disaster TO
the ship NorthAeet are published, from
which IL appears that at halfpast ten at
night, the Captain and others were alarm
ed by cry from the officer OF the watch,
IA steamer is right into us, The cap
tain and pilot rushed on deck, but before
they got there the steamer had run into
the vessel, striking her amidships and
cutting her below watermark. The car
penter quickly reported her nearly half
full of water. Tie pumps were started
promptly, and tine crew worked hard at
them for some minutes, but when 1t was
found that the water was rapidly gaining,
a panic seemed to seize both the crew and
passengers, and afterwards II was impos-
sible to keep the latter In check. A
crowd of men a1d women had rushed up
from their berths, many only half clothed.
The passengers had mostly retired, but
few were undressing The noise of the
collision is likened by one of them to a
peal of thunder, and, such was the
violence of the shock, that those
standing were knocked down. II appears
the steamer rebounded and came second
time in collision with the Northfeet.
Water began to pour in, and in very
short time the passengers quarters were
swamped. The women were slower to
rush on deck than the men, and many
were not in q condition TO go till the
water rose threateningly around them:
No one on board the steamer was heard
to speak, although the loud and eager
shouts from the North6eet must have
made her crew aware of the terrible dan
ger that existed. She backed for two or
II, rao Nil onI than ming rQnidlV
away, was soon out of sight. For half an
hour the scene on the deck of the
Northfeet was appalling. Women
shrieked, men eursed and swore, and
fought their way toward the boats, whilst
the captain and first mate roared out COM
mands to the men to keep back and allow
the women to get TO the side OF the vessel,
but apparently without success. Rock
ets we're fred and blue lights burned.
The gun was loaded, but the screws
of the ramrod became detached from the
handle, and the piece could not be. dis
charged The signals of distress
were seen by several vessels, but appear
to have been regarded as signals for u
pilot, for no assistance was rendered.
Meanwhile the scene on deck battles de-
scriptlon. The Captain, finding the men
determined to leave the vessel, went be-
low, armed himself with revolver, and,
ascending the poop, declared his determi-
nation to shoot the first man who tried to
| leave the vessel before the women were
saved. The first boat launched was
| lowered by the passengers, by cutting the
ropes. There being no ladder at hand,
the cnly way to get into it was by leaping
or dropping some twelve or fifteen feet.
As there was terrible rush towards the
boat. the scene was one of distressing
confusion, and man and boy fell into
the water, and were drowned. The Off
GERS did all they could to force the men
who first got into the beat to leave it, that
the women might be saved, but to no
purpose Even firing with blank cart
ridge, it is supposed at first, was unavail-
! ing. About thirty persons, having got
into the boat, put off. Not one of the
crew was in it. Another life-boat was
launched. A man got into it, and was
ordered to leave He refused, and the
Captain shot him in the calf Then Cap
tain Knowles placed his wife in the boat,
and said to the 5oatswain, who had al
ready got in, Here's a charge for you,
| Boatswain. Take care of her and the
rest, and God blessyou." Wringing his
wife's hands, he bade her goodbye, say
ing, 81 shall never see you again" 1t is
! impossible to describe the panic that
ragged all this time. Heartrending scenes
were Witnessed on all sides. One of the
passengers, seeing the Captains wife in
the boat, threw bis own wife in, tossed
the baby to her, and entered the boat
himself A little girl was thrown into the
boat by her father, who tried to save the
rest of his family, but the seething, mad
dened crowd pressing toward the SIDE of
the vessel prevented, and with his wife
and two other children he went down
with the ill.fated vessel. The en- gineer
made frantic efforts to save his wi e and
children, but was jammed betwet the
cook-house and the gunwale, antl re-
ceived such dreadful injuries hat,
| although afterward rescued, he is
in precarious state. Only two OF
the seven boats aboard were launched, ,CW-
| ing, no doubt, to the panic, and they were
seriously injured, as the tackle was cut
and they fell into the sea. When the sec
ond boat had got off, it seemed to become
question of moments. The quarter deck
was still crowded by men, women and
children, some crying, swearing and pray
| ing The captain and pilot were together,
and the latter was heard saying, 'If you
want to save yourselves, make for the
topmast" To this many poor people
rusned. In quarter of an hour tug
picked up the second boat with thirty oc'
cupants, and then steamed for some time
around the spot where, about thTee-quar-
ters of an hour after being struck, the
Northfleet went down head first, with aw-
! full suddenness, with 327 souls on board.
At that moment the first boat was one
hundred yards, and the second only TWEEN. E6I
ty or thirty from the vessel. The
| Of hA firu of
women, rowed around the scene of the
wreck, and saved five men try
| ing to swim to shore. A luggeI
took off the occupants of the sec
ond boat, thirty-four passengers, and
! pilot-cutter rescued the pilot and ten men,
who, having gone down with the vessel,
rose to the surface and clung to the main
topmast rigging The vessel lies in elev
en- fathoms of water. The survivors say
the Captain displayed the greatest hero
ism, and maintained his presence of mind
from first to last, strove hard to put an
end to the panic, and did his duty bravely
to the end. He was, at the last moment
going across the wreck in hope of en-
abling some of the crowd, crushing rounC
the boats on that side, to get away from
the ship. The survivors say other boat
got adrift when the ship sunk, and expires!
the belief that, If the passengers had al
lowed them to be lowered properly, there
could have been saved at least one hun
dred more lives Unfortunately the wo
men could not climb the masts, although
we did all in our power to help them
consequently all the womeA and chill
dren, with the exception of the captain'
wife and another and two children, wer'
drowned.
Cheer Him.