The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1873-04-03

With our special HnsALD dispatches we
devote large portion of our columns this
morning to the thrilling details incidental to
the wreck and total loss of the steamship
Atlantic. from officers and passengers saved
We also give special passenger lists of the
ship, telegnphed by the HERALD correspon-
dent in London, including the saved and the
lost, list which will carry a lifelong SORROW
to thousands of anxious hearts on both sides
of the sea, but which will also relieve
many of their fears. Considering the
rock-bound coast where this frightful disaster
occurred, the heavy sea- the time. the sud-
denness of the shock and the swift destruction
Of the ship that followed, the special wonder
is, not that 80 many as nearly six hundred Of
the thousand souls on board went down to
death, but that 80 many as some four hundred
and twenty-nine were rescued from the en-
quilting waves of that angry sea- Many, no
doubt, were lost by being dashed against the
rock between the ship and the island; but
many that were lost would have been saved
| if time had been given them to awake from
their dreams Of security and to comprehend
the dangers which enveloped them and their
chances of escape
From the statement Of Captain Williams
it appears that he had found it necessary to
head for Halifax for coal, his supply on board
being nearly exhausted that at midnight on
March 81 he judged the ship to be some forty
eight miles south Of Sambro that he then
left the deck and went into the chart ROOM
leaving word about the lookout and to let him
know if they saw anything, and to call him at
three o clock, as he intended then to put the
ships head southwark and await daylight. His
first intimation of the catastrophe was the
striking Of the ship hard and fast The sea
Immediately swept away all the boats on
the port side, when the officers proceeded to
clear away the boats on the weather side;
but before they could be cleared, only ten
minutes having elapsed, the ship careened,
and they became useless. The Captain then
got the passengers that were on deck into the
rigging, or to the forward part of the ship,
which was highest, some Of the officers, mean
time, having established communication by
means Of ropes to the outlying rock, some
forty yards distant and by these lines, four in
number, two hundred people passed. Be-
tween the rock and the neighboring island
there was space of water Of q hundred yards
to be passed, and line over this passage was
next established, whereby fifty persons passed
over safely to the land, though many others
we're drowned in the attempt By six o'clock
. the islanders came to the rescue with three
large boats and took off all the passengers
that remained on the side of the ship and the
rock, landed them safely, when they were
, taken in charge and kindly cared for by q
, poor fisherman and his daughter. The
Captain further reports the survivors from the
wreck at four hundred and twenty-nine,
drafted off to the various houses scattered
about in that wild region, but during the day
they were all carried of by steamers sent up
from Halifax
] From the plain and convincing statement of
, Captain Williams we are satisfied that on the
night of March 81 his precautions and instruc-
tons were well considered for the safety of
!, his ship near q dangerous coast that his
conduct and that of his officers from the
? striking of the ship to the rescue Of the last
living passengers left on the vessel and the
rock was that of brave, humane and heroic
men that the measures he adopted on shore
for the immediate care of his rescued passen-
gers and for their speedy transfer to Halifax
, were the best that could be adopted under
the circumstances and that Captain Will
liams and his assisting officers throughout ex-
hibited the finest qualities of the seaman in
: their GOODNESS, discipline and self-possession.
But while we have columns of interesting
J | CO. orl o.,,f, avJ
nected with this appalling shipwreck we
have no satisfactory explanation of the causes
or the responsibility for this awful loss of
human life.
) The causes of this calamity may be charged
: to the peculiar construction of the steamer;
her scant supply of coal for even an average
trip; her approach in the night to the rock
bound coast upon which she was wrecked; the
}. darkness and heavy sea, and the awful mis-
F take of the officer in immediate charge of the
: ship, in supposing the light intended to warn
him from destruction to be the light inviting
him to the safety of friendly harbor. It has
been the boast of the White Star line
! that their ships are built expressly to
. meet the three essential conditions of
/ safety, speed and comfort" 1t is also true
r that down TO this dreadful misfortune these
ships have been proved by thousands Of pas
sengers to be safe, speedy and comfortable
But ship four hundred and twenty feet long
and only forty feet in width, with draught of
twenty three feet Of water, and rising twenty
odd feet above the water to her top deck, pre-
sents on lee shore most inviting broadside
to the heavy breakers Of rough sea. To such
ship, in situation like this, there is no
escape from speedy destruction; for, against
the millions Of tons Of rolling waves beating