The Portland daily press., 1873-04-09
The Atlantic Disaster.

Tho following testimony of Quartermastel
Thomas OF the steamship Atlantis indicates
that there was at least one subordinate officer
that realized the peril the ship was in by thus
approaching the shore:
Robert Thomas, quartermaster, testified: l
was on duty between II o'clock and the time
the ship struck: my duty during the first two
hours was to make coffee for the officers and
clean the brass works; went down, got the
cohee and gave it to the officers; at half-past
one went to the second officer and remarked
that the ship ought TO stand to the southwest,
and that she had run the distance necessary to
make Sambro light at one o'clock; the previ-
on > day got the latitude and longitude Of the
sntps poSltlon, and also the latitude and longi
tude OF Halifax; this information I got from
cabin passenger, and made the calculation in
my own mind. (Witness submitted calcuIa
ton made in pencil) Estimated that the shin
had run from eleven to twelve knots per hour.
and according to that estimate we had passed
the light. '0''
Witness then repeated the words he address,
ed to the second oficer.) The latter he said re-
pied that he was not captain and that was
not mate, and he could not do as he pleased:
he was standing in company with the boats,
wan, Lang, who was drowned in the port
sl6ie OF the ship; then asked Mr.. Brown. the
fourth officer, if I should go to the main ward
ana look tor the land; he answered it is no use:
! !, then sad can pick up the land more readily
caast cnan any otner man, as | have been on the
coast having visited Halifax in 1885,. ia .i ~
fourth officer he would not feel the land III, ho
struck upon 1t; L then took NV tnrr a+ ~
wheel at three o'clock the weather began to set
little hazy; about that time the cants;n,s h",
came on deck with a cup of cocoa: the second
officer told him not to call the captain as he
would do it himself; at twelve minutes mast
three the captain was called; 1 knew the time
erecisely, because was asked by the second of.
ncer; tne captain did not rouse at first, and the
| second ofhcer went away; a few minutes after
he returned: said the best thing you can do is
| to shake him and get him up; as the captain
was bel called the second time I heard Car.
roll who was on the watch call out, "Ice
ahead' iett the wheel and ran to the door to
see whether 1t was the ice; l saw white foam
| and it was ice; Immediately ran back tn the
| wheel and put the helm hard starboard and
ran to the telegraph connecting with the engine
room, but at that instant she struck; I ran aft
to get axes to cut the boats clear;a woman al
that moment rushed up and cried out 0Saye
me-" told her to wait till came; when / re.
turned with the axes took her and her bow mr.
to the saloon deck, when heard Mr.. Brady cry
out where are the 'aXes;" cried out that tbey
had all been distributed; | was cutting away
the starboard boat when she listed over; Prudy,
another Quartermaster, was with me; at the
time he said to me, ''Thomas, will YOU come
and swim ashore with me; 1 said not yet; Il am
going to save Moneys mother; he then wished
me SOou Dyej ne was tne nrSt mBn VINO left the
ship for the shore; after [ saw Mary Mooney
and her boy swept away l thought would try
to save myself; took off my coat, jumped oyel
and safely reached the shore.
( Cross-examined by Mr.. Ritchie-After one
o'clock / calculated that the ship had run
a hundred and forty-four miles; the wind about
2 O'Clock was south and pretty well astern, but
variable; when the I'd officer called the Captain
he said it was getting thick and Sambro Light
was not yet in sight; when the ship struck the
ID officer and Captain were in the chart room;
/ did not notice any person Standing on the
bridge: cannot say if was IA miles from the
bear on the course we ran, but looked straight
ahead; when Mr. Brady called out "where are
the axes" did not see him: this is the third
or fourth voyage made on the Atlantic
AT half-past 1 A.. NJ. l judged we were IA
miles from Sambro; at O'Clock On the former
day estimated that we were 160 or 170 miles
from Sambro.
Cross examined by Mr. McDonald-I spoke
to the second officer as l did because felt very
uneasy; knew the coast was very difficult to
make out, for when 1 was in Halifax before in
the City of Londou remembered that the ship
sometimes went very slow and sometimes at
nait speed, and that the lead was hove every
zen minutes: did not notice that any sleet fell
On tuesday night; do not think that the ship
was IN a condition to run 18 knots without can
vas; have now reason to believe that nv pre-
Slousiy @ pressed oe.,el that the ship had run
Re-examined by Mr.. Ritchie-J bouo -,
that there is a current on that coast T.; y. healo
ter time running from two and n baIe 'ne win-
knoes esasnos f !; zen now 1t sets, and mada No
The cereDro-spinal meningitis is preva;,;n
a considerable extent in Fall I2iyor