The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1875-06-11
BY TELEGRAPH.
TERRIBLE DISASTER.
STEAMER SUNK
ONLY FIVE MEN SAVED.
OVER FORTY LOST
TWO DAYS IN AN OPEN BOAT
BY TELEGRAPH.
ONLY FIVE MEN SAVED.
TWO DAYS IN AN OPEN BOAT
A HEART RENDING STORY

NEW YORK, June 10.
The steamer State of Georgia, which ar
rived this morning, picked up boat con-
tanning five seamen of the Dominion line
steamship Vicksburg, from Montreal for
Liverpool. The men were nearly dead
from exposure, but all are recovering The
Vicksburg was sunk by ice on Tuesday,
June 1st. The rescued men tell fearful
tale of suffering.
The five men rescued from the steamer
Vicksburg had their feet and legs very
much swollen SO numb that their
boots had to be cut from their feet. They
are still suffering from their great exposure
to wet and cold, but are recovering as fast
as could be expected. Their names are
James Crowley of London, boatswains
mate; Thos. O'Brien of Liverpool, seaman;
Patrick Grogan of Liverpool, seaman;
John Williams of Liverpool, seaman, and
Jonas Wilkinson of Liverpool, seaman.
JAMES CRowLEY's STATEMENT.
We lett Quebec On Thursday morning,
May 9th, with ships crew of sixty men,
all told, and eight saloon passengers, five
gentlemen and three ladies, and about
twenty in the Storage, Of whom four were
females. The weather was fine until nine
o'clock Sunday evening, May 30, when we
fell in with field of ice and were soon
surrounded by it the ship was stopped
till daylight, when we proceeded again with
but little ice in sight at 0 80 p. M, Mon
day, all hands we're called to shorten sail
the ship was stopped amongst heavy ice
and headed TO the south, when we proceed
ed at full speed to get clear of the ice. AT
twelve o'clock at half speed, we struck
ice, and the engines were Immediately re-
versed. The ship struck heavily aft on
port quarter, carrying away the fans of the
propeller, and a hole was knocked through
the plates on that quarter, through which
the ship made great deal of water. We
got the sails over and stopped the hole up
so that but little water came in all
hands were employed in heaving the
cargo overheard second officer and myself
were taken from the cargo TO clear away
the boats. This was about o'clock a. M,
Tuesday, June Z. The captain ordered the
forward wells to be sounded, and six inches
of water was found. After the steerage,
then being full of water, the main hold
wells were also sounded, and five feet and
a half of water was found. The captain
called me on to the bridge and told me not
to mind the boats, and then called every
body aft and told them TO have no fears,
as he could take the ship 10 St. Johns, n.
f. 1t was then discovered that the fires III
the engine room were drowned out. The
captain then gave orders to launch the
boats with their respective crews and told
them to mind that the distance from st.
Johns was one hundred and twenty miles
northwest. proceeded to launch No. /,
which was my boat, and it was capsized in
lowering, losing chronometer, watch,
charts, rudder and part of the provisions
She was full of water. O'Brien aud ]
bailed her partly out, when Gro
gan, WILKINSON and Williams jumped in.
We could not hang on TO the ship, owing
TO the sea on and the ice about. O'Brien
saw the captain on the bridge beckonng
the boat back, we having drifted about one
hundred and fifty yards from the ship; we
saw the second officers boat lowered all
clear, with nine hands and himself in her
she came round the bow and pulled to
windward about sixty yards. The ship
sank about ten o'clock. floating boat No.
from her checks with officers and about
thirty people in her she got clear and
pulled to windward. O'Brien, after thu
ship went down, saw the captain and some
other person ON bale of hay floating
among the wreckage. We tried all w
could to pick them up, but owing to TIT
boat being half full of water and ice, W.
were not able to do 30. We shipped on
mast, kept company with their boats TO
about two hours, and then lost sight O
them to the westward. We decided thel
| w ctcci oouth W Sct Cleai VI sho iSo INV
the boat TO with an oar and bucket as
drag till Wednesday morning. We had il
the boat about three gallons of water, fort
pounds raw beef, fourteen pounds bread
wet with salt water, and compass whic
did not fall cut when the boat capsize6
Again we put sail on the boat steere
south, wind blowing from the northwar
! and westward all through, but severe an
; bitterly cold; about p. m. we hauled til
boats head to northeast till Thursda
morning, then tackled to the westwar
till about three o'clock in the afternoon
and again lay to with drag till o'clock
the evening, when we took in the dra
y and made sail and stood to the northea
till Friday morning at daylight. Tackle
to southwest till midday, tackled aga
1 to northeast till morning, when, abo,
half-past ten o'clock, we sighted your sh
7 We got at our oars and pulled away, hes
t to windward, till you picked us up.
think that forty odd people, with the ca
tain, went down with the ship. We hi
blankets in our boat for three ladies al
stew ardess, which were lost when the DO
capsized. We saw no ladies-in-chef
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