The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1884-05-08
A Fah1i Coast.

connected with this part OF the Nova
ocoua coast where the Steinmann was
wrecked. During the last eleven or
twelve years there have been nearly as
many disasters in the immediate vicin-
ity. and the total loss of life which has
resulted from them cannot be much be-
DIV round thousand. 1t was just Off
sambro Light that the greatest loss of
IRe by shipwreck during this century
;o)k place. The fated steamer was the
Atlantic. one OF the largest and finest
OF the White Star Line heet, on which
occasion between $40 and 600 lives
were lost. The few particulars which
have been received of the sinking of
the Stelnmann reveal many striking CO.
medicines in connection with the loss
OF the Atlantic. Not only is the local
lty OF the wreck of the steamer from
Antwerp almost identical with that
where the steamer from Liverpool went
down. but there is only lacking an in
terval OF a couple of DAYS of the last
calamity coming on the eleventh ami
versary of the one in which the greater
number OF lives were sacrificed The
Atlantic struck and went down the
morning of April l, 1873, at about the
same hour that the Steinmann was
wrecked the morning of April 3, 1884
The total loss of life by the Atlantic
wreck was 800 out of 97S. The Capt
ain of the Atlantic, like the Captain of
| the Steinmann was saved. Meagher'S
rock was the precise spot where the
! Atlantic was lost. and almost within a
stones throw was Cape Prospect, q
, small village inhabited almost wholly
by fishermen.
The ATLANTIC sailed from Liverpool
the 10Th OF March. During the first
part of the voyage favorable winds aud
fair weather were experienced. The
9th, 18th and 10Th fell in with heavy
southwest and westerly gales, which
blow SO violently that only about 100
miles per day were. made. The 3lst
of March the engineer reported to
Captain Williams that his stock of coal
had diminished to about 1871 tons. The
Atlantic was then 100 miles to the east
ward of Sandy Hook, with the wind
southwest, a high westerly swell, and
falling barometer. The ship was steam
inc ut the rate of eight knots per hour
The Captain considered the risk too
great to push on, as he feared he might,
in the event OF a gale. be shut out from
any port Of supply. and under the cir
cunStancej he decided to make for the |
port of Halifax. At one p. M. he calcu- |
lated that Sambro Island was distant |
about 10 miles. AT midnight the ship |
was, according to the estimate OF |
Captain Williams, forty-eght m lie, |
south Of Sambro. The Captain then |
went below, leaving orders that he |
should be called at three O'Clock, when |
he intende to put the ships head to |
the southwark and await daylight. The
,ecOnd ami fourth mates were in charge.
At about three o'clock the man on the
lookout reported breakers ahead, but
before the vessel could be stopped she
had struck heavily On the rocks. She
began to labor hea lily, and immense
breakers swept the decks. Before the
boats could be cleared the ship keeled
over to port, rendering the starOoard
boats useless. Then ensued scenes of
heartrending horror. The decks
were thronged by helpless passen-
gers, who sought in vain for succ0r.
Beside these, many were instantly
drowned in their berths and stateroOms.
Those who Were awakened and had
es aped to the saloon and deck-men,
women and children-clung together in
groups in the mur&y darkness, which
was Illuminated every now and then by
the Q lare OF rockets sent up for assist
ance. Som the helpless bcings began
to be swept off the deck as the vessel
sank, and some two hundred were
crushed to death by the foreboom, which
b 'oEe loose from lis faStenings and
dashed to pieces all who were on the
deck house ~ the time. The officers of
the ship did all in their power to get
the passengers into the rigging and out
side of the rails forward, where there
was the least danger, the ship being
highest there and least exposed to the
waves. Not q woman was saved, and
only one child a lad named Handley,
about thirteen years of age, who was
made hero OF in Boston as he passed
throu RI here on his way home The |
women behaved haroicly, and one par
ticularly-a Miss Scrymser, of New
YOrk-climbed into the rigging as the
steamer went down, and was frozen
there in the morning. Most of those
VINO landed were rescued BY lifeline.
which Third Officer Brady tied around
him and swan ashore with. The point |
where the steamer went down wa, |
scarcely 100 yards from shore With
this fact in view it would seem at first G
that so many would perish. c
The chief reason is that most of the I
lost were asleep and were drowned be-
fore they had time to escape. Many
who actually succeeded in gaining the "
deck were so frightened and dazed as to q
be pOwerless to resist the heavy sea e
which swept over them in the inky dark y
Most of the bodies of those lost were
recovered within n few days of the e
disaster. La 4 single day over 800 were Il
consigned to long, narrow graves on il
he shore, and during the ensuing week d
lalf rs many more were rudely COM
nitted to the trenches which the fisher
nen at Point Prospect had prepared
rhe sights on the shore in the neighbor
lood of the wreck for upwards of n
ortnight were no less heartrending D
han they were sickening. A heavy t.
ain a few days after the burials washed d
Iway the earth which had been sparse d
V thrown over the cOrpSeS; and in "
many cases their CHASTITY forms were u
exposed to view. The work of inter- e.
nent, so imperfectly performed at first b
vas Subse Iuently done more thorough II
V, and few rude headstones were :.
.rected to mark the resting places OF o.
he victims of the greatest ocean dis al
ster in the history OF the world. An N
left the blame on Captain m
Williams, who was tried and punished Il
.ccording to the laws of Great Britain, b.
tut the derelict officer died from re- ii