San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-09-17
WRECK OF A TROOP SHIP.

In 1857 the Chinese had again forced a war
on England They had chosen a bad time for
a conflict with Great Britain. The war with
Russia had only just ended, leaving England
with an army much larger and better pre-
pared for active work in the field than is
usual in England. A small force was &C
cordingly organized for operations in the
neighborhood of Canton, with Hong Kong as
its immediate base My regiment was one of
those selected for this service, and it sailed
from Portsmouth for Hong Kong early in
April, 1857.
My company was one of those ordered to
embark in the Transit, a troop ship that had
been purchased, when half finished, by the
admiralty, during the Crimean war. and that
had already become notorious for her many
mishaps. Built by contract, the worst posi-
BILE work and material had been put into her.
She had recently been patched up in one Of
our royal dockyards, and new engines had
been given her. At the last hour, however,
she had been fitted for sea in great hurry,
and the result was neither satisfactory nor
creditable to our system of admiralty admin
istration.
The anchor was up finally, and amid the
waving of handkerchiefs, and with hearts
filled with mingled feelings Of joy and sor-
row, we started slowly away toward the
Needles. As we neared Hurst Castle, the
weather becoming thick and foggy, the cap
tain anchored for the night, intending to be-
gin his voyage down the channel at sunrise
next morning.
The noise of heaving at the anchor woke
me at dawn the following morning had
Just turned over in my narrow berth, enjoy
ing the pleasurable sensation of being off
duty and so able to doze away for another
hour when my soldier servant put his head
into the cabin, and announced in his mellow
Irish brogue that the ship had five feet of
water in the hold.
He did not know how it came about, but
that she was already very deep in the water,
and that l had better get up at once, he was
certain. | thought some blue jacket had
been pulling his Leg" so, smiling in what
believed to be my superior wisdom at the Sc
rious manner in which he had taken the joke,
turned my face from the light, bidding him
begone, and told him to call me at s.
very few moments only could have
elapsed when he again aroused me from
pleasant dreams of friends at home. This
time he assured me in very excited voice
that the ship was sinking While he spoke
the bugles sounded our "regimental CALL"
and then the assembly" In few minutes
| was on deck in Uniform, with my company
We had just got under way, and were
steaming slowly in the gray of a misty morn
ing back to Portsmouth. All hands were
ordered to the pumps; the steam pumps were
already at work
The captain, fearing that the ship might
go down suddenly. Rugged the shore all the
way, so as to be able to run her aground in
shallow water at any moment, and to save
those on board if he could not save his ship.
The sun had just risen as we neared Spit
head, and there was no wind even to shake
out and so make visible the signals to the adj
miral ashore, describing our dangerous posi-
ton. We had very large quantity of gun
powder on board, intended for our fleet in
Chinese waters, also many tons of ammuni-
ton for the army
As precautiOn against dangerous eXplo-
sions near the dockyards, from time imme-
mortal the positive rule at Portsmouth has
been that no ship shall enter the harbor until
she has discharged all her powder at Spit
head into special lighters provided for that
purpose. All that we had on board was al
ready well under water, for the leak was in
less mixture of powder and water was there
fore possible; but there was the order signed
by my lords" of the admiralty, and our cap
tain did not dare to infringe it.
He could not anchor, for his steam pumps
only worked In connection with the engines
which drove the screw, so if the ship stopped
the pumps would stop also, and we should
have sunk in few minutes.
can never forget the absurdity of the Do
sition. One of her majestys ships, crowded
with soldiers, half full of water, in a sinking
condition, steaming at full speed round in
circle at Spithead, while the naval authori-
ties were striving to decipher the signals Of
distress displayed at our masthead. At last
the signals were made out by those on shore,
and formal permission was given for US to
enter the harbor.
After a great deal of cleverly executed
naval maneuvering, we came alongside dock
yard pier. To it we were dashed with chains
and stout hawsers to prevent the ship from
moving, while the screw turned at full
speed, its movement being, as have said, a
necessary accompaniment Df the steam
pumps, whose action was necessary to keep
the ship ahoat. The troops were transferred
to an old hulk, which bad once been a dash
ing two decker"
The Transit was docked that evening and
We then verified the suspicion that had been
mooted on board all the morning, but in an
undertone, namely, that we had anchored in
too shallow water, and when the tide went
out, had sat down upon our anchor. The eff
feet Of this unfortunate operation was to
make a large hole in the ships bottom,
through which the sea had been pouring in
all night, without any one being a bit the
WISER Indeed it was not until the anchor