Year: 1872

A more strange story of shipwreck has never


been told than that of the loss of the mail


steamship Rangoon. It's strangeness consists


in the utter ubsenOO of any occasion for such u


disaster. The Rangoon was one Of the finest


ships in the magnificent feet of the Peninsular


and Oriental Navigation Company. She was


but eight years DID, and had made some Of the


fastest trips on record between Australia and


Gale. Her captain one of the most ex-


perienced officers in the company's service. No


ship under his command had ever yet met with


a casualty, aud his voyage on this occasion was


to have been his last trip to the colonies before


retiring with credit from the service. On We'd


nesday, the lst of this month the ship was lying


in the harbor Of Gale, ready, SO far as her own
preparations were concerned, to start for Sydney


In the evening the contract date for her depart


ure was up, and she weighed anchor at O'Clock,


in order to clear the harbor while daylight lasted


1t was peculiarly calm evening the water even


outside the harbor was comparatively smooth;


and as the Gale pilot guided the ship out of the


port there was not a single circumstance which


could occasion the least anxiety either to the
crew or the passengers. Within half an hour the


Rangoon was helpless wreck, and gradually set
ting down in fifteen fathoms of water within
sight Of the port. There was just time to save
the lives on board, to rescue a portion of the
mails and little of the luggage of the passen-
gers, and at halfpast 10 the ship had to be aban-
doned by her crew. For two hours longer, while
he a mild brir
they watched her sinking, and saw the native
wreckers snatching precarious booty from her
decks or saloons; but by halfpast IL the tops of
two masts projecting above water were all that
could be seen of the Rangoon. The vessel had
struck upon q rock not more than mile from the
was rock perfectly well known to the least ex-
perienced seaman of those waters, and what is
more, it was marked with bacon. There was,
in fact, just as much occasion, under the circum-
stances, for the ship to have beached herself on
the inside of the harbor as to have struck on the
Kadr Rock. The reason, if such it can be call
ed, had nothing whatever to do with the perils Of
the sea. The work of the Rangoon was to carry
on from Gale to Australia the mails from Eng
land and China. The former had been brought
in good time from Suez; but the Travancore,
which was to bring the China mails, was late.
But for this delay the ship might have started
two or three days earlier, and passengers had been
impatiently grumbling over their loss of time
After ALL the Trayancore failed to arrive before
the contract date of departure and the agent of
the company at length gave the order to sail
without waiting longer for the overdue steamer
1t was thought, however, that the Rangoon, as
she left port, might possibly meet the TraYancors
coming in, and in that case she was directed to
lie-to and endeavor to have the China mails and |
passengers transferred to her. It would seem
also that even the local mails were not ready, aud,
instead of being put on board in harbor, were sent
after the Rangoon in mail boat. The vessel
ay for few moments with speed slackened, if
not entirely stopped, to take them in, and, mean
while, it is said, a current was running Of the
strength of which on that particular evening no
'ne on board had any conception At all events,
t was suddenly observed that the vessel had
lrifted most unwarrantably close to beacon
,laced on the outer Kadir Rock" The alarm
vas instantly taken by both captain and pilot,
,ut it was too late The vessel was already along
ide the rock She struck with two or three
eaVy shocks, and nothing remained but to keep
Ter ahoat long enough to save life and property
3ven then she seemed doomed TO suffer by the