Year: 1875

The Steamer VfclksburE Lost 1n the NOrttA

 ern Atlantic, with Most of her Pnssen-

 gers and Crew.

 The steamer State of Georgia arrived in New York from Glasgow, having on board five men of the steamer Vicks- burg, which had been cut into by ice and sunk in midocean more than week previous, carrying down the captain and sixty-six persons of the passengers and crew. Forty four others escaped from the doomed ship just previous to her sinking, but only the five above spoken of are known to have been rescued. Their names are: Thomas O'Brien, Patrick Grogan, James Williams, Jonas Wilkinson and James Crowley. Grogan says that when the ship was stove in by the ice O'Brien and he were ordered to lower boat and get sail over the hole ill the ship. In lowering the first boat, which was the one they were in, instead of waiting each until the other was ready to lower, the man who was at the tackle some way, straightened it and let it go by the peak with the stern in the water. O'Brien then ran to the peak dayits, and cut the rope, so that the lifeboat went down, and came up again, and was, therefore, pretty well filed with water. Grogan and O'Brien went to work to bail her out, for both had succeeded in. keeping in the boat while she was going down. Crowley, Williams and Wilkin son came down to help us, the man con tinued, in order to have her ready for more passengers, should the captain say the ship would go down. We all joined ill clearing the hfeboat; then the sail was put over the hole in the ships side, and we tried to keep clear of the ship until we could hear from the captain whether the sail over the hole was sufficient to keep the vessel afoat until I've could reach St. Johns. While all this was going on the yards of the vessel had been backed to keep her to the windward and also to keep her from going ahead. This caused her to drift, and we were soon fully two hundred yards from her. and with the wind and ice found it impossible to get back again.

 They did not come to help us, so there we remained, not able to move. We took very little notice of the passengers and others who were still on board at this time, for it required all our attention to keep the boat we were in free from being crushed by the ice, which was in large foes, lying six to eight feet above the water, and extending as far as we. could see. When we rested, seeing that we could not return, we saw the second mates boat round the brow of the yes sel, with nine or ten men in her, pulling away to the windward. When this sec ond boat came round, those in the vessel seemed to have all got on deck, but there was no noise or disaster that we could see or hear. Chief Officer Leybourn got off third boat, with a pretty full load of people. When the vessel dipped and went under aft, the boat was left in the water, and when the vessel came up again before going down forward and aft, the chiefs boat cleared and was afoat, but whether the chief officer was in her we could not tell. They pulled away from where the vessel had been to the northward, while we were going to the south. We could not do anything, for O'Brien was sick; and so, for a time, we looked on in the hope that the boat which the chief got off when the vessel went down would be able to get to us. On the sea there was nothing visible after the ship sunk excepting bales of hay and. timber. ...-.sts

 In about two hours after the ship went down the ice separated from us a little, and we set our sail and tried to keep to the westward for St. Johns. During the first day we did not suffer at all, for when we were thirsty we could get ice to suck, and so get along very well. In the evening, however, there was 8 heavy sea, and we lay to. The next day we kept the same course for two hours, and the weather was rainy and cold. We then lay to again for the remainder of the day and the next night, for the req son that the wind was dead against us, and we could not make headway. On Thursday we started again, heading to the west and bearing we'll up, and keep ing on that tack during the rest of the time. or until Friday morning, when we put the boat around, and stood to the north. We continued in that direction until near midday, when we were picked up.