FORTY LIVES LOST.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 422, 3 February 1909, Page 7

FORTY LIVES LOST.

THE CLAN RANALD. STORY OF THE FOUNQERINC TERRIBLE BATTLE WITH THE WAVES. (31 T*L^Qttirs—rit?sa assqcutjoh—copyright.) Adelaide, February 2. Further particulars of the foundering of the steamer Clan Ranald, iji Gulf St. Vincent, off Yorko Ponipsula, show that the steamer's white complement consisted, oi the following :— Captain Gladstone. Mr. Rose, first mato (sared). Mr. Campbell, second mate. Mr. Wilson, third mate (saved). Mr. Stewart, chief engineer. Mr. Fordyoe, second engineer (saved), Mr. Walls, third engineer. Mr. Patterson, fourth engineer. Mr. Stewart, chief steward. Mr. Shaw, carpenter (saved).

The crew wero 54 in number, and consisted of Asiatics.' In addition to the four white men saved (as indicated.above), 20 of th 9 Asiatics survived. The survivors arrived at Edithburgh, last evening., A Sudden List, Fallowed by an Eight Hours' Drift, The first mate, Mr. Rose, states that all went well till two o'clock on Sunday afternoon, when the vessel took a sudden listed became unmanageable. The second officer, Mr. Campbell, was then in charge. All hands came on deck and remained on the high part of the ship., They lost two of the boatsj and the other two oould not be launched as the vessel was drifting towards the shore, The vessel foundered at ten o'clock on Sunday night. AU hands were thrown into the watori Heartrending cries were heard as the men were cast into'the sea. Nautical men believe the vessel struck a reef. It is clear that the water put the fires out after the vessel heeled pvor. The pilot who took the vessel out of port says she had a sljgtyt ]jst to starboard, but nothing out of the ordinary that could pot have been lightened by consumption of coal.'

; Shaw, 'who is sisty .years.;of'age,; swam ashore with the' aid of a life belt.. He'states that the vessel was' about five,miles front''■the shore when a wave' struck : : her. ' From': the tiiue'she took the 'first' sheer till she;, sank, six or seven hours elapsed: 'i.-.

Two of the boats were washed away with the stays; two others wore smashed in an effort to launoh them. It was impossible to get at tho other on account of the extreme list of the steamer. ' What Caused the Disaster? Ample warning was given of tho impending danger. Everyone was on deck when the ship took her final plunge. Shaw had been eight years on the ship and had never known her to behave in such a fashion before. . He oould not say whether shifting cargo caused tho disaster. It certainly was not the bad weather; tho Clan Ranald was a splendid sea boat. "On approaching the beach," said Shaw, "the surf carried" "me" 3DlT*yardil Three others were carried up tho beach in similar fashion. There wore some people ashoro .when wo They had,a fire burning to warm us, and had plenty of water, bread, butter, and brandy. They made us as comfortablo as possible. 'I noticed tho captain on tho rail just before the ship went under."

, A feature of the:disaster.is the fact that ! only those- members; who' could-swim roached .the shore., '.'.'..;■ ' : ' .:'; v,c.''i■-.:'.■•■!■ \- ■ The.first mate and second'engineer-were an, hour, in, the water. :beforo : . they: reached' the, shore..', The latter. came -.'across 1 an, upturned boat and clung to it. '!: i r . C ' .J' ; ". : :i '7'! ;: '

Mr. Fordyce stated that the third engineer proffered him a life-belt, but lie- declined it; as he was a strong swimmer. He endeavoured to tie the belt round the third engineer, but ho would not' accept'it. At that moment the ship sank in' a whirlpool. That was the last seen of the third engineer. Behaviour of tho Coloured Men. The vessel is oompletely out of sight. She went down in fourteen ■ fathoms of water. Tho Lasoar crew displayed great oalmnesa. Several of tho coloured crow clung tonaoiously to a rudely-constructed raft, which was put hurriedly together, and they reached ■ shoro by its'means. One of tho tascars stated that six or seven died during the night, after landing.

Tho beach at tho spot presented a ghastly spectacle, dead bodies lying in all directions. Improvised stretchers were used, and the bodies carried up the face of a eliff some ,200 ft. high. One body was found on top of tho cliff. The man had climbed up and then died from exhaustion. Thirty bodies havo already been recovered. All the dead found so far had life belts. The bodies bore marks of being battered on tho rocks. ' , Tho Clan Ranald; was bound for Durban' (tho first port), and carried a South African mail. SOMETHING NOT YET TOLD. Dip THE STEAMER'STRIKE A REEF? (Received February 2, 5.7 p.m.) Adelaide, February 2. While the members of the crew are reticent as to the actual cause of the disaster, from what can be learned it appears that something must have occurred aboard the Clan Ranald. The hypothesis is that the Bhip 6truok Marion Reef, which lies to the south-cast of Troubridgo Hill., Attempts to obtain any' definite information are futile. "Thoro is too much at stake," was the reply pf the first officer when prossod for information.

, TAEDY aSSISTANOB. ' (Reo. Fobmary 8,. 1.6 a.m.) • \ Adelaide, February 2. The yiotims of the: wreck of the Clan Ranald were buried' at Edithburg.. : The Lascars were buried in a largo trench 25ft. long, the whites in a smaller trenoh. . Some.complaints have been made that assistance was not promptly sent.: The news that an unknown vessel' was in distress was received on Sunday night, but assistance was not sent till eight o'clock on Monday morning.