EXTRAORDINARY STORY FROM THE SEA.

Globe, Volume I, Issue 46, 23 July 1874, Page 3

EXTRAORDINARY STORY FROM THE SEA.

We abridge the story as it is told by the "New York Herald," of date 4th May : Plymouth, Eng., April 20, 1874.

On the evening of the 18th iustant two strange: steam colliers hove in sight, rnakiug for the Sound and having in tow a large derelict steamship, known from her build and her fore and aft red funnels, to be one of the vessels of the Compagnie Transatlantique. At first the rumor got abroad that it was the Europe, as it had been positively stated that the Amcrique had foundered. By aid of a powerful glass Amerique was seen, painted in white letters, on the bow, and all conjecture as to her name was thenceforth ended. The only difficulty was in trying to understand how a steamer with her rigging so taut and trim, and with her hull complete and whole, and by no means sitting deep in the water, could be this same unhappy vessel, whose mishaps had already been chronicled so graphically in the daily press. A "Herald" correspondent took an early opportunity of boarding the derelict to obtain the salvors' account of the rescue, and to see the condition of an American liner's saloon after the passengers have had precipitately to flee for their lives. From those in charge the following story of the salvage was obtained : The Amerique was abandoned in a terrific gale on Tuesday, the 14 th instant. Her crew and passengers were taken by three ships—the Michigan, au English vessel, bound from Naples to Callao ; the Aladdin, a Norwegian, and commanded by Captain Erickson, and another vessel hailing from Italy. The transfer of the crew and passengers was effected without loss of life, except in the case of the second officer, M. Garay, who was drowned by the upsetting of a boat. The rescued, except those in the English ship, which has not yet come into port, were landed at Havre. On the day following her abandonment a barque named the Auburn, of and from Sunderland, with coals for Alexandria, and a steamship, the Spray, Captain Clark, of West Hartlepool, from Newport, with coals for Gibraltar, both sighted the Amerique ploughing solemnly along under canvas, with the signal of distress flying at halfmast. A boat's crew from the Auburn boarded the drifting ship, and there found every evidence of the precipitate departure of the panic-stricken passengers and crew. Dinner was on the table ; some of the passengers bad been served, while others had not. In the galley savory soup was still in the coppers and some prepared dishes stood ready for service. In the state-rooms everything was in the wildest confusion. Costly dresses lay on the floor, books and private papers were lying around, boxes, trunks, valises and pocketbooks were left lying open by their owners, Who had in some cases apparently been " assisted " in the process of emptying them. From the private journal of her commander found among the debris on board, it appears that the ship had had a peculiarly iavorable voyage as far as the 12th. There the journal stops. A party of seamen, with the carpenters, the engineers, and the mate of the Spray, went on board the Amcrique to report. They found that she was built in five compartments, and conjectured that during the fjale she must have shipped some very heavy seas over her engine room skylight or admitted immense volumes of water through three dead lights that were found knocked in by the action of the waves in striking against her sides. That conclusion was. strengthened by the fact that they found the engine room, stoke hole, and coal buuker compartment flooded with eight and a half feet of water, which water has not since increased. Every aperture in the deck was found closed, 'but this battening down was believed to have been adopted, so far as the engine room was concerned, after a considerate quantity of water had found its way into that compartment. It was clear that by the Hooding of her engines she had lost the means of working her main pumps, and Ihe olher pumps appnared to have been by some as yet undiscovered cause wholly

choked up. While this had been going on amidships, a leak had apparently sprung in her aftermost compartment, from six to eight feet'of water being discovered there at the period when first boarded by her salvers. This leak, however, did not make any dangerous progress from the Tuesday up to the Saturday evening, and the other compartments are believed to be sound. Her spars rigging, sails, and steering apparatus were intact.

Captain Clark arranged with the captain of the barque that what help he required would be readily granted him ; and William Brown, the boatswain, and Edward Cole, an able seaman of the barque Auburn, were left on board the Amerique, while the barque proceeded on her voyage. The whole of the Amerique's boats had been swung off her upper deck from their chocks and carried away with the crew, with the exception of a small gig that happened to be left hanging to the davits. Part of the crew of the Spray was sent on board the Amerique to utilise some of her large warps, and one of these being bent to one of her cables, the other end was taken on board the Spray, and at 2 p.m on Wednesday, the loth, she commenced to tow the derelict, heading her course for Brest. At 8 p.m the weather looked threatening, Captain Clark had his consort's foretopsail, foresail, jib, and forestaysail set, helm lashed, and recalled the men to the Spray until daylight. At 1 am, Thursday, Mr Cooper, the first mate, returned on board the Amerique with a prize crew, and the Spray continued to tow and make all possible haste for Brest. At this stage, very fortunately, another steamer hove in sight. She proved to be the F. T. Barry, of London, from Pomaron with iron ore for Garston. Captain Clark made arrangements for using this new and welcome aid, and both the steamers kept towing towards Brest till four that afternoon. Hitherto the wind had been from the northward, but it had now shifted to the westward, and it was resolved to tow for Plymouth. All through Thursday night, Friday and Friday night, the towing was continued—a monotonous, weary kind of work, which wasn't once relieved by any incident of a more serious character than the occasional breakage of warps. Twenty miles south west of the Eddystone, at 8 a.m. on Saturday, a pilot was token from the Plymouth pilot cutter Whisper, and in the afternoon, on the steamer's nearing to the breakwater at Plymouth, the Spray ceased to tow. Subsequently the F. T. Barry and the Sir Francis Drake steam-tender, towed the derelict to a buoy, mooring in the Sound. HISTOEY OF THE UNFORTUNATE. The vessel and her machinery are English She is one of four vessels that were formerly paddle-boats, but have been lengthened and converted into screw-boats by Messrs Andrew Leslie and Co, of Hepburn-on-Tyne. New engines were also supplied this year to the Amerique, furnished by the Messrs Maudslay Sons and Field, of London. The derelict and cargo are estimated as worth little less than £300,000 sterling. On entering the saloon the correspondent noticed the piano open, and the piece of music which some one had been playing was "Ah! Che la Morte." One letter I picked up. says the " Herald's" correspondent, was in French, and the first sentence that caught my eye showed that it was from a young lady to her sweetheart. Paris, April 20. As soon as the report of the total loss of the Amerique reached Paris I called upon Mr George Le Roy, Secretary to the General Transatlantic Company. "The Amerique," gasped the secretary, with a deprecatory bow and smile cut short in the middle by the contents of a telegram, " cleared from New Yoik on the 4th April. She had good weather and a quick passage till the 13th. On the morning of that day the passengers were awakened by a stiff breeze from the west. There was a very heavy sea. At two o'clock p.m.the wind changed to north-north-west and rose into a gale. The ship was struck by an immense wave 115 miles from Brest, anci the water swrpt over her, doing some damage. Captain Roussan, in whom the company has great confidence, showed courage and judgment in this danger. He wisely forebore to alarm the passengers, who were kept in complete ignorance of their peril as long as there remained a hope of saving the ship. During the afternoon the gale continued to increase in violence. The ship rolled fearfully, and docs not seem to have behaved well. The struggle with the elements lasted all day, and at seven in the evening the water got into the engines and cabins. A terrible hurricane now raged. Still the officers and crew behaved admirably. Three times the fires were extinguished by the sea and three times relighted, the engineers groping up to their waists in water for coal. On the morning of the 14th the weather became calmer for a short time, and all hands were ordered to the pumps. Their efforts, though vigorous and well directed, were vain. The water continued rising. The engines of the Amerique stopped at ten o'clock on the morning of the 14th inst, and it was found impossible to light the fires again. The eaptain now suspected that there was a leak ; but, after careful examination, no leak could be discovered. The chief engineer showed a high sense of duty and repeatedly risked his life without results. The engines were swamped and drowned in salt water. Nevertheless all hand-: remained steadily at the pumps. But the gale returned with redoubled fury, and towards nine in the evening the ship could be scarcely kept ailoat by the most heroic exertions. At one o'clock a.m. on the if>rh the Eliza Quierolo, Captain Gaggiono, from Genoa, sighted the Amerique and exchanged signals with her. Then Captain Roussan assembled the passengers and told them the vessel was sinking. The passengers were as. much surprised as terrified by this unexpected announcement ; but the captain raised their spirits, distributed swimming belts among them, and told them they would be all saved. The women, children, and sick were first sent away ; and though the boats in which they embirkcd were small, and there was a mountainous sea, so strict was the order and discipline which prevailed that not one of the passengers' lives was lost. A few only were bruised, and all passed over without accident till seven o'clock. Unfortunately, as every one was rejoicing over this deliverance from awatery death, M. Garay, our second captain, who had courageously remained till the last on board the ship, wss swept off and drowned. While the passengers were being transhipped to the Eliza Queirolo the Norwegian vessel Aladdin hove in sight, and received some of them ; a British vessel also took a few. The precise time at which the Amerique sunk is unknown, so deep was the darkness and so fierce the tempest round her. The whole of the cargo and most of the passengers' baggage «re lost."