CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE ADRIFT.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 1082, 17 December 1877, Page 3

CLEOPATRA'S NEEDLE ADRIFT.

[From the "Times," Oct. 19th.] Captajn Carter, who commanded the Cleopatra, the ship in which the obelisk was being conveyed to England, gives the following account of the circumstances attending the abandonment of the vessel: — " We passed Cape Finnistere, about 6 p.m., on Saturday, Oct. 18th, with a light southerly wind. All went well' till Sunday morning, when there were unmistakeable signs of an approaching storm. At 0 a.m. a furious squall came up from S.S.W., accompanied by hail and rain, the wind steadily increasing, and at noon was blowing a hca*y gale. The barometer continued to fall, and in the afternoon there was wore wind, and a tremendous sea. So long as the vessel was before the wind I had no cause for anxiety, although the whole of the after nart cf the vessel was {rajueatl/ iauii&wsiL '&# sea occasionally

rolling over the cabin. The wind, however, began to veer to the westward, and I felt sure it would work round to a furious gale from the X.W. As the sea became more quarterly it broke heavily against the deck-house, and I had serious fears of it being swept away. I made up my mind to heave-to, and signal the Olga which was towing us as follows :—' Prepare to heave-to, head to wind.' Captain Booth acknowledged my signal and replied, ' Greater risk to tow-line if hove-to.' Every moment the sea was becoming more dangerous, and at one time I fully expected to see the house entirely swept away. The wind was now about four points on the quarter, and my anxiety was great to get hove-to before darkness came on. Just before sunset I made signal, 'Heave-to.' Captain Booth proceeded to do so, and with consummate skill and judgnient brought his ship well round to the wind. But the Cleopatra's broadside was struck by a tremendous sea which completely overwhelmed her and hurled her over on her starboard beam ends. The timber work used to secure the iron rails employed as ballast gave way, the rails shifted, and the vessel lay over at an angle of more than 4<sdeg from the perpendicular. I soon opened the manhole door in the cabin, and got my crew into the hold to. right the ballast. I found the vessel was making a little water at the upper bolt holes. The gale was at its height, and the seas were breaking completely over us. I therefore made signals or distress to the Olga, but still kept working at the ballast. In a few hours a great portion of the ballast had been replaced, and the vessel became a little more upright, when a heavier sea than usual again threw us over, and the ballast went back to its former position. At this time the wind had somewhat abated, and a boat from the Olga with six brave fellows came to our assistance. A rope was thrown to them, but they failed to hold on. The boat drifted to leeward, and I fear was swamped, as she was never seen afterwards. Previous to this I had got my little lifeboat down, with the hope of letting her hang to leeward by a line; but she was on the weather side, and in passing round the stern •he got under the rudder yoke, and was smashed. I now cut away the mast, and once more proceeded to right tho ballast, and hold it in position by laehings. The vessel was riding head to wind, and by midnight she was nearly upright; but, unluckily, she again fell off with the wind on the starboard side, and was instantly thrown violently to port. In spite of all we had done the ballast again broke loose and shifted with the vessel, which now lay at a worse angle than ever. I now perceived that the Olga had cast us off, which was a most prudent thing, for the sea constantly broke over us and washed away our light?, so that the steamer, not knowing our position, might have drifted down upon us, and both vessels would have foundered. We continued our efforts to right the ballast, but as often as we made a little progress so often did the merciless seas throw it back again. At length the day dawned, and though the gale had moderated, a fearful sea was running, and the vessel seemed gradually settling down more on her side. Captain Booth very skilfully, and at great risk, brought his ship close enough to throw us a line, whioh we made fast on board. He then lowered a boat, which we hauled alongside the Cleopatra, and were by the same means hauled back to the Olga and safely taken on board. Cap! ain Booth's great anxiety was then for the boat's crew, and he steered to windward in search of them, but, unhappily, without success. After a few hours' search he steered back to the position where the Cleopatra had been left, but as no trace of her could be found up to 1 o'clock, we thought she must have foundered, and the ship was put on her course for Falmouth. ." The Cleopatra was abandoned in lat. 44.53 N., long. 7.52 W., bearing from Cape Finisterre N. 28,'E. about 132 miles." Hopes were entertained that the obelisk ship would yet be recovered. The consulting engineer to the enterprise, Mr B. Baker, C.E., expressed the opinion " she would drift slowly to shore, with her granite monolith all right, like many a bottle with its message from the sea, savi in the event of its being stranded amid instead of on a sandy beach." The event proved that the faith reposed in the buoyancy of tho vessel was justified, for a few days later the steamer Fil zmaurice, bound for Valencia, picked up the derelict near Cape Ortegal, not far from the spot where she was cast off, and took her into Ferrol. The captain of the Fitzmaurice declines to relax his lien not only on the Cleopatra, but on the monolith also, until his claim for salvage shall have been satisfied. If so, a knotty question will be raised as to tho money-value of one of the dozen or so Egyptian obelisks of the firstclass now existing.