WRECK OF THE BRITISH TROOPSHIP CLYDE.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1655, 10 June 1879, Page 4

WRECK OF THE BRITISH TROOPSHIP CLYDE.

[" Cape Argus."] When the report was first circulated in Capo Town that ono oE the troopships had gone on shore, the statement was received as another emanation from those idle gossip dealers who propagate their harmful stories without a thought of the pain and anxiety they cause to so many. The rumor, however, was confirmed by telegraph, and, with much misgiving as to the result, it was ascertained in the course of tho morning that the Clyde had struck on Dyer's Island. The Clyde, it will be borne in mind, left the decks of Cape Town on Wednesday afternoon, about holfpast four, taking with her the troops which Bhe had brought from England, consisting of 15 officers and 53t volunteers, being drafts from other regiments in England to make up the strength of the 21:.h Regiment, the wholo under the command of Colonel Davis of the Grenadier Guards. After boing just about twelve hours from port, as it appeared from the information brought to Simon's Town, she was enveloped in a fog, and as the officer on duty fully suppo:3cd, quite clear of the coast, when suddenly r;cksi and breakers loomed up cut of the fog before her. They were then but a few lengths from the breakers. The beat, and, in fact, the only rationul thing to do was to reverse the engin<p, and this was fortunately done on the instant. Sho was then going at from ten to eleven knots an hour. The waters were churned by the reversed propeller with all possiblo force, but before way stopped a grinding sound was heard under the bows, and extended amidships, when sho stuck fast upon what was believed to be a bar of sand. The men on board behaved coolly, and steps were taken to land them at once- They were put ashore in boats on what turned out to be the mainland, the ship having struck about a mile inside Dyer's Island.

Dfer's Island itself is a low, barren islet, •whose prevailing grey aspect renders it not easily visible at night. The Bea was calm, and the hour was just that darkest hour which comes before the dawn. Promptitude cf action was the necessity of the moment, and this quality, under the good management of the officers and men, was displayed in an eminent degree by the crew. The Clyde had seven life-boats, and the whole of them were let down and ready for use in the space of ten minutes. And the behavior of the troops showed even more conspicuously, if possible, that coolness and order, wh;'ch are so commendable in moments of trial and danger They were then, of course, all asleep, and only had time to leap out of their berths, with their sea suits of serge, and get on deck with their rifles. Water began almost immediately to flow into tho fore compartments, and the leakage afterwards increased with the time she remained on the rock. About 140 men were got down into the boats alongside, and about 5 o'clock began to pull to snore. The men assisted the crew in this work, and many of them, being familiar with the sea, did good work. There was a moderate swell in shore, but not enough to prevent the boats pulling in close enough to land without much inconTenience. This waß done about daylight, and while most of the detachment landed, enough remained in the boats to man them, and many worked at the oars till all had been safely brought ashore, some blistered hands being the consequence of the exertion. One of tho first considerations was to despatch tbe news to Cape Town and Simon's Bay, and procure the assistance of a steamer to take away the troops. About live miles off the homestead of Lansdown was found, and the truly kind-hearted and hospitable owner, Mr Albert Van der Byl at once showed a disposition towards the shipwrecked men which will not Boon be forgotten. On inquiry being made for a telegraph office, he mounted a man and sent him off with a telegram to Caledon, a distance of forty or fortyfive miles. But Mr Van der Byl did not stop here, for he sent down his waggon and team to render any help to the men, invited tho officers to stay at hia house till relief came, and placed all his cattle at the disposal of the troops. Owing to Colonel Davis taking tho precaution to land with each boat load from two to four boxes of preserved meat, making sufficient to list for two days if required, such a demand on Mr Van der Byl's kindness was happily not required. To get news to Simon's Town was also a great consideration, and to accomplish this it was resolved to hazard the experiment of sending one of the boats down. Mr Abott, the chief officer, volunteered to undertake this work, and well he carried it out. Starting as late aa half-past seven instead of fivo o'clock, as was first reported, ho and three men, between pulling and sailing, boarded H.M.S. Tenedos in Simon's Bay at ten o'clock at night, having made a distanco of seventy miles in fourteen and a half hours. Just after the arrival of the boat, the steamer Tamar was seen coming in, and being ready for sea, Captain Liddelltook the boat's crew from the Clyde, sailed about half-past one o'clock a.m. on Friday morning, and arrived about 9 a.m. at the soeno of the wr-. ck. When the first boatloads were landed, the men at once set about to form some sort of •helter. There were plenty of bushes growing along tho shore, and with these they began to improvise a village of huts. The green leaves formed a tolerably good shelter from the weather, which fortunately was clear all the time. I'iros were made, and with meat tins and some pans cooking was carried on, and the men who waded up to their middles in the surf to assist the succeeding boat loads to land were enabled to dry themselvc s. All but twenty-seven men, with Colonel Davis and Captain Luckhurst, who were the last to eave the ship, were safely landed by noon. And now took place an incident which, had it not been for the captain's presence of mind, might have resulted in some serious casualty. The ship worked loose from her original ground, and having, in the meanwhile, leaked considerably and become heavier, began to slip into deep water, and made a Budden shoot from 20ft. into 43ft. An anchor waa quickly thrown out and held, and thus her proKress into still deeper water was stopped. She was now altogether afloat however, and I with a chance of her tremendously heavy

cargo soon sinking her by increasing the leakage, and, with all the boats on shore, situation was critical. The captain advised the men to take to the rigging for security, and from here handkerchiefs were waved and pistols fired as signals to the shore; but it was some time before the situation could be understood. About ono o'clock the boats arrived, and the last loads were taken off and landed in good order at two o'olock. As the afternoon passed, the Clyde sank deeper and deeper in the water, shifting her position completely a couple of times, and in the evening was only 3ft. or 4ft. out of water. Somewhere abeut midnight sho went down altogether, and in the morning only the top half of her funnel was to be seen Of her cargo nothing whatever was saved. Being a Government transport, there was no manifest of cargo in possession of any of the officers, nor of the military, except a general inventory of the number of cases, but it is known that Bhe had on board the largest and most valuable cargo of military stores probably ever brought out to South Africa.