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Grey River Argus, Volume IX, Issue 712, 11 August 1870, Page 2

The s.s. Kennedy will be here to-day, and wiU^e despatched for Westport and Nelson on Friday night at 10 o'clock. The s.B. Murray from Wesfcporfc and the p.s. Lyttelton from Hokitika are expected here to day. The 5.3. Tararua, which was due atßokitika on the Bth instant, had not shown up when the telegraph office closed yesterday. As she is hourly expected, she may be looked for this morning, when she will take passengers for all New Zealand ports and Melbourne. The 8.8. Gothenburg, from Nelson, arrived in the roadstead yesterday morning, but' could not be tendered in consequence of the heavy sea running on the bar. The weather has since moderated and she will, in all liklihood, be waited upon by the p.s. Dispatch this morning, when she will take gold and passengers for Melbourne. The Sydney Morning Herald, of the lltli ult., publishes the following report from Captain Fowler of the passage of the ship Nourmahal, from Sydney to London : — '• On Sunday, 30th January, in latitude 52.40 S., longitude 145 W., we were running under two lower topsails and foresails, a very strong gale after us. I left the poop in charge of the second irate, with two men at the wheel, to go to dinner. As we sat down a heavy sea drove in the sfcernports in the port after cabin. The next minute a sen came oa board midships, which drove in the front of the poop, and washed down the mato'a berth on the port side, and the whole of the cuddy, ■with the bulkhead and cabins on the starboard side, aft to my stern cabin, filling the .starboard side of the cuddy with water up to the deck. The new life-boat on the skids was also smashed to pieces ; the gig, which was secured on the poop, was taken overboard, and carried away about a dozen Rtancheons on the starboard side of the poop, with most of the bulwarks and topgallant bulwarks on the starboard side of the main deck. The stern of the ship falling in the hollow of the sea, at the same time, caused the water to rash aft on the poop, taking away tops of skylights and ventilators, washing both men from the 'wheel, and before they could leeover themselves to secure it the ship broached to, which carried away the foreyard, and split the lower maintopsail. The carpenter sounded the pump and found three feet of water; so after laying the ship to with a sail in the mizenrigging, we set' all hands to both pump a, and were pumping three hours before they sucked. A large quantity of water poured down the ventilators, lazaretti, and the scuttle before the cabin table ; and although that was well battened down, some of the debris knocked the battens cff. Mrs Grant, a second-class jassenger, was washeil from the mate's room, the whole length of the cuddy aft, into my stem cabin ; and when she recovered her senses found herself under, the . piano, with her head fearfully cut with glass (the scalp almost off), and also much bruised, but fortunately no limb broken. The two Misses * Mackay were in bed at the time ; the cabin before theirs contained cases of preserved meats which, acting as a kind of breakwater, no doubt saved them from being killed or most seriously injured; their berth was washed away, and for some time they were under water. The ship looked a complete wreck. All the next night everything we had was wet and saturated with Bait water: My two chronometers were washing about with the other things, full of water ; of omrse both were stopped and rendered quite useless. At 4 a.m. on the 31 stfthe wind had abated veiy much, and we again put the ship before the wind, and found the port pump choked with sand. We had therefore to get the chain-cable on deck and lift the port pump before the carpenter could clean the well. Oh February 3, in latitude 5258 S. and longitude 126.30 "W.. we had another very hard gale after us from the W.S.W., when I had to lay the ship to for sixteen hours, and she rode it out very well. After that we had moderate weather until the 17th February, in latitude 54.11 S., longitude 53.50 W., when, not far from the Faulkland Islands, another gale come on quite suddenly after us, the wind increasing and blowing quite a hurricane. I ran the ship as long as possible,, and then had to heave- o for twelve hours, the wind blowing so hard that the lee rails and top-gallant bulwarks were constantly under water, and the bulwarks, which we had partly repaired, were again washed away oa the starboard side. On the night of February 19 we had another gale from the N.N.W., with terrific thunder and lightning, I have never experienced such gales before. Only one boat, the pinnace, was left to us. The Equator was crossed on March 20, and Flares -one of the Western Islands— on the 12th April, the first land seen since the chronometers were destroyed. After passing the Island we had strong gales against us from the N.N.E. for seven days, since then good westerly winds, arriving in the Channel safely after a passage oE 97 days." Captain Hannan, of the Florence Pope, bound from Lagos to -Liverpool, and which was abandoned at sea in January, in his report of the loss of his ship, gives the following fearful account of the voyage :— " We left Lagos on the 4th September, and on the 23rd of October, one of the seamen, named Thomas Webb, died of African fever. On the 27th September we shipped a heavy sea amidships, which made the vessel hoel considerably to the starboard, and shifted the cargo. All our sails were blown away exceptthe maintopsail, foresail, and boom jib. On the 29th December. France Antonio, seaman, died, on the 22nd January Edward William Craig, chief officer, also died of fever. On the 26th January I made the Skelligs Rock Light, but the wind being S.S.E., could not weather the land; tacked ship and stood to the westward. The wind kept veering to the eastward, and on the ship laboring and making considerable quantities of water although the pumps weife constantly attended to. On the 29th two of the remaining crew became completely exhausted in consequence of the continued pumping. The same evening the vessel was hove-to under close-reefed maintopsail. About raidnight the sail was blown completely out of the bolt ropey. The gale continuing, the boatswain and myself attending to the pumps as much as we could, as we found the water continued to gain upon the vessel. On the 31st, at 8 a.m., the ship was struck by a tremendous sea ; by this time the water had gained on us so fast as to be running over the cabin deck. I then decided to abandon the vessel, and succeeded in launching the remaining boat, and finally left her about 2 p.m., in latitude 53deg. N., longitude 14deg. W. During the night of the 3lst, Edward flalliday died from exposure, and on the night of the Ist of February John Carroll also' died. The bodies of both men were thrown overboard. On the 4th, the boatswain and myself, being the only survivors,reached the Island of Innisturk."