SINKING OF A WAR VESSEL, AND GREAT LOSS OF LIFE.

Kumara Times, Issue 893, 11 August 1879, Page 4

SINKING OF A WAR VESSEL, AND GREAT LOSS OF LIFE.

[STANDARD, JUNE 5.] The mail steamer Bolivar, which has arrived at Liverpool, brings the following details respecting the collision between that ▼easel and the Haytian warship St. Michel: —The Bolivar originally sailed from Liver pool for the West Indies, and; on the 12th of April .she left St. Thomas for Port-au-Prince. The night of the 13th was clear and fine. At thr'ee the following morning a vessel was descried' on : the horizon, which was duly reportod by the look-out, there being two men on this dnty at the time. The course of' the approaching vessel seemed to have bftth altered shortly afterwards, and she was again' reported by the look-out. The vessels oame nearer ;aod nearer, bat thoughts of a oplUfion were never entertained by those on board the 1 Bolivar, and, following the usual Instructions when vessels are similarly placed; the helm was put hard-a-port. Notwithstanding .this precaution, the coarse steered by the other vessel made it of no avail, and seeing that a collision was inevitable, the engines of the Bolivar were stopped. The ■ other vessel, however, was going full sbeed, .and came across the bows of the which struck her near the port bow, and tbe force was so terrific that the stem of the English steamer almost cut through the other vessel, which proved tb be the Haytian war-;vessel St. Michel. The vessels W*rt) not long inclose quaiters, aa the speed; at whjch.theSt, Michel was going when the. collision occurred enabled ‘ her to separate hertolffrbbi the Bolivar, and proceed a distanced something like 100 yards before she went down. Several; boats: were lowered war*vessel, and into these jwa?« crew placed but being'tinablb toclehrfrbm the immediate vicinity of the vessel before she sank, the boats were capsized bv the suction, and the :,?*ft»;Atroggling for their lives in ‘fl? water. r The sofearns, and shouts which rtht the 1 air Were' pitiful,' and the water for soma! distance was covered with drowning men and'.the wreckage of the vess 1. The orders the, lowering of ,the Bolivar’s boats were unmediately! given and obeyed, and although only soificten'minutes elapsed from the'time of the collision until the St, Michel fonhdbred, the: boats of the Bolivar were her before she went down, and were PWJ, in picking up her crew—a arddoua by the difficulty span' when a short i distance off. One of the .vessel’s, .boats righted, and in this some dozen of the crew saved their lives. The remainder, to the number of about sixty! weTe resctied by the' boats belonging to the English steamer.. The chief officer jumped ® n board the Bolivar as the vessels were locked together. ■ The captain and most ef the officers were also saved, as well as several tha priests belonging, to the war-vessel: bnt all the engineers perished. There were mahy women on board, and for the most part they were drowned. Various affecting scenes and narrow escapes were witnessed, amongst the most touching of the former being the drowning of one of the crew, and the saving of his wife and two c ildron. Poor fellow was. seen struggling with the greatest desperation to keep his children above-.the water, Eis wife being at the time Supported by a floating spar, Bis efforts Were successful for some time, but, becoming exhausted, he disappeared and was drowned ; not, however, before bis living load was transferred to the care of another man, who managed to sustain them until the arrival of one of the boats; and the mother and children, together with their rescuer, were placed safely on board the Bolivar. It was iascertained that the St. Michel was a wooden vessel.' and was then going from Port-au-Prince to Cape Hayti. She had an board 180 BQQlB) of whom only 72 were saved, so thet the number of persona who lost their livee was 108. When first reported, it was stated that 60 persons had perished by the disaster. The boats of the. Bolivar cruised about the scene for abont five hours after the collision, and findmg no farther help could bo given, the steamer sailed on her course, and shortly afterwards arrived at Port-au-Prince, where the survivors were landed. A* inquiry of three days’ duration was held at Port an-Prince, when several of the crew Attended, and during the nights while the atesmetlay in port all the approaches to the vessel were guarded to prevent any attempt being made to interfere with her. After the mqniry the Bolivar continued on her voyage and eventually arrived at New Orleans! when it was ascertained that short y after Mo departure of the vessel from Port-an-Prince, a Haytian war-vessel was despatched for the purpose of overtaking the Bolivar and bringing her back into port; but, being a smart sailer, the steamer ccnld not be overhauled. Prom what could be gathered from, the survivors when on board the appeared that many of the mannes and sailors on the St. Michel were WeR supplied with liquor, and at the time of the disaster they, for the most part, were below; lOtherwise, the list of saved would have been much Increased. To those on the Bolivar, the other vessel did not Appear to answer her helm. It was also _that the St. Michel was on the look-out for a vessel suspected of conveying arms Ao Some rebellious subjects, and that the St. Michel, suspecting that the Bolivar was the vessel, was endeavoring to intercept her, add hence the zig zag course she steered