A RESCUE IN MID-ATLANTIC.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XI, Issue 59, 2 March 1876, Page 4

A RESCUE IN MID- ATLANTIC.

j The surgeon of the steamship Baltic writes to the London Times: — Short.lv after midnight on the 18th November, en the White Stir Unite! States' mail st*e-»mship Baltio, which left New York on the 13.h November, was under steam and canvas, and sro*ng at about 14 kuoti an hour, the attention ofthe officers on watch was attrac .« l by what sppeare 1 to them to be ttie misthead light of a Bte imer aom 5 miles off. The proper look-out was kept, and on passing the light, at some five miles to the starboard of the Baltic, the officer » observed the absence ot the regulation lights which are hoisted by steamers at night when on a voyage. Thay at once communicated with Captain Gleadell, the commander of their ship, who, thinking tbat something was wrong, gave orders that his course should be altered in the direction of the light. As tho Baltic approached the object for which she was now making, it became evident to all of us on board that' the i strange sight was caused by a blazing tarbarrel, on a bull to wbich only one. mast, remained attached. We had 245 passengers, and a crew of considerably over 100 hands ou board, and I need hardly say that great was the excitement among us. The night was flue, but a very heavy sea was running. Captain Gleadell gave the order for Mr living, the chief officer, to man one of the boats and proceed to the floating hull, for the purpose of ascertaining whether there was any one ou hoard of it. The hilf-hour during wbich the boat was away was to us a time of the deepest anxiety and interest. Mr Irving ani his crew worked gallantly through the great Atlantic waves, and did so, it need scarcely be observed,, at imminent peril to their own lives. Happily, they returned safely witli the captain and 15 ot the crew of the Oriental, for this the wreck proved to be. She was a sailing vessel of some 1800 tons burden, nnd had sailed from London for St. Johns, Nsw Brunswick, about three weeks before. On the 16th November, she sprang a leak, and gradually becoming waterlogged, she settled oa her port beamends during the forenoon of the 17th November. On that day the captain got out his four boats; one of them was swamped, though without loss of life; and another, with ten men, by some means got parted from her companions, which remained about the wreck until it was reached by the boat of the Baltic. When brought on board the Baltic, the captain of the Oriental had no knowledge of the position of his boat with the ten men, but Captain Gleadell, being of opinion that there was still a bope of rescuing these seamen, resolved to move about gently until daylight. By between 4 and 5 a.m. the tar barrel to which I have before referred communicate 1 its flames to a number of otbers and to all the inflammable material of the ehip, and awfully grand was tbe sight of the huge Are rising, as it were, from the depths of' the ocean and illuminating the vast waves lor many miles around. All through the small hours of the morning Captain Gleadell caused blue rockets to be senc up from the deck of the Baltic. These were seen by the crew of the missing boat, and at 7 a m. we saw them a few miles off, and had the pleasure ot taking them on board very soon after Their boat was hoisted op board also, and after a delay of about eight hours from tbe time the Baltic bad steamed towards the wreck, we pursued our course to Q teenetown. The crew of the Oriental ba 1 suffered severely from the cold during thoir exposure.