THE LOSS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XII, Issue 43, 19 February 1877, Page 4

THE LOSS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE.

The following particulars have been received from the Capo under date December 14, relative to the loss of the hired tranaport steamship St. Law rence : "The steamship St. Lawrence, 2,22o gross commanded by Captain Hyde, R.N.R., left Dublin on the 4th of October last, with the following trofps,. Colonel Pearson .in command : 2nd Battalion 3rd Buffs, fourteen officers, four ladies, 3 children, 462 non-com-missioned officers and men, 36 women, 73 children; attached from other regiments, one officer (Army Hospital Corps), 10 non-commissioned officers and men, 5 women, and nine ohildren. The St. Lawrence belongs to London, jand n is o.wped by Messrs. Temperley, Carter, and Darke. Her length is 303 ft depth 26ft 6in, and breadth 35ft 6in. She is 230 horse power, and was built at Sunderland in January, 1874, by Mr Jamea Laing. She arrived at St Vincent oh the 17th of October, and after leaving here no land appears to have been .sighted up to the time of the wreck. At noon, on Tuesday, November 7th, the steamer was reckoned to be in latitude 31 17 S., longitude 16 6 E. On . Tuesday evening every one expected to be anchored in Table Bay soon, after daylight nest day. Tuesday night vas beautifully .calm and clear, with very light S.E. wind,. the captain was lying down in his cabin with his clothes on, when about 3 a.m. on Wednesday morning the chief officer, Mr W. Shelton, who was on watch at the time> came and reported that land was in eight. Captain Hyde asked him to return and report the southernmost bearing of the land. In a few minutes he returned, saying that land was not so far off, as he at first thought, and he had hauled the sbip off. He also reported having seen a light on shore, which must , have been a rising star. The captain followed the chiet officer on deck immediately, when the lookout reported something a-head, which he appeared, from all accounts to have thought were boats, and a few seconds after this the vessel struck at 330 a.m. The engines were at once reversed, but belore the steamer lost way . she got fixed on the reef and remained fast. The captain at once sent the quarter-master to sound all round. He reported deep water except abreast of the forecastle, where there was only 3 "fathoms. The captain then ordered. the carpenter to sound the forehold, and went with him, and Ilin of water was /reported. Thia was a few minntes t after the vessel striking. On sounding again, found the water was increasing. The captain then went to the Colonel , commanding the troops, and reported that the steamer was ashore. Every one was immediately ordered to their quarters, while the crew cleared away the boats. In less than half-an-hour the women and children commenced embarking, the. Colonel's wife getting into the boat firet, and so on, according to rank. Amed sentries were posted aj' the gangway, and the most perfect discipline was observed aboard. After the women and children had been safely landed, without any confusion, the troops fell in, fully equipped, with their muskets and accoutrements, and in marching order. As the boats came alongside, they were filled with soldiers, and in an incredibly short space of time, every, soul had been landed without difficulty. While the men were being, landed provisions were got up, and. each boat took, ashore 400! bs of bread, 4001bs of meat, and about 20 gallons of. water. No accident occurred while landing, and, as before stated, * everything was done with the greatest order and precision. When everyone was safely ashore, efforts were directed to saving the ship, for which purpose the engines were reversed ait full speed, sails were set and anchors run out. The fore hold all the time was filling rapidly with water, bat all day long the men worked hard getting away the luggage, the heavy part of which was moved only with Jgreat difficulty. About 9 o'clock p.m another effort was made to get the ship off, but without the least effect although she was - lightened by a quantify of coal, some hundred tons, being thrown overboard. The steam winches bad been kept goiog all day, and the engine fires were not put out until 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The captain having summoned all hands, informed them that there was no ohance of saving the ship, and the boats went to work with ail speed to save what they could. There were in all seven, lour of which were provided with patent lowering gear. The captain himself stove io the rum casks, in order that nobody should get at their . contents, and remained near the wreck, directing operations up to the Jast. At midnight on Thursday it was evident that the steamer would soon settle down by, the stern, which proved .to be the . case about half past seven next morning,; The St Lawrence had on board, besides the troops, about 800 tons of various ; military stores, including several field pieces, shot and shell, about 50 tons of gunpowder for Natal, and a large quantity of clothing, very little of which, comparatively speaking, bad ;.been rescued from the wreck on Friday evening. About 9 o'clock on Sunday Y morning the Spartan arrived in Table Bay, with about 120 rank and file, the band, the greater part of the crew, and f: large quantity of baggage. Aa the ' poor fellows were landed on the central wharf, the majority of them looked in a most -forlorn and pitiable condition, with their faces scratched, and uniforms and

caps dirty and torn. Several of them j seemed to have suffered a great deal, and j about half-a-dozen were unable to walk : and had to be at once conveyed to the ! hospital. i

The Globe, Dee. 13. ' The behaviour of the 3rd Buffs atthe loss 'of the ill-fated St Lawrence seems to have been beyond praise. Roused np as they were in the dead of! night by the vessel's striking on a reef, j there would have been excuse for con- ; siderable confusion among the beat disciplined troops in the world. Nothing of the sort took place on board the St Lawrence. The Buffs fell into their : place as if shipwreck in a aea filled with ravenous sharks was a normal condition Of military life. There appears to have been no hurry nor alarm either among the officers or men. Tbe colonel preserved the utmost coolness, and those under him obeyed his crders exactly as if they were receiving the ' word of command on parade. Within half an hour the women and ohildren began to be lowered into the boats, all the men on board remaining quietly until this first duty had been. duly.parformed. Then, the regiment fell in fully .equipped in marcbiog order, and so in 'an incredibly short space of time every soul on board was saved.' It is easy enough to take euch heroisms for granted. Comfortable critics sitting by their firesides will probably cay that after all, nothing less was to beespectof British soldiers. Nothing oould be more true. The splendid conduot of tbe 54th when the Sarah Sands took fire, and the stern fortitude of those on board the Birkenhead, are instances within tbe memory of most, that our rank and file deserve the implicit confidence reposed in their calm courage by their countrymen. For all this, however, the disciplined behaviour of the Buffs deserves to be specially chronicled in the records of our national fame. They did their duty without the slightest regard for their own safety, although, for. all they could tell, the straining ship beneath them might break up at any moment. There lies the most trying test of human nerves on such occasions, and it is but fair to acknowledge that the Buffs stood it without the slightest flinching.