Loss of the "Orion."

New Zealander, Volume 6, Issue 478, 13 November 1850, Page 2

Loss of the "Orion."

The Orion pasted the light-house pier of Portpatrick Harbour about twenty minutes before 2 o'clock on Tuesday morning. Several persona who law her from their bedroom windowi concluded »he would go on shore, and ran out to give the alarm. I" a few minutei the vessel had itruck on the rocks, supposed about the itool of the Barnock, a rocky projection running out about forty feet from the high land of the const, and about 450 yardi north of the harbour. She rebounded off, and sunk in about 6 fathoms of water. Immediately the alarm was given boats put out from Portpatrick, the large harbour ( boatwas»peedily manned by volunteers and Commander Hawes, the Admiralty Superintendent, wat soon at the wreck} xhite Mr. Hannay, foreman and others launched and itsnt out every available boat in the place. By the noble exertions of the boatmen, the unfortunate sufferer* who had still a footing on the puddle-boxes and in the rigging, and otheri who were floating about on ipars and boxes, were rescued and landed iv safety. Before the vessel sunk she lurched over, by which many were thrown from their holding aud loit. Unfortunately, too the vessel's large boat, hi well at one of the small ones, were swamped, and many lives lost, by which the resource* of landing the sufferers were shortened. The tide was fast rising, and had not the timely alarm been given iv the port, it may be feared many more would have perishedIt must be stated, to the honour of Scotland, that, on the sufferers being landed— many in a state ofnudity—the inhabitants gave up their beds and clothing, and the most feeling exertions were made to restore the exhausted. The exertion* of Mr. Robertson, the* nurgeon of the place, both ia the boati at the wreck, ; and with the sufierer* on shore, were highly praise worthy. The number actually on board the Onon when she struck is uncertain, it is estimated at 200, white others say more. Up to this period 151 are known to be saved, leaving 60 as the number lost. Twenty-four bodies have up to this time been landed, three were removed from the vessel by the divers to«day. It is feared there are yet more in the cabins. It is indeed too painful to describe the calamitous scenes both at the wreck and on the shore ; the bereavements are awful. Among the lost are Capt. McNeil (Hon E. I.Co 's Service) his wife, und two daughters} hit two son* only surviving. A Miss Jamieson lost her uncle, two aunts, and a couiin, with whom she was travelling. A Mr. Splatt lo«t his wife, and three daughters; indeed, the bereavements are too numerous and melaui choly to repeat. The body ofProfessor Burns was taken to the residence of Captain Hawes, the Superintendent, were it remained until removed to Glasgow. Mr. Splatt was about to emigrate with his family to Australia. The diveri are now at work recovering the bodie* and luggage. An immense Oeal of valuable property

U on board. That such a melancholy catmtro)>hB should occur with the weather cnlm and fine, on d but •lightly hazy— the coast bold and well known—the vend icen from the •bore—is most truely ileplornble. Portpatric, Thnriday, Juno 20th, 1850.— United Service Gazette. June 29.

Destruction of Footiteen Vnssni.s ny Icebergs.—Upwards of Onb Hundruo Livng Lisa 1 . —The arrivals during the List lew days from the Atlantic liiive brought sad intelligence respecting losses of a number of vessels iimidit the flouting fields, of icebergs in the western latitudes ; and amongst this number, we regret to add, one is from one of the Irish ports, with between eighty to one hundred persons on board, every soul of whom is supposed to have gone down in the unfortunate vessel and perished. Great quantities of ice are generally looked for by the traders in those parts of the Atlantic about the months of April and May, the result of the breaking up of the frost in the Arc ie seas, and driven down to the south by the force of the currents. The masses that have appealed this season exceed anything of the kind that has for years been met with. Fields of ice some hundreds ot miles in cxtnit, towering up in all manner of forms to a very great elevation, have swept the waters of the Atlantic ; and there is too much reason to fear that the losses appended form a very few of the mishaps that occurred. The ill-fated vessel in which so many are believed to have perished, was fromJLondonderry bound to Quebec. Ten days prior to her being discovered entangled in the ice— the 27th of April— she was spoken with by the master of the Oriental, from Liverpool.' She was scarce of water, having hud boisterous weather, and on account of the number of passengers seen on deck, it was supplied her. On the 27th the Oriental was beset in the ice, together with two other vessels, and perceived her tea miles to the west* ward. She was in a most perilous position, evidently stove in by the ice, and sinking. Signals of distress were hoisted without the remotest chance of gaining assistance. For two days she was seen in the same forlorn condition, when sue suddenly disappeared. Subsequently a great many bodies were seen intermingled with the ice, together with some portion of the cargo ; the latter led to the discovery of the port to which the vessel belonged, and her intended destination. The Oriental was detained eleven days before she got clear of the ice. Another similar catastrophe was witnessed on the 29th of March, about twenty miles to the westward of St. Paul's, by the ship Signettee, M. Mowatt, from Alloa for Quebec. The vessel was apparently au English brig heavily laden, with painted port holes. She had got fixed in the ice, and had been cut down by it to the water's edge, admitting a rush of water in the hold. Her crew were observed working at the pumps, evidently in the hope of keeping her afloat in the expectation or assistance arriving j however, she soon sank, and all on board met with a watery grave- The exact number who perished was not learned. Letters have been received communicating the total loss of the Ostensible, also in the ice. She was from Liverpool, bound to Quebec, with several passengers. Up to thu sth of May she experienced heavy weather, when they fell in with an enormous field of ice, ana got fixed in it for five days and nights, iti the course ot which her hull was pierced. Pumps were kept going till the arrival of the brig Duke, Captain Welsh, also for Quebec, which after considerable working, succeeded in making through the ice to the sinking vessel, and rescued the whole of them. The Ostensible went down within twenty minutes after. Two other vessels from Liverpool, the Coaservator and the Acorn, were both lost near the same time. The former was on a passage to Montreal. She got pinched by the ice three days after losing sight of land, and filling, immediately went down ; the crew was lucky enough to save the ship's boats, in which they were picked up. The Acorn met with her destruction within thirty miles of St. John's, Newfoundland ; the crew were saved by the Blessing, schooner, of Sundorlaud. Among the other losses in the ice reported as enumerated, the Hibeiniu, from Glasgow for Quebec : the British schooner CoU lector, from St. John's, Newfoundland, for London ; the brig Astree, of Weymouth ; the Wilhelmina, of Aberdeen ; the Cosncll, of Newcastle ; the Sylph, of Licth, and three others, names ol which are unknown. With the exception of the latter, the crews were saved. Most of the unfortunate vessels were heavily laden, and their losses in total can not be short of £\QO f QOO.~~DaUy News, June U.