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LOSS OF THE AMERICAN STEAM SHIP ATLANTIC. [From the Times, Dec. 13.]

The following condensed narrative of this dreadful disaster will be found rep/etc with interest : — From the data before us, it appears that the Atlantic left Allyn's Point for Nevr York on the morning of Thursday, the 26th ult., with between 70 and 80 persons on board, as nearly as can be ascertained, including passengers, crew, servants, &c, and had just got well under weigh when the steam chest exploded, and the wind at the same time shifted to the north -west and blew almost a hurricane. Many persons were scalded, and the air resounded with their cries. Captain Dustan immediately called all hands to the forward deck, and ordered them to heave over the anchors, but the violence of the gale and the sea, which broke constantly over the bows, rendered it the labour of an hour to get all three out. The steamer worked heavily, plunging her bows under at every lurch, and dragged her anchors. Butween the time of anchoring and daylight she had dragged her anchors about eleven miles. The fires were put out at daylight, and the passengers and crew suffered greatly from the intensity of the cold, as the only means of keeping them warm was by wrapping themselves in blankets and walking briskly about the boat. , All began to look to their own personal safety, put on the life preservers, and prepared themselves for any emergency. The doors, shutters, settees, &c, were detached and cut away for rafts to drift ashore upon, whenever she should strike. The gale increasing in violence, Captain Dustan ordered about 40 tons of coals to be thrown overboard, in order to lighten the vessel. About noon on Thursday the smoke pipes, which were very large and heavy, were ordered to be thrown overboard. This was done, the captain assisting, and the steamer was eased for a short time, as there was less surface offered to the force of the wind. The steamer continued to drift, however, and everything looked hopeless. The danger increased so rapidly, that between two and three o'clock Captain Dustan ordered the decks to be cleared of all merchandise — of everything that was in the waj . Cases of boots and shoes, barrels of flour, stoves, &c, including one package said to contain 7000 dollars worth of plate, were thrown overboard. There was 7000 dollars to 8000 dollars worth of lace on board, belonging to one of the passengers, who had previously said he would give the whole to any one who would put him safely ashore. This lace was afterwards seen strewn along the beach. All these efforts, however, to save the steamer were unavailing. No person could work harder than Captain Dustan, his passengers, and crew. After their repeated and united efforts had failed, all hopes of safety were over, and all felt desirous and anxious that the steamer should strike the beach. About midnight she parted one of her cables, there being four out, one attached to 3000 weight of furnace bars, and the others to anchors. After this the gale continued to increase, and blew a perfect hurricane. She was driven still nearer the shore, but passed a point that all expected she would strike upon. She then drifted about 1 1 miles further, ma-

king in all 22 miles, which occupied 48 hours of terrible uncertainty and suffering. She then struck, stern first, on a ledge of rocks on Fisher's Island. A tremendous sea threw her up on to the very top of the ledge ; so far .up indeed as almost to throw her over on to the other side. This was the crisis in the disaster. It was terrible, and heartrending in the extreme. In five minutes after she struck she was in pieces. In these five minutes at least one-half of those on board the Atlantic were taken from time into eternity. The screams, the crash, the roar of the sea, were dreadful. There were six women, four children, and two infants, among the passengers. All the women were drowned or crushed to death. Only one of the children was saved, and he was the only one of the family of which he was a member. His father, mother, married sister, and a younger sister, and two young brothers, were on board. The poor little orphan thus saved, and thus thrown alone on the world, is only twelve years of age. The two infants were drowned, frozen, or .crushed to death. AH this occurred at half past four o'clock on Friday morning. Mr. Yarnum Marsh, of Haverhill, Massachusetts, who was one of the passengers, and Mr. James Stetson, who was second captain of the boat, have furnished to the New York Herald some interesting particulars of the terrible diasster. Mr. Marsh states, that when the vessel struck he was sitting in the gangway. His first impression was that a heavy sea had struck the steamer. In a moment after, however (although every moment was an age to those on board), the sea stove in the side of the vessel at his back, and sw pt him along, and dashed him against the sound side of the steamer. Before he could recover himself another tremendous sea came and threw him against the upper side of the vessel. Thence he was thrown in among everything moveable on deck, *nd considerably bruised. After he was thrown up a third time he succeeded in catching hold of the skylight frame, and there remained for a few moments, the only person near him to be seen or heard being the little boy who was saved. He was on the top of the ledge amongst the wreck. Mr. Marsh here discovered that he was made fast by an iron hook, on a bar of iron, which had become entangled in one of his life preservers ; after great exertions he made out to throw one of the straps over his head, which drew the other still tighter. He then thought that all was over with him ; but, by an almost superhuman effort, he succeeded in drawing that off. He then found that the other pair of preservers, which he had on, were entangled with those he had thrown off. To extricate himself from this difficulty he lay down, and drew all over his feet and threw them away. After Mr. Marsh had thrown away his lifepreservers he saw a gleam of light from the upper part of the vessel. The Atlantic was then lying on her beam ends, and her decks covered with ice. By some means, wholly unaccountable at this time to Mi. Marsh, he made his escape through the side of the vessel through which this gleam of light came. Before he reached that point however, he saw a human being standing near the aperture. After reaching to within six feet of the outside, he called to the person whom he saw, and who proved to be the little boy, to pass him a piece of board, or something else, to enable him to get over the i.e. The boy thought that Mr. Marsh told him to leave the place. This induced the boy to leave, and Mr. Marsh crept over what be supposed to be a dead body, as it was too dark to tell with certainty. Then he took hold of a part of the wreck on the side of the ladies' saloon and walked on the edge of the vessel. On looking up, he saw the mast with several pieces of timber or (pars attached, swing to and fro. At this moment a femendous sea came and washed Mr. Marsh back into the sea. There he found it necessary to swim as rapidly as his bruised limbs would permit him, through the swell of the sea, ice, and broken parts of the vessel, to avoid the falling mast, and escaped by a few feet only. He then made for the shore as quickly as possible, which he finally reached in safety, after being driven back several times. After Mr. Marsh turned towards the shore he heard the boy cry, — " Oh ! what shall I do ? I shan't get ashore." Mr. Marsh encouraged him to strike out through the surf; and be had the pleasure, in the midst of his pain, to see the little boy land on the beach. As Mr. Marsh was thrown up for the last time he caught hold of a small sharp rock, and held on till the sea left him ; then he crept on his hands and knees from the beach, over the rocks, till he reached a large rock, which sheltered him from the wind. It was very dark and intensely cold at this time. Mr. Marsh and several others were afterwards picked up by some men and conveyed to a place of shelter. • Mr. Marsh was in-

sensible for two hours after reaching the house of refuge. It is uncertain how many lives have been lost by this heartrending shipwreck. Amongst the victims of the furious elements is Captain | Duston, the commander, one of the most skilful navigators upon the American inland ! waters. ~* The gallant officer stood his ground ' to the last, giving his orders with as much coolness and calmness as if on shore. He seemed regardless for his own safety, and solely intent upon the preservation of the passengers intrusted to his charge. The published account of the result gives the names of twenty officers and passengers of the boat as lost, together with five of the crew. (No more names have been ascertained.) There were saved by the mercy of Divine Providence, twenty-four sailors of the boat, and thirty-six passengers. The first engineer had his eyes put out, and was otherwise grievously injured. There were but three female passengers on board, all lost. There were probably eight or ten deck hands, who also perished. Every passenger was furnished with one or more life-preservers, which were the means of saving many lives. Captain Dustan also ordered planks to be lashed together to serve as rafts. The passengers, says Mr. Stetson, all acted nobly. "We have since learned," says the New York Journal of Commerce, of the 30th November, " some additional particulars from various sources. Mr. Gould, the express messenger of Messrs. Adams & Co., who returned to the city yesterday morning, says, that when he left thirty-eight bodies had been recovered, and it was known that five more were lost, making a total of forty-three. When the gale was at its height, a sloop put off from the Mystic to the aid of the Atlantic. So violent however, was the storm, that she was speedily driven upon the rocks, and the crew with great difficulty saved themselves in a whaleboat. The owner of this sloop is requested to send his name and a list of her crew to this city, as steps will be taken to remunerate them for their loss. "The Long Island train on Saturday evening brought five bodies to this city ; among them was that of Dr. Armstrong, whose funeral will be performed to-day at eleven o'clock, at the Broome-street chuich. The funeral of Captain Dustan took place yesterday afternoon, at Tompkinsville, Staten Island. It was attended by a large concourse of fiiends. He has left a wife and an aged mother, and five children, all of whom were dependent on his exertions. " Mr. Gould, who had charge of a large amount of money for banks and brokers in, Wall-street, when it became inevitable lhat the vessel must go ashore, fastened five life preservers around the valise containing the money. He soon afterwards perceived that some of the passengers had taken them off. He then placed the valise in a barrel, and just before the vessel struck threw it overboard. It was picked up five miles from the wreck by some of the inhabitants of Fisher's Island, and every dollar of its contents was returned to him. Theie is no truth in the rumour which has been published that the dead bodies were robbed as they floated asEore. Nothing of the kind was witnessed, but everything, on the contrary, was done which prudence and humanity required. " The insurance upon the Atlantic in this city (New York) we understand does not exceed 40,000 or 50,000 dollars. How much is insured elsewhere is not known. The Boston Transcript says that the Company were insured for 30,000 dollars in case of loss by fire, and 75,000 dollars in case of loss by peril of the sea, all in New York. " The amount of money in charge of Adams & Co.'s express is supposed to be about 7000 dollars." A striking, and even romantic incident, remains to be mentioned : As soon as the Atlantic struck its great bell began to toll, from the action of the wind, and thus rang the knell of the ill-fated vessel, and the unfortunate victims of the catastrophe. The gale was one of the most violent and destructive in the nautical records of the United States.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZSCSG18470529.2.8

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume III, Issue 191, 29 May 1847, Page 4

Word count
Tapeke kupu
2,176

LOSS OF THE AMERICAN STEAM SHIP ATLANTIC. [From the Times, Dec. 13.] New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume III, Issue 191, 29 May 1847, Page 4

LOSS OF THE AMERICAN STEAM SHIP ATLANTIC. [From the Times, Dec. 13.] New Zealand Spectator and Cook's Strait Guardian, Volume III, Issue 191, 29 May 1847, Page 4

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