A SINGULAR WRECK.

Te Aroha News, Volume V, Issue 218, 3 September 1887, Page 6

A SINGULAR WRECK.

Robbery by the &■*&".

TECS'' .story of the wreck of tlhV stearot l Mer^iivac, as told by several pttaftng'&ift wfoo arrived 1 at Halifax, Canada, on JA.\ly IS s* one of tffie naoss* remarkable in t&&- hifct^y of maidtte daas^era The people on fcfe steamer' escaped! a terrible fate after boitvg; driven jiahore ®ns a clear and de-tidied night, wfthmiooftiaaad stars shining ftvightly overhead, but accord-ing to their owrv- asser- ( tions theia'baggftEjßnvaa rifled and a mnnber i ©f valuabl^aiticlo»»sfcoleo while the owners were on d'3ek- seeking to save their lives. The passenKorß-decki'© it is their convist/Umthat these depredatSoym were committed- by members of" the ofsw,, who, imraedia'tely after the ship> struck,* ueceived a eonsiiUn--able quantity/of'ltquar;, became drunk s«d' created a disgraceful disturbance. Tbtv facts connectsdi with Ohio disaster are 13-1 lated as follows :— Nearly all &hV passengers were soundasleep, when suddenly, about 12.30 o'clool-x Saturday nighty they we»« awakened by a half-dozen shrieke-of the whistles, followed immediately by several hieavy shocks .and tearing, grinding sounds,, as though the steamer was foicin^Her wruy over the rocky bottom. Captain Crowell, ttie pilot and two officers* were ou deck when tKe steaaoer struck, and, so far as learned, could' gitv-e; no satisfactory ! reason why they were'so* cLase to the coast. The steamer was going at full speed when she struck, and forood hey way over the rocks for fully five minutest There were a number of heavy shooks, and the vessel tossed abou£ so fearfully that those on deck had to hold on for their lives- or they would have been dashed into- the- water. By the time she came to a stop all on board were out of their berths, the women and children being huddled together in the cabin, with terror on their faces and. sending forth piercing screams for help. Indescribable confusion and excitement prevailed, but the efforts o£ a few men succeeded in restoring partial calmness, and the work of launching the- boats was commenced. It was while thi& scene was being enacted that the pillaging of the passengers luggage took place. The staterooms were entered, valises were torn or ripped wide open, and the goods of value weic removed. Jewellery, clothing and other articles disappeared, and when their owners, after ] ascertaining that the vessel would go down at once, went to their rooms to secure their property, they found it strewn on the floor, with the most valuable poition gone. One pas&engcr stated he lost about L'soo worth iv this way, while a number of other passengers tell a similar stoiy. At the same time a number of the crew became suddenly drunk and got into a dispute which ended only when they were compelled to abandon the steamer in the boats which had been launched by the aid of other hands. There was some delay in getting the boats afloat, caused apparently by poor management, but eventually everybody was safely removed from the steamer. As has already been stated, the passengeis were all safely landed, though theie wcie a number of narrow escapes. The passengers who arrived here this afternoon travelled by teams all la&t night and all day to-day. The remainder arc reported |to have reached main land to-day. The steamer City of St. John will be dispatched to Lake them to Yarmouth. They will bo sent from that place to Boston direct. The wreck is believed to lm c been caused by a disordered compass, a statement to that effect having been made by the Merrimac pilot.