Loss of the s.s. Stella.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Issue 46, 8 April 1899, Page 2

Loss of the s.s. Stella.

O Easier this yeai has been maikcd by a teinble disaster in the English Channel. The South-western mail steamer Stella, Captain Reek&, with ovei 200 souls on boaid, left Southampton on an excursion to the Channel Islands on Good Fiutay eve. The weather was calm, but' foggy. During the afternoon the mist thickened, but the captxin, believing it was meiely a fog bank, decided to maintain full speed ahead. The tog. however, became denser, the bearings were lost, and the bteamer crashed on to the Casquets, a dangerous group of locks soren miles west of Alderney. One side of the \ ess>el was ripped open. The captain and crew exhibited splendid btaveiy. All the women and children weie fust saved by boats. Four other boats weie loweied. As they left the ship the in-rushing seas caused the boileis to explode, and the steamer foundered in deep water with 50 pei sons still on board, within 15 minutes after striking. The boat last from the steamer unfortunately capsized. Fouiteen peisons clung to the keel until they succeeded in righting her, but six of the number had in the meantime been drowned. The remainder, after 10 hours' exposuie, were rescued, and conveyed to Cherbourg by a French tug. All other boats drifted about in the fog, the occupants spending a terrible night. English steameis effected their lescue next day. Eighty persons aie missing. On all hand 1 * astonishing calmness and heroism were displayed. Amongst those missing is the Eev. Clutterbuck, a returned Wesleyan missionary from India. He was kneeling praying when the ve^sl fiuaierad. The fiist mate, Mr Wade, having tied a life belt round his wife, thiew her into the sea, after taking an affectionate iaiewell and declaiing that he must stick by his ship. Wade was drowned, but his wife was saved. A stewardess, named Rogers, continued to give out life-belts, and refustd to join the boats. She was drowned. Passengers gave up their life-belts, in many instances, to the women. One of the passengers happened to be holding a football at the time the vessel foundered, and, though he was drawn into the vortex caused by the sinking vessel, he was saved. Greta Williams, the vocalist, sang '• 0 Rest in the Lord " during the night in the fog, and was cheered by the other survivors. When the steamer was foundering, Captain Eeik3 waved his hand in farewell to ths survivors in the boats. A female and two male survivors of the Stella reached Guernsey in a demented condition, seeking for then 1 relatives. The Queen telegraphed her heartfelt sympathy with the relations of the victini3. The French Government also sent condolences.

Shorthand is one of the arts that has never been lost. It is believed that it was practised 1 in Phoenicia before the Greeks existed as a • f people, and possibly also in Babylon.