LOSS OF THE KING LEAR.

Westport Times, Volume IV, Issue 649, 23 April 1870, Page 2

LOSS OF THE KING LEAR.

The ship King Lear, of London, from Cardiff for Hong Kong, with coal, foundered at ten a.m. on Friday, 30 miles off the Smalls. Thirty-five persons on board went down witli her. The mate and three seamen were rescued and taken to Plymouth. They had been 81 hours floating on a piece of the saloon deck. The ship King Lear belonged to the firm of Messrs Somes Brothers, now the Merchants' Shipping Company, in Gracechurch street, London. She was an Ameri-can-built ship of 1970 tons register. She left Cardiff for Hong Kong last week with a cargo of 2500 tons of coal. From the narratives of the four survivors, it appears that on Thursday night she encountered a violent hurricane from the S.W., which at times almost engulfed and so shipped water that she remained for hours lurching on her side. The seas swept the decks and the stoutest hearts quailed. The water gained rapidly on the pumps, and it was discovered that the vessel had sprung a leak. Every one then looked to his own safety. The successive breaks completely waterlogged the vessel, and after one or two "agony lurches" she quietly and rapidly settled down. The scene on board was fearful. Several of the crew were lashed to the vessel, and cried piteously with loud and fervent prayers. All attempts of the crew to save themselves by the boats were useless. Two of the ship's boats were out of repair, and the third was found to be incxtrieablv entangled in the wreck. The ship went down suddenly on Friday morning at ten o'clock, being then about ten miles off the north coast of Devon. All the crew went down with her, except seven—the chief mate, Charles Duncan, of the Isle of Man ; the second mate, Jacques; the third mate, and Richard Skinner, Hans Lodmann, David Veitch, and another man named Monroe. These men, bein™ strong swimmers, rose to the surface when the ship went down, and combated against the avalanches of water that almost suffocated fchem. Finding a piece of the poop-deck floating, they caught hold of it. It was at first 30 feet long, but unfortunately broke in two pieces, and then they clung to one piece about ten feet long and seven in width. To this they lashed themselves, and on this small raft they were alone, without equipments or provisions. They were entirely at the inercv of the terrible waves. All that day they drifted, with a WJS.W. wind, right across channel, and on Saturday they were still in the same sad plight, gnawing the very wood of the raft in their hunger. On Sunday morning, about four o'clock, a brig was seen about a qnarter of a mile distant, but all attempts to hail her were fruitless. The men •were rapidly becoming exhausted; three of them went mad and threw themselves into the sea and were drowned; one exclaimed that he was going to swim ashore—the land being then ten miles distant. At this time the raft was approaching Lundy Island, when, unfortunately, the wind veered round to N.W.', and blew them off the land again. Eight fishing smacks were seen about half a mile off, but the attention of those on board ■could not be attracted. The wind, which had moderated, then increased, and the chief mate was washed from the raft three times, and was as many times fastened to it by the man Skinner. Strange to say, the men frequently slept on the raft, being unable to keep awake. Between six and seven o'clock on Monday night the screw steamer Chester, Captain Fenteny, for Plymouth with coal' came near the raft, and the look-out man heard voices shouting. The ship's life-boat was quickly lowered and manned, the raft was descried, and with great difficulty the poor fellows were taken on board the vessel, where every attention was paid to them. The Chester arrived at Plymouth about noon on Tuesday. The four survivors (the crew all told, including four stowaways, numbered 39) were at first taken to the Sailors' Home, but their condition necessitated their immediate removal to the South Devon Hospital, where they were promptly attended to, and where they are now lying. They sutler mostly from swollen feet and bruises, but are rapidly approaching recovery. Liverpool Mercury.