THE ACCIDENT ON BOARD THE BEAUTIFUL STAR.

Westport Times, Volume VIII, Issue 1210, 11 September 1874, Page 4

THE ACCIDENT ON BOARD THE BEAUTIFUL STAR.

The Otago Daily Times gives details of the accident cm board the steamer Beautiful Star, resulting in the death of Captain Hart. When in Lyttelton Harbor, the ship Ballochmyie 1200 tons was ready to leave the wharf and preparations were made to tow her into the stream. The sea always " sends" more or less into the harbor, and on the day in question there was enough " send" in to lend a smart movement to all vessels under weigh. The Star made fast to the ship with her owu seven inch hawser, and steamed ahead, but the strain of oo heavy a vessel on the tow was more than the warp would bear, aDd it snapped, and the ship ran out a large 13 iuch hawser. The end of which was passed on board the Star through the quarter chock, and carried forward past tho galley and down the mainhatch, and was then made fast round the main-mast, closo up to the deck. Tho " making fust" comprised a round turn round the mast, a half hitch, and I

then tho end was seized back in two places to the standing part. The hawser led closo by the galley door, and fearing that as it worked up and down by the action of the vessels that tho cook might bo hurt, and, moreover, being desirous to have a a port of preventer on the hawser in caso the mast went, Captain Hart had tho hawser taken oyer, or in other words, " trapped" back to tho quarter bits. Being fastened back to the bits, the hawser was out of a straight line, and described in fact a very decided angle at tho '.bitts. It was evident that if the frapping gave way the hawser would be sure to jump clear of tho bitt heads, and fly back with great forco against tho galley and the engine-room skylight, and in doing so would only recover a rectilinear position. As soon as the hawser was fast, the Star went ahead, and moved slowly on. Naturally solicitous about the hawser being food, Captain Hart went aft with the mate, Mr M'Kenzie, to inspect it. It was surging considerably with the send of the sea, and the mate remarked " That he was afraid the frapping would not hold." Captain Hart, however, did not appear to be particularly apprehensive on this point, and then both men turned to go forward, the Captain in advance. There is a low break or step to the Beautiful Star's deck at the engineroom skylight; and the Captain was in the act of stepping down the break, right leg first, when the steamer gave rather a heavy pitch, then a send aft, and in another instant the frapping gave way, the hawser lifted clear of the bitt heads, and flew with immense force against the galley and skylight. At it struck the galley, it produced a report like that of a spar snapping, and the male at first thought the mainmast had gone. His first glance was towards it. His next, however, fell upon Captain Hart lying prostrate on the deck. He had been struck on both legs by the hawser and jammed against the skylight, the right leg ceiving the first shock, and was dreadfully injured, as was evident by the blood which poured in streams from the mangled limb.