FEARFUL HURRICANE at NASSAU.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume 11, Issue 821, 26 January 1867, Page 3

FEARFUL HURRICANE at NASSAU.

Br a fearful hurricane at Nassau, New Providence, on the Ist and 2nd of October, H.M. gunboat Nimble (Commander A. J. Chatfield) has been literally " blown out of the -water " on to the shore of the harbor, but without loss of life. The commander, reporting the occurrence to the Admiralty, says: — .

The ship's stern tailed on the sand, but she swung to the flood tide as the tide rose, and rode the hurricane out until. 1 p.m., when a gust of extreme fury caught the ship, she being then broadside to the wind, and drove her up on the beach. She fell over in -shore. The force of the wind was so great that it was impossible' to face it, and the blinding rain and spray, together with dense masses of clouds which appeared to touch the earth, prevented us seeing anything. The fury of the wind was indescribable, and the roaring of the sea and shrieking of the wind fearful. During the vortex I tried to secure the ship from blowing off, when I feared she must have been carried over the bar, and probably have become a total wreck, as two other vessels did — a steamer and a schooner ; fortunately we were only blown over on our other bilge, and remained fast. After passing a fearful night, the long-wished-for daylight appeared and more moderate weather.

The scene on shore, the writer goes on to say, was terrible ; the town in ruins, not a single vessel (of some hundreds the day before in the harbor) remained : — -

Government-house, barracks, hospital, and officers' quarters were unroofed and pnvtially blown down ; all the stores on the beach destroyed ; wharves and commissariat and dockyard piers down ; all the sheds and outbuildings in both places dcatrojed i the dockyard wall blown down ia two places and nearly all the houses in the town partially or wholly unroofed; public buildings unroofed and four chapels blown down (one a new stone one). All the trees are either blown down or stripped of their leaves and branches. The salt water has blown over the island, and all the wells are salt as far as the Blue-hills, four miles inland. The top of the light-house is blown in and the light destroyed ; a temporary light is shown.

The accounts from the other islands, Commander Chatfield says, are very dreadful. Most of them being low, the sea made a clear breach over the settlements . and

completely destroyed them, and the inhabitants are suffering from want of provisions ; indeed, the suffering of the poorer classes must be dreadful : —

Their gardens and provision grounds and huts are all destroyed, and hundreds aye no shelter. Providentially, the loss of life at Nassau has not been great — only three, although numerous accidents, have taken place. The number drowned in the harbour is not known. The lights on Abaco are damaged, and temporary one 3 (about the brightness of a ship's light) shown, Stirrup Cay is most damaged, Great Isaac's and Gun Cay lights have not suffered. It is estimated that the vortex was not more than from 10 to 18 miles wide, and the greatest extent of the storm 100 to 180 miles over the Bahamas. Wrecks are reported on all sides by the small boats and distressed vessels that have arrived since the storm. Later accounts state that of the shipping in port during the hurricane/98 vessels and boats were destroyed, 97 seriously damaged and 41 slightly injured— total, 231. The schooner C. J. Marshall, at Nassau, is a total wreck. The captain (JEvans) and the crew saved. themselves with difficulty.; In Nassau there were §17 dwelling-houaea

destroyed and 609 damaged,; five places of worship destroyed and three damaged, 17 warehouses . destroyed, one theatre destroyed, and 20,340 persons rendered houseless. In the out islands, ,from Abaco to Mayaguana, the destruction of property was severe in proportion, and a number of lives were lost by shipwreck and otherwise. A terrible conflagration which recently occurred at Quebec is said to have originated in a drinking saloon, where some men, quarreling over a card-table, upset a lamp, and the oil, running over the floor, set fire to the house, the flames spreading with great celerity among the wooden houses in the neighborhood. The great extent of surface burnt over is attributed to the neglect of the authorities in not providing an adequate supply of water, or in any way attempting to relieve their exposed condition. The insurance companies long since saw the danger, and the foreign ones have been steadily reducing the number of their risks and increasing the rates of premium, until risks which were taken at ss. in Montreal were charged 12s. 6d. in Quebec. The city authorities have already been condemned for their neglect at a public meeting of the citizens. The condition of the sufferers — over 20,000 people have been made homeless — is pitiful in the extreme, and, owing to the stagnation of business and the near approach of winter, many of them are in despair. The subscriptions in aid of the sufferers by the fire were progressing satisfactorily. Two thousand dollars had been received from the New York Stock Exchange, and the citizens of Quebec were much pleased with the generous gift. - During Friday, November 16, and the preceding evening, a circumstantial statement was current in London and in many places in the country, that the Prince of Wales had met with a serious accident in Bussia, and some persons even affirmed that his royal highness had been killed. The report was that it occurred during a boar hunt, one version being that his royal highness was accidentally shot, another that he was thrown from his horse. It is stated that the origin of the report arose from the wording of a telegram being misunderstood. The telegram stated, " The prince's skill in riding during the hunt was much admired." Those who heard the telegram read out, understood it to mean, "The prince is killed in riding during the hunt." The writer of Home talk, in the Home Neios, says :— More than once I have had to make allusion to the book called "Ecce Homo," which excited so much interest in what is called the religious world, though its doctrines have been sternly repudiated by that section of the community. The secrecy which was observed as to the authorship had something to do with the success of what is undeniably a clever and sentimental history of the Founder of Christianity. The origin of the book was assigned to a great numbers of persons, of all kinds of opinions, and when I say that the guesses ranged from Lord Brougham to the author of "Adam Bede," I shall give a good idea of their wildness. The Spectator now states, as from authority, that the book is by Professor Seely, and that accomplished theologian has not contradicted the statement. Now, if we could only be quite sure who wrote " Junius " we could live happily till the end of our lives. The subject for discussion at the Oxford University Union a few days ago, says the Home News, was, . "That, in the opinion of this House, Mr. Bright is a reproach to the country which gave him birth." An amendment was moved, "That while admiring Mr. Bright's talent this House regrets that it should be given to the support of a mischievous party." This was negatived, and another amendment moved, "That Mr. Bright's political career for many years past has been such as to render him a most serious nuisance to this country." This was also negatived, and the original motion was then carried, 63 voting for it and 26 against — majority, 37.

A Smabt Feat.— under this heading the Marlborough Express has the following :— - On Saturday last a person named Jeffries, ■who recently arrived by the Wild Duck, left Picton on foot for Blenheim about 7 p.m. On his arrival at the Wairau Ferry at midnight, he called with all his might, but in vain, the wind preventing his voice being heard at the Hotel on the opposite siJe, where he had the satisfaction of watching the lights disappear one by one. In this fix, he took counsel with himself as to the best means to be adopted for getting over the river, and at length determined to try a road which probably no one has ever been hardy enough to try before him ; swinging himself from the wire rope, away he went, hand over hand, until he got about half-way across, when he began to feel uncertain as to whether he could manage it, as he did not see the extent of his journey on account of the darkness, and felt half disposed to drop down and try to swim the remainder ; luckily for himself, he persevered, and reached the other side in safety, but not without severely scratching his hands. The distance across would be somewhere about 450 feet. The Babeacouta. — The West Coast Times says, whatever doubts may have existed as to whether the waters of the West Coast were resorted to by that highly esteemed fish the barracouta were effectually dissipated on Thursday last by the arrival of the ketch Florence from Greymouth, as on the passage down her crew caught no fewer than eight dozen thrumping fish of the above species. According to the men's statement, the sea was swarming with them, and had better fishing appliances been at command, the vessel would have been loaded. The few secured were hawked about the streets, and fetched very remunerative prices. When shall we hear of the establishment of a West Coast fishing company? A T> A J}j-1 V