HURRICANE AT MADRAS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume IX, Issue 2691, 12 September 1872, Page 3

HURRICANE AT MADRAS.

The following highly graphic account of the frightful tempest whic'i iidl'cted such heavy damage to the shipping in Madras roads in Hie 0 f Alav, and caused such a seriom of life, is from a correspondent of the 'Times :— During the mouths of April and Jlay, the weather in Madras is usually almost a dead bi iii, relieved only by the daily movement of of air known when it proceeds towards the sea n3 the laud wind, and when it conies from the sea us the sea breeze. From January to tko en»l of 31 iy no drop of rain is expected, and when, about the middle of April, the slight N.E. .viad gives wuy to a still slighter S.VV. wind, Madras is in for its hot weather. What this means may be guessed from rhe fact that Madias stands in Dove's great list as the hottest place in the world. Things bore their usual form till the list day of April, when, almost without warning, heavy rain --et in. On the following day, the Ist. of May, rain continued, bu f , brought with it a strong wind which increased in violence throughout the day, until, towards evening, it, became a perfect galo, and the strength of the wind did not increase faster than tho intensity of the ruin. Oi'i Indians foresaw a storm,and began to ask when the ship 3 were out into the wide, and therefore comparatively safe, expanse of tho Bay of Bengal. Madras Roads then well f l'nished with shipping, except that., by a'strange accident, no steamer was anchored there. Usually there are three or four. There were eighteen go d ships in the roads, besides fifteen smaller vessels known as •' uhonies" — vessels built in the country and manned by native crews—holding about the stime relation in size uud quality to the oilier ships as the old collier uujs which phod bet"'..,... Newcastle aui London did to tho n<>t>le East Lndiamen which used to he of Blackwall. of the larger ships were owned and manned by natives also, but twelve of them were splendid English ships, t»vo upjn their first voyage.

Many a weatherwise Englishmen drovedown to the uc.ich ou the evening of Maydav to Bee for himself that the ships were gone, and rot irned grieved at heart. I had seen fourreeu ships on shore only four yoirs before, and a year later had stood by whi.e another brave vessel had driven through the splendid pier. On both occusions nine out of ttu of the .English craft had saved themselves oy slipping tueir cables and running out to sea. On neither occasions had things so bid a look as now, yet there every stiip rode at anchor, proudly unconscious of the fate that was bofore it. As I turned sadly awuy, three-aud-thirty sail tossed sleepily over the angry wave, as if they neither kuew nor cared why such hoary breakers galloped in. Yesterday I went again. It was but May 2. J3ut three of this great fleet were still riding there, and one of them hud lost two of its masts, all the rest lay strewing the shore. But 1 anticipate. Thd gale increased as wore on. At about midnight, Mr. Pogson, the astronomer, telegraphed from the Observatory to tho Marineoflice th it a fearful storm was near, but thij the marne authorities ought to have known long before, for the glass had fallen fully half-un-inch. Shortly after this the ships were ordered from the shore to get ready, and at three in the morning to cut their cables anil stand out to sea. It was too late. The question was uot how to get out t> sea, but how to keep oil' toe shore. Tho storm was fearfui, and the surf rolled clear orer everything. VViud and wave were dead set for the shore. At 3 a.m. the native craft were almost all loose, drifting stf-a lily before the wind. One of them struck the pier just about the middle, exactly on the spot wiic.ro the St. Bernard made a breach three years ago. She went clear through it, f or nothing could stand such thumping, wLh such a hummer as a siiip wielded by the mad waves. .Neither ship nor pior could stand stand it. The former went clean through and then collapsed. She now lies a shapeless heap a few yan.lt) off. At. five o'clock tho cyelune was at its height, and half the . English ships were adrift. The Armenian, a magnificent iron vessel, just beginning to load, and, therefore, high out of the water, appears to hare gone first. In drifting she fouled the 'Hotspur, and the shock loosened the latter'a I anchor. Another was at ouco let go, and tho Hotspur held on. By six o'clock,, when the sun rose, the Armenian was high ou shore. The Streeramooloo, a lino large vessel belonging to native owners, went about the same time, and came ashore not ten yards away from the Armenian. Then followed tho John . Scoti, the.Burlington, the Misser, and another large native oraft. All of these struck just

•■; .the sinie place, and now lie a hideous UUS3 within a circle of a hundred Tard° in ''imnuter. About st-ven o'clock, a dhotiv aim.' wiih immense force' against the Av Ibersr, which •vua stili hoi ling on 10 her nnehors. The shock s Lathed in iUe Av Iberg's side ar.d broke the cables ; then both Vessels started fir the shore. Half-way there an immense sue broke over the English vessel, throwing Mie captain d .wn the hatchway. The fall ssriously maimed him, and he was taken up by his crew apparently dying. All this wliile the ship drifted on. The dyin;; enpt.aiu saw the fort walls 010.-e ut. hand, and called to the men to leave him and save themselves. The words were hardly out of his lips before she struck on a groyne of massive rocks roughly piled. Wave after wave lifted her up and then threw her down on the pitiless stones. In two minutes—only the time it takes ine to write this—the ship broke ap, literally broke up. When I came a while later, there was nothing to see of this line vessel hut n confused heap of shattered pieces of wood thrown up on the strand by the surf. The brave captain and most of his crew were drowned, only five escaped with their lives. Jfow the iuvcreshio set off on her perilous journey. She had brought beer for the troop*, and 1,000 barrels were still on hoard. She is a uiaguiliceut iron vessel, beautifully found, an J looks as spick and Bpnn as the day she was launched. Was it fortune or a skilful captain that guided her clear of all tho other wrecks, and beached liei* on a particularly sott place oil' the saluting battery ? Her foretopmast is none, and her maintop-gallantmast has followed suit. ; but, with Lhi» exception, she looks as perfect and comfortable as wlieu she ] entered the roads a week ago. Tho beach is soft sand. The ship came in ufc the top of an immense wave, and was left ou the saud as sultiy as we might put a child.ou a haycock. Not far off lies the craft that fouled the Ardberg. She has parted amidships ; her stern half sprawls ou i'a beam eudi, making a sort i of back ibr the waves to play leaf-frog on ; the bow half is mingled with the mass of rubbish which piles the beach.

About len in tins morning, two morn ships broUe. looe—'.lie Hotspur mm the Sir U ihert Seppings. T!i j f.>!\u ir is. or was, ore ol t!w must favourite stiips tint ever siii.-.i in l.idi.i, and on ltd' voyage was crowded with passengers. -No passengers were on board, :is she whs not advertised to sail for some days to come. Tiie oilier hn.t been chartered lo sail to Unuritius wi'li 350 coolies. All were on board. Indeed, the sbip ought to have sailed the day bef >re. What a thnil of horror went through those who looked on when the Sir Ilobert Seppiugs began to «lrift. It was soon eeen that she woul l come on shore where the Ardberg had struck. Thank Groa she missed the groyne, but came on the sand not ten yards oil' The coolies were mad with-terror, but Ihe ship was staunch, and hud come ou a soft spot, it was soon seen that the ship was not breaking up. The rccke'.-aoparutus wns brought up and a line soon fixed. Another was at once r'gged by its side, and a cradle slung, between both. One by one, or two by two, the whole of the 40J souls ou board the vessel were safely lasided. Things went worse with the llot.-pur. Shj was nearly full. Her captain was on shore— a fact, which requires explanation. She was always deep in Ibe water, for she was 1,200 tons register Whether for these or any other reasons, she touched ground abo.'.t a qu.u'ter-of-a-mile from the shore, immediately behind the fearful gathering round the John Seott. Whether she sprung a leak or not will never be known, but she immediately began to settle down. The waves made a clean breach over her, urging her further on the shore. In fact, after she struck, the Hotspur must have thus drawu fo'wnrd a hundred yards. At first it was hoped that she would come up to the beach like ail the others, and little was done in the hope that the crew might get butter terms from the sea somewhat later, especially as none of the ships that had come on the sand showed any signs of breaking up. By twelve o'clock it was seen that ihis hope was vain. Right in front of ihe merchants' offices she gradually settled in the sund, uutil only her bulwarks and deckhouse were abovo the water.

The hurricane—for cyclone it was not, seeing that the wind never changed more than a few points—was almo3t as violent as ever. Few persons could withstand it. The Masterattendant was driving down in a heavy carriage drawn by two horses, when the wind upset the carriage, seriously injuring the Master-attendant, and leaving him senseless on the road. This is mentioned, partly to show the force of the wind, and partly to bliow what was seemingly great neglect ou the part of the marine authorities. The surf run at racing speed, m wives that swept over everything. Tho rain fell in torrents, dashing violently against everything in its way. No sound could bo heard but tiie roaring of the wind and tho thuds of the leaping surf. Exposed to this were the thirty men who formed the crew of the Hotspur. Huddled together on the deck, they tied themselves together and to the ship, that the sea might not carry them away. Vein precaution ! They could not tie so tightly that the gripping sea could not seize one aud another. In the sight of all who stood there —liovernor, Council, aud ah the chief authorities—first one and then another was wragged away, never to be seen again alive. Tho rocket apparatus was used very freely, but neither skilfully nor successfully. For a long time none would fall over the ship. Then one did, and was made fast, but it could not be tightened and hung down into the sea. It was long before any man would dure such a bridge, but deatu seemed to come nearer each hour, and at leugf-h one ventured. The brave man tried lo bring with him a rope from the ship, so that those who followed might have a second rope. Bravely he held on, oue moment hi.h iu the air, the next deep under the hammering sea. Half-way, across the rope broke, aud he fell back into the raging waves. His bravery was uow his safety, for he was hauled hack to the ship by the rope he carried. It was long before another rope could be thrown, for uiof missed, and the exhausted survivors felt thai, they could not hope to p.ss. Here oue of England's heroes stood forth uud told his comrades that he would try to swi u ashore to s-iy tha'; they muse S"nd a cradle. This brave fellow was the chief ofii :er. After a fearful struggle with the waves and fljaiing wreck, he reached the shore alive. The wind had now lulled somewhat, and the shore was covered with a dense crowd of natives and Buropeans. No cradle could be sent where it was found so difficult to get a rope, and nothing could be done. Finding no fresh help c lining from the shore, the crew tried the rope again. One after another started, only one succeeded. Iu the sight of 10,000 peoplnot 200 yards away, all the rest were washed off, though uot all lost, for the brave fellows struck out for the shore, holding on to the wreck here and there to rest themselves. No boat could go out to help them, for nothing could live in such a surf. At this time also the sea was covered with floating wreck, which made it dang-rous to go near the water. Already a gaih-.nb soldier of the .Fusiliers had bsen killed. Ho was hauling in a drowning man, when a great piece of wood was hurled at him by the advancing surf. It struck him on the head, killing him on the spot. What a pitiful sight it was, those fifteen men still huddling on the deck of the Hotspur. Q-o.i grant that I may never see such a sight at»aia! We could only see them at short intervals, for the surf-waves chased each other erery half-minute, "and every one of them went high over the heads of the shipwrecked crew. Id beat them like somo giant hammer, - while they could do nothing in return but hold out beseeching hands to us on the shore. They could not got beyond the reach of the water, for the ma-ts had all gone by the board long before, broken off short at the deck. Naked aud cold and despairiug, the poor fellows still held on. At about half-past five another rocket rope fell over the vessel in a somewhat more favourable way. Three more sailors came I ashore, thoroughly exhausted. Twelve remained. It now grew dark—dark as pitch. The leaden, skies showed neither moon nor stars. None dared venture again, for to lose hold of the rope- was certain death. Q-ralu aliy, slowiy, aud tea'fully the spectators wen', away. Strong men aud happy women cried like children lo think that twelve men wlio

had braved the sea from ton lhat morning must be left to tho fearful ni^ht—hungry, exhausted, wet, and cold. None dared; to hope for t.hi-. lone l.we vo—they dared nor. hope for themselves. Happily the wind fell entirely. Toe nighh.- was calm, all but the fearful surf, that takes many long hours to settle down to its ordinary bluster. How ulowly those night watches passed away ! Alt that could be done was to burn blue lights at intervals to show the poor men they were not forgotten. Before the dawn could broa): nuu. crept down to tho beach in solemn .awe, to see if perhaps there mighr, be one left cliii-ing for dear life. Would the day never break ? iorae one with ■harper eyes ihnn the rest declared that he coulrl see " some." We waited a little longer, and then, just visible in the gloom, there was no mistaking the huddled-up-group of the previous night. Were they alive, or only corpses swinging to the wave? A hearty shoit went across L'ue <t.ill-(baMiing surf. It was responded to. A heavy arm slowly lifted proved that one, at least, was living and could st.i I look for help. The surf was so heavy that nothing eeaine I possible until some ui>i4tila boatmen were persuaded by tho promise of a r-jward to t>y to reach the wreck. The men coitld swiii like fishes, and at. lust conseuted. Wii'i :• finite difficulty they made the wreck, i >■.'!; oIF the men one after the other, twelve in n'l, and brought them ou shore alive. I'es, not. one hud been lost during that, dreadiui They hat kept up heart—though hone h.,d left tliem— and held on.

The p>or fellows had b'en in 1.1 e power of the fearful sea from 10 a.in. of May 2, till 345 a.m. of May .'i — nearly twenty hours'exposure to a surf such as the world can scarcely rival, without, clothing, without food, and wor»t of all, for twelve hour? without- hope. -After the Hotspur drifted, the Kingdom of Belgium came on sin r > close by the Sir Kobert; Sepnings. This was the last, of the lon-: catalogue. Three ships—the Kveiyn, the Bonnie Dundee, and the Inverness—escaped, the two latter without any visible harm —a good fortune chiefly invito to the wi-e fxivt.iioit.i'rs of l.ii-ir owners in giving them grouud-taeUe una cables of the best quality. As well as can be known it appears that thirty ships in all have l«.en wrecked. Of these, sixteen are visible. The res-, have gone utterly Lo pieces. Their 4ix/-<;;a i,i m'nii limj the shore. Two country ships struck the pier nearer the shore, doing Id. le damage, as they gi'uiiude I at therume time, an 1 they now hang against the pier as if they were discharging cargo at a wharf. Not one will ever be got oil' —ut least, experience makes us judfe so. It is not known how many lives were lost, for there is no register of native crews, unci it is, therefore, impossible to say how many uro missing. Tile number must be grea'. iiighteen Europeans are known to be lost; there may be others. Of the Kuropeau survivors, tweury-fire or twenty-six are in hospital, grievously wounded by spars and the like.