THE LOSS of the MAIL STEAMER DOURO.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XIX, Issue 6422, 17 June 1882, Page 7

THE LOSS of the MAIL STEAMER DOURO.

NARRATIVES OF THE SURVIVORS. Tiik following narratives have been supplied by survivors of the Royal Mail Steamer Douro was lost in collision.

Mrs. J. S. Owensays:—l wasinmy bunkori the night of the disaster earlier than usual, hnd, feeling ill, hai completely undressed myself, which I never remembered doing at sea before. Suddenly I heard a crash, which from my room sounded ouly like a slight smash of glass and scantling. This was at 10.50., I Bhould scarcely have roused myself had I not next heard the running of many feet. Then I looked out, came back, put on a cloak, and getting to the companion ladder, met some men running to their cabins. "Is it an explosion, or what?" I asked. "Collision," was the hasty reply. I ran back, seized another cloak, a skirt in which I remembered was my purse, and a small bag, then hurried on deck, where I managed to get on my skirt. Then the captain caino past me. "To the | boats," he cried, " anil the woir ell in first." Air. Atlierley, the fourth officer, a fine young jfellow, with whom I had chatted the day before, my first day on board, nave orders in a firm, clear voice for the lowering of the first boat, and pulled me on to a chest or something alongside. "Sit down, woman," he cried, as I tried to jump into the boat before she was level and steady. More women and i two boys and some men got in, and we were I ordered to sit down as low as possible. The most awful moment was when the boat was dropped into the surging deep, a heavy swell on. -We thought it was our last. We reached the surface safely,< but the ropes held üb. "A knife, a knife," was the cry. Not one of the men had one. At last a boy passenger produced one from his pocket, and the ropes were severed ; a wave washed up from the ship, and confused voices cried for the rowlocks. They were all tied together, and it took some time to disentangle them and to cut the cords with the small knife. Then the oars were got from under us with difficulty. We found next that we had not a single seaman with tis, only six or seven stokers' and firemen. Not one knew how < o handle an oar properly. No one was able to take command. One man suggested that we should put back to the ship for some one who could do this. Another, a coloured man, said too, " Let's go back. She'll not sink yet. : I got all my property on board." The sea was so heavy we could not see the other boats. Then they pulled, some one way, some another. When I told one man he was rowing the wrong way, he cursed me, and told me to hold my tongue. The consul from Pernambueo tried to maintain order, but he too was told to "shut up," and he gave up speaking in despair, but rowed, I believe. At last all were pulling, at any rate in the same direction. " Where are wo going?" shouted another coloured man. "I see a ship with lights," I cried—sitting high on some oars or boards, I could see her— " and she has a light at her masthead." A man again bade me hold my tongue. Wemade for these lights, however, till some man said, ".They're distress signals—she is sinking too." " There's a second vessel, but she's all dark," one said next. Presently we saw rockets go up from the ship with lights. Then there was an explosion, we heard cries and shrieks, and we saw her sink. A little later we saw the T)ouro go down stern foremost. Stilt we had some distance to row, but felt sure the third vessel would pick us up. "Are your father and mother here?" I asked the two boys. "Yes." "Ah, thank God!" A woman's hand grasped mine. "Have you anyone left on board?" "No, thank God." When we got near enough the men shouted for a line to be thrown out to us. "Go and try to pick up some of those drowning men," cried the captain from the third steamer's deck. " We've got women and children aboard," shouted the men back. Then the captain bade us come on, and a line was flung out and grasped. "Sit still," the men said to us; "not one of you move." When, however, we got with difficulty close alongside, a rope ladder happened to be close to me. I could, not resist climbing it, and dropped the little bag in which I had some few valuables, in order to do so more firmly. I did not see it again, but I felt the time was too valuable to trouble about anything but life, and had I held on to it I might have lost my hold. Near the top, men pulled me on, strong arms at last placed me gently on deck, and they bade me go down into the cabin, so I was the first to reach safely the Hidalgo. The other ladies were hoisted up by ropes. Speaking of trying to save one s property, a sad thing happened. A man (one of the officers, I believe) threw his coat into one boat, and then ran back to fetch something from his cabin. When he returned the boat had been washed away, and he was lost."

Mr. Hangman says :—lt was a fine, clear night—aß fine a night as could be imagined when I returned to my berth, -which 1 shared with Mr. R. Goldschmidt, of Mancheater. I was awakened from my sleep by a great noise of running to and fro. Mr. Goldschmidt and I, thinking some one was overboard, put on our boots and clothes hurriedly and rushed on to the deck. 1 here we were told that there had been a collision and that the ship was sinking. I looked at my watch when X had been on deck a icw minutes, and Baw that it was seven minutes past eleven p.m. by Lisbon time. The captain gave the order for the boats to be lowered, and I saw the first boat, containing women and children, let down. The second boat was then filled with passengers anil lowered. After that there was some confusion among the seamen. Two of the boats had been smashed by the collision, and there being a heavy swell on the sea and a pretty strong wind blowing, I did not care to trust the boats much. Mr. Goldschmidt and I therefore looked out for a lifebuoy, and after some difficulty we found one for each of us. The ship was obviously sinking fast, and we looked for a good placo to jump. from. During this time the other passengers were being got in the hoats, which were lowered into the water. The ship was going down stern foremost, and the stern part of the vessel was already under water. Five of us were standing oil deck clinging to the railings ready to jump off if ■we saw no other chance of being saved. At this time we saw another steamer in the distance. Suddenly a hig wave cleared tho deck o£ everything movable. Mr. Goldschmidt, who was standing by my side, an<l another passenger, were washed overboard. I saw that the vessel was go;::g down, and seizing a favourable opportunity I jumped into the sea at the time that the captain was trying to purstiade a servant girl, the only woman left on board, and who had refused to be put into one of the hoats, to get into a boat which the fourth officer was trying to lower. That was the last thing I saw on board. I had a lifebuoy with me, and after swimming for about half an hour, I was picked up by a lifeboat containing the doctor and two seamen. There was no doubt the accident would have proved much more disastrous if the passengers had not behaved with remarkable coolness. The observation applies even to the women, who, generally speaking, were very composed, and there was no shrieking or crying. The women and children were all got into the boats before any of the male passengers left. The bulk of the passengers were taken away in the first two boats, which were got off with hut little difficulty. I afterwards heard calls for knives or hatchets to cut the tackle, as if the other boats were causing some trouble. After I was picked up four other persons were also got out of tho water into the same boat, one of whom was Mr. Goldschmidt. In fact, all the five who stood together on the deck until they were washed o(I or jumped, were saved. After I was in the water I saw a black cloud of smoke rising a little way off, and the Douro went down. The ship gave a great heave, the stern sank deeper, the stem rose high in the air and the vessel disappeared. I was just far enough away to avoid being carried under with her. Before she sank all the boats had been lowered, with the exception of the one which the fourth officer was trying to get away. This boat would have held all who were "on board when tho ship sank. There were the captain, several officers, and about ten men whera I believed to be seamen. After cruising about among a great quantity of wreckage for some time, we made for a steamer that we saw in the distance, and got onboard. It was then about half-past two on Sunday morning, or some threehours after the collision. Tho steamer that picked us up was tho llildago, of Hull. We saw the Yrurac Bat before we left the*T)ouro. She sank about a quarter of an hour after the collision. According to reports which came to us afterwards she went down in consequence partly of tho damage to her stern by the collision, and partly of an explosion of her boilers, Mr. Goldschmidt had a lifebelt round him, and he was washed off the ship. That would he about half a minute before I jumped overboard, because I saw that the next wave would take me. We were

picked up and taken on board the Hidalgo, wliere we were received with much kindness and well taken care of. Our own passengers who had been taken off in the boats were very attentive, and one lady waa

particularly assiduous m looking after her distressed fellow-voyagers. Ido not think I there was a want of discipline among the seamen when the collision occurred. Tho captain, so far as I could see, gave his orders Clearly. Had tho fourth officer had time to get the last boat off, I believe all the people OU board would have been saved. The \ rurac Bat went down, I believe, m about fifteen minutes after the collision. They lowered a large boat, and it was filled with people, but it was swamped directly. After the collision occurred I was speaking to Mr. Goldsohinidt, and observing tlic Hidalgo standing by aoout a mile off/I said, 4 1 wonder why that vessel docs not come near.* I believe now tnat we must have gone on for some distance after the collision, and that tho Yrurac Bat, which was nearer to tho Hidalgo than wo were, made signals of distress to her which caused her to lie by. As to the Yrurac Bat, I believe she ran into us, and that she was injured iu the vicinity of tho boilers, which blow up. After we got on board the Hidalgo tho captain waited about tho spot where the collision had taken place for an hour or more after daylight, and then made for Corunna, which place we reached about ton o clock in the morning on Sunday. There was some difficulty about our landing, on account of part of the passengers of the Douro having come from Rio, and the authorities wanted to place us for eight days in quarantine. This, however, we fortunatelyavoided, and, indeed, j do not believe there is any place there for the purpose of quaritine. As near as I can judge we landed between two and three o'clock in the afternoon. When the colli" sion occurrcd some of the passengers were in bed, though not all.- Most of them were clothed when they came on deck; but one lady in the boat had on nothing but. an underskirt and an ulster jacket over it, and. one man whom we picked up had nothing on but an undershirt. Such clothes as we had were dried as well as they could be on board 'the Hidalgo. .Most of the passengers who •survived were fortunate enough to have ; money in their possession, and on the day after reaching Corunna six of us leftby train for Lugo. From Lugo we went by diligence to Ponferrada, a journey of fifteen hours, thence to Vcnta de Banos, thence to Bordeaux, and on to Faris and London. Isawageutleman, whom I was afterwards told was Mr. Schwind, of Manchester, trying to get from tho deck of the steamer into a boat containing passengers which was already iu the water. He slipped down one of the rope 3 by which it had been suspended, but before he got to the bottom the boat was moved away by the sea, and for several minutes he was hanging over the .water. Several attempts were made to haul him up again to the steamer, but before this could be effected he was washed away by a wave and was not scan again."