SOME FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS.

NZ Truth, Issue 97, 27 April 1907, Page 8

SOME FAMOUS SHIPWRECKS.

BURNING OF THE OCEAN MONARCH.

The First Day at Sea.

A Terrible Death Roll for Abergele Bay.

The Cluster on the Jibboom Breaks It,

PDTsaslirous - flay, iwffaTi arum 1 hast thou bred, SVhat anguish to the livingi and the dead ! v How hast thou left the widow all forlorn, %Xki ever doomed the orphan child to mourn." •One of the great difficulties encountered by, officers of emigrant Bhips m the old days was the recklessness displayed by the emigrants jwith regard to fire. One would suppose that the sense of self-preserva-tion which nature gives. Srtffan would prevent him from playing with so idangerous an enemy as fire m so risky , a place as a /Jomfaustible wooden ship. Yet, like the stringent regulations m force, m 'Coal mimes, placarding a ship;s betweenrdecks with noitices forbidding.' smoking below 'is often futile m preventing the selfish Mlow from imperilling the lives of ip.ther helpless beings. Here is an instance inj which a -splendid ship, for. her day, was burnt, and about 1.78, lives lost, through the foolhardy negligence of some_ wastrel among the passengers., ■ "'„ ■ . ' THE OCEAN:, MONARCH, ' an American, emigrant .packet, of 1300 tons, left- the; rivet -Mersey on Thursday morning,, Augus \% . 18,4.-8, hound for -Boston, > Massachusetts. She carried about 3SO souls, of whom 338 were emigrant bound for Ame-: rica. An . early tide, compelled the: sailing of • the ship at daylight. The tugboat took her . out of the river, and left her flail well" at breakfast time. Then the ship loosed her sails, hoisted her yards,. and squar- : ed a-way. Tha land, at first low, and afterwards mountainous, remained m. sight all. the morning, forming ; o succession of pretty, pictures of the i coast of North Wales, worthy of bein? the last for. departing Britons to look upon and remember m the- new land. At noon the Ocean Monarch, being about six moles Trom the Great - Orme's Head, went off on another; ifcack. The steward about this . time came to the captain, and informed him that one of the passengers had lighted a fire, contrary to rcgula-. tions, m one of the ventilators m the upper part of the ship. The captain sent a couple o f men below to put out the fire, and bring the crazy delinquent to him; -. Ths night before he had been worried m port by the men" m the steerage smoking, m direct disobedience to his orders— had been-, m /fa"», . defied iby them. He was, therefore, umis.i:ly careful about the fire, 'and this led him to follow the men Whom he had , despatched below. To his horror he found smokepouaring into the mam cabin from _ one of the, state rooms . mate, . ■while tacking the ship, had been apprised by the watch that something was wrong, and he, too, hastened below. • The ship was beyoud ques- ; .tion on fire. The men were roused, «

and water was thrown 'through 1 tlie scuttle and through a hole cut m the deck. for the purpose, but they were quickly, driven up by the smoke, and within five minutes the wnole afterpart of the ship WAS IN FLAMES. The passengers crowded upon the deck, frantic with excitement and fright. To use the captain's owh words, all appeared infatuation and despair." Yells and screams rent the air ; men, women, and children rushed- wildly against one another, and r tr4moled upon their nearest friends antf^Sjd'ires m their conf usi on . Th«i captain could not make hip voice heard m the din, and his' orders were issued m vain. At first he attempted to run the ship on shore, but" m the face of a rapidly increasing fire he found the endeavor could not possibly be carried out. The port and starboard anchors were then let go, so that the, ship's head, beinp; brought to the wind, the fire mifht be confined to the part where it had broken out. A general rush was made for the bows, and numbers ran.o ut upon the bowsprit. Remonstrance was useless against the prevailing panic ; hence,, m their alarm 7 peopJe, long before they were driven to desperate measures, 'jumped overboard and wexe drowned, although the men on deck who had preserved their presence of mind, threw them spars and all kinds of loose materials. In 20 minutes the flames were master of the ship. To save life was now the only remaining question. But to sax r e the lives of people who, panic-stricken, are bent on their own destruction is the 'hardest task of all m moments oi! danger. Often, much too often, the fatal effects of panic are narrated. Here was the Ocean Monarch at midday, not far from shore, and rapicilv hastening to her rescue were several vessels. True, the dangti 1 : was calculated to APPAL THE STOUTEST-HEART-ED, but it is a dismal reflection that the presence of that excited mob of a few, cool, strong men might have wholly kept under the terror which hastened the sacrifice of nearly 200 lives,. The master of the ship, Captain Murdoch, and his mate, Braydon, on the testimony of everyone, exerted themaelvcs nobly. De&srted by tho greater part of the seaman, and surrounded by a little handful— less than half-a-dozen— of courageous passengers, the captain issued his orders promptly and with tlie coolness of a veteran- He stood m the thick of the -danger while rod-hot fragments ' of the blazing mainmast and rigging rained around him. Communication with the fore part of the ship, where albne safety could bo found, was cut off ; then, not till rli'vu. \with a look around, anxious- to the last to be assured that" nothing further could/be done, he leaped m- 1 •tp the sea- He was the last man to

leave that part of tlie vessel, the last but one being Bristow, a passenger, who, a few. minutes before the captain took to the water, climbed along outside the bulwarks, and jumped from the martingale into the water. Both were saved, and afterwards public recognition was made of their conduct.

Incidents of bravery could be cited which would warm one's heart ; incidents to be recalled when croakers are heard denouncing human nature as unutterably bad ; incidents which stand out all the more pleasantly because they contrast with the stupidity and barbarity of some passengers connected with tlie ship's destruction. One of the seamen of the Ocean Monarch stated i.that if the people had taken the captain's advice and remained quiet, scarcely a life would have been lost. , .

First on the list of . men to be thankfully remembered . . is Frank Jerome, an American sailor belonging to the ship New World. This vessel was not far from the Ocean Monarch when ,ihe lire, broke out. When the New World drew near, Jerome saw the surface of the water covered with bodies, alive and dead, and huddling together m theilr terror m the bow of

THE BURNING- SHIP

was a crowd of women, and children. To see was with him to. act. Headlons he bounded into the waves with a rope tied round ...his waist. Straight. he swam to the .. Ocean Monarph.'a *#>•#, and with incredible exertion pulled himself hand over 'hand into her head.. From this point he lowered with his own hands, and his rope, all the frightened women and children— and frightened men, 'too—' who m their paralysed state would soon have been burnt alive. This humane work done, he jumped into the water, and was afterwards picked up by a boat. Jerome was- one of Nature's noblemen— his brave heart giving him superhuman strength m the time of need. .He was afterwards presented with the freedom of New York, and with a special gift from Queen Victoria.

A yacht, named by a singular coincidence the Queen of the Ocean, was spec-ding merrily alomg with a party of friencs, enjoying the hospitality of her owner, a Mr Little-dale, of Liverpool. They were returning home from the Beaumaris Regatta, and the objects of their admiration, as they trod the deck,' included the stately emigrant ship starting on her outward voyage wi.th crowded decks. The yachters were calling one another's attention t-6 - the bellying squaresails cf the Ocean Monarch as she was running her course under the Welsh coast to the Atlantic. On a sudden un went her. helm, as if she would return to port, and a flag ran ud and fluttered out the signal of distress. What could it mean ? The mvstovy was vspe-&dily ' solved by the ;1 ...„., iunce a j forks of flame. , darijinp! aloft.

The' course of tlie vac'ht, fortunately allowed Mr Littladale to bear away for the Ocean Monarch at once. Thc'hfavy swell did net- hinder the lowering of tlie cutter's boat, nor cheo\ the crew from giving way with a will and pulling for the vessel.

PIERCING- SHRIEKS met them-., 0n 'the w&t-ers, .and they redoubled their efforts. As they aproached they saw the' -poor creatures lying cut on the jibboom and l:cwsprit, thick as bees settling after a swarm. Before their eyes- wives and ■husbands followed, each other into the cfcer>:' They saw mothers, .clasping i heir children -tightly ..to their. ..breasts,, sink into their watery grave.. -They saw the masts go one after the other and with the lofty foremast the jibboom ami- its cluster of human ■ beings fell into the sea, amid a shriek which those who heard it never forgot. For an hour and a-half Littledale and his boat's crew -toiled on saving life, and rescued 32 persons* including Captain Murdoch, who was found floating about on a plank. Nob . till , the Ocean Monarch ' was burnt to the water's edge did the yacht leave the scene.

Bound on an experimental trip, which was also an excursion of pleasure, there was steaming on !;ht same morning, and m the same sea, the Brazilian frigate, Alfonso, commanded by the Marquis de Lisboa. He carried a distinguished and gay party, amongst others, the French Prince and Princess de Joinville, the Duke and Duchess D'Aumale, Admiral Grenfell, and a large number of ladies. By these the smoking ■ emigrant ship was also seen, and by them splendid 1 assistance, was given. The frigate steamed towards her, aW the party on board, long, before they were within hailing distance, witnessed the falling of the main and fore masts. The frigate dropped anchor as close as the flames permitted. :

Four boats were lowered, each m charge of an officer. Admiral G-ren-fell and the Mai-q,uis de ..." Disboa jumped into < another and followed. They scattered right and left, picking up the survivors, and when all was over had i>he gratification of knowing that they had saved 156 persons. As fast 'as they were brought on board the frigate the ladies and gentlemen on deck, with the French Princesses at their head ministered to their wants. The unfortunate women and children weire more dead than alive, and those whose clothes had' been torn from them were supplied by the Alfonso's party, who stripped themselves for the purpose. The Prince and his brother the Duke vied with the rest m hauling, the helpless on. board. In one of the boats came

THE BRAVE SAILOR JEROME

The Prince de Joinville had been Witness of • his gallantry and surprising energy, and ..now, unable to restrain himself, rushed forward and embraced him, thanked him for what he had. done, and pressed a handful of go I'd upon him.

The next vessel to arrive was the Prince of Wales, on her way from Liverpool to 3angor. The .first intimation liar passengers had of the catastrophe was a volume of smo^e straight ahead as they cleared the Mersey. At first they though it was a steamboat ; they were undeceived by a red sheet of flame, and afterwards by the corpses that the tide ftoated pa9t them. The steamer went] full steam on and lowered her ..boats. A man quite naked, riding on "a lifebuoy, was the first they picked up ; the next was a child about three years old, who died the moment she was laid m the bottom of the boat. By means of the steamer Prince of Wales the catalogue of the saved was largely increased ?' and when next day

the steamer went back to Liverpool, a crowd was waiting to greet the skipper and crew. Medals, m recognition of their humane exertions, were afterwards given to Littledalc, the owner of the yacht, the Brazilian Consul-General , Admiral Grenfell, the commander of the . Alfonso-, and Frank Jerome. Queen Victoria also gave £50 to* Jerome from the Royal bounty. The French Princes subscribed handsome sums to the fund which was raised for the survivors, all poor, scarred, bruised, and woebegone creatures, who were brought back to Liverpool. The Prince de JoinviUe, a painter of merit, Mmself produced a sketch of the burning ship, to be exhibited m aid of the fund.. , Two coasting steamers were the subjects of much reprobation for proceeding oti their respective voyages without rendering assistance to the Ocean Monarch. The excuse made by the captains was that there was plenty of assistance at hand. Both were, however, severely censuired by the Coroner. If every individual saved from the wreck of the Ocean Monarch wrote a full narrative of his or her experiences—of the first knowledge of danger, of the growth of terror, of the hopes an-d fears, of • the sufferings and struggles, and of the final deliverance— a distressing volume indeed it would be. However, inmany cases, a blessed forgetfulness of details comes over the mind. - A YOUNG IRISH WOMAN, saved from the catastrophe, vaguely remembered rushing on deck, and being tirai'ble4 overboard by another woman. She recollected riding on the tops of the little waves, descending and ascending, and as she floated about seizing a human hand. It was the hand of a dying woman, and that hand clutched hers with a frightful tenacity with which the' drowning seem always inspired. The Irish woman struggled with her expiring companion, with whom she was now > linked, uncertain which would die first. The injuries the poor .woman had received settled the painful 'question ; she died as she floated, with only her head submerged, and m this way the living woman kept herself afloat by clinging; to the corpse until she was picked up by one of the Alfonso's boats. An old Lancashire weaver, sixtysix y* T a r s cf age, sat until rescued near the ship's figure-head, clasping a child, whom he had snatched from its mother's arms as she fell overboard from the bowsprit. Near him were six friends, all belonging /to Rochdale. Five, m slipping .-.down a rope, m- the hope of being taken into' the beats, were drowned m succession. The' sixth, who had been* compelled^ to sec her friends sink, was nevertheless determined to trust herself to tli'! rope, but a frantic woman snatched it from her hand ; she, too, -was drov/ned. The young woman than resolved to sit down and await her fate with resignation ; and her fate was to be saved by a boat from the Prince of Wales steamer. .

The stewardess of the Ocean Monarch lost her life by courageously volunteering to go down into the cabin to remove the stored gunpowder. Beaten back by the flames snd smoke, she ' dropped dead from suuecation on regaining the deck.

It is pitiful >m association with so much that is praiseworthy to add a story of .disgrace. .A boatlful of re- ' sewed seamen and passeivgers,' . after to*ssjng about for hours, .were picked up m tlie last" stage of exhaustion by a Chester pilot boat. They were naturally glad to go below and lie down, and

THE SCOUNDREL CREW of the smack meanwhile robbed them, and then refused to put them on shore. The fellows, by 'quarrelling amongst themselves touching the booty, drew the attention of one of the passengers m the skimpy cabin to the nefarious work. The passengers escaped from their pretended preservers by the boat, which picked them up, and were ultimately landed by a fishing smack. The wretched pilots were, afterwards arrested, tried, and sent off to the usual home provided for all such scoundrels by a paternal Government.