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THE HONGKONG GOVT GAZETTE EXTRAORDINARY, 18TH OCT., 1892.
825
At 10 A.M. it was blowing a full hurricane, the rolls of the ship being so great that the starboard lifeboat was unhooked and rendered useless and had to be cut away for fear of damage to ship's side. The Smoking Room was stove in by a sea sweeping the quarter deck, hurling the jolly-boat inboard at the same time and carrying away lee gangway, etc.
At noon (Monday 10th) the glass shewed 29.27, ship drifting in a South-westerly direction, her head being S. 50 E. and beam on to the sea, the Commander putting her slow astern as opportunity offered. At this time a heavy roll to starboard took place shipping a sea at the same time carrying away all the remaining starboard boats and davits, and breaking in the Engine Room skylight which was battened down and which was resecured again. Oil was then put into the weather latrines, aft and forward, which decidedly assisted in keeping the heavy breaking tops from coming inboard.
At 2 P.M. (Monday 10th) a roll to windward lifted the port lifeboat out of the davits which was stove in, and carried clear of the ship, and the 2nd cutter at the same time became unhooked but was resecured, though practically useless: the only boat being left in the davits was the after port cutter.
At 4 P.M. (Monday 10th) the barometer shewed 29.15, but although the wind was blowing with terrific force, still very little water came inboard.
At 5 P.M. and 6 P.M. the weather remained the same throughout without any material change in the barometer.
At 8 P.M. the glass was steady at 29.15.
At 10 P.M. three heavy seas broke over ship, breaking in after skylights, commander's cabin and engine room skylights and stokehold doors and wheelhouse, putting out all the fires below, the heat and steam being so great that it was impossible for the Engineers to get into the engine room or stokehold. The ship was now unmanageable with no steam and the Chief Engineer reported that it would be some time before he could possibly be ready: the lead was kept going, 25 fathoms being the average soundings.
At 11.35 P.M. (Monday 10th) the 3rd Officer called the attention of the Commander to a dark object on the lee beam; the land loomed up large through the drift. The Chief Officer came on the bridge and the reef was then plainly visible about 20 yards off. Nothing could be done.
Then the Commander said "Good-bye" to the Chief Officer and 3rd Officer on the bridge and left them to warn the passengers; his words on bidding "farewell" to his Officers were: "Good-bye, we have done our best to save the ship and there is nothing more that can be done;" at the same time shaking hands with them all. The Chief Officer and 3rd Officer remained on the bridge with the look-out men and helmsmen.
A minute afterwards she struck, grinding her broadside on to a reef extending the whole length of the ship, and heeled over to port; she again struck the reef with fearful force and, as she began to settle down, it must have driven the whole of the starboard side in. The seas in the meantime breaking clean over all and washed the whole of those who came on the bridge on to the reef, which extended 250 yards from the high land; those that were saved were also thrown in this manner on to the reef, being on the upper deck; of these there were 23,-7 Europeans, viz. :-Chief Officer, G. PRICKETT; 3rd Officer, T. JONES PARRY; 4th Officer, W. H. SWENEY; Quarter-masters LEWIS and WARD; Passengers, Dr. Lowson and Lieutenant MARKHAM, Shropshire Regiment; and 16 natives.
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All the survivors are most enthusiastic in their praises of the Commander who behaved during the whole of this anxious time in the coolest and most seamanlike manner, and nothing could have exceeded the skillfulness and steps that he took for the safety of his ship and the lives of those en- trusted to his care. I may add that the remaining passengers express the same opinion of every Officer belonging to this unfortunate vessel.
The survivors remained at Sand Island all that night and until Wednesday at noon, when it was then fine, small junks came and took them all to Pehoe where they remained until Thursday morning (13th October), the Chinese Priest looking after them and giving them food, &c. Thence they were taken to Makung where they were well received by the Mandarin and were entertained in the most kindly way.
The S.S. Thales, that had instructions to seek for the missing ship, left Amoy on Friday, 14th, and went to the Northern part of the Pescadores, but finding nothing there, proceeded to Makung and then brought in the survivors to Amping.
The number of those that went down in the ship was roughly 125 all told.
J. LESLIE BURR,
Commander.
18th October, 1892.
Printed and Published by NORONHA & Co., Printers to the Hongkong Government, Nos. 5, 7 and 9, Zetland Street.
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