Northern Daily Times
Oct 23rd 1854
The Loss of the ARCTIC
Further particulars
By the AMERICA we have received further particulars touching the loss of the ARCTIC, and we are glad to learn that 36 additional lives have been saved.
Received New York 11th inst
Four of the five lifeboats have believed to have been well provided, containing the engineers, sailors and a few passengers, and all the officers, except the Captain and the 3rd mate left the ship at an early stage.
A majority of the passengers were working at the pumps and firing signal guns, and others launching spars under the direction of Capt LUCE and Mr DERIAN, 3rd mate, to form a raft.
A panic suddenly seized all on board, a rush was made for the raft and a large number got on it and into a boat. The sea was flush with the deadlights, in a few minutes she sunk, and all on board perished.
At 5pm on the 28th, the survivors of the boat espied a sail and raised a handkerchief to alert attention and found the vessel to be the barque HURON of St Andrews. N.B, Capt A. WALL, bound to Quebec, which took them all on board.
The raft was seen in the distance with one poor man still clinging to it, he was rescued and said that, after the steamship sank the raft had 72 men and 4 women on it, he was the only one now alive.
During the night of the 28th, Capt WALL hung out extra lights, fired rockets and kept a horn blowing, hoping to fall in with the remainder of the boats, but his endeavours were fruitless.
On the evening of the 28th he spoke to Capt STORY on the ship LEBANON, for New York, by whom, 18 of the number rescued where taken off the HURON, and the LEBANON afterwards transferred the survivors to Pilot Boat CHRISTIAN BERG No 16, by which they reached the city.
The fate of the PROPELLOR and the other 5 boats of the ARCTIC is not known, the PROPELLOR is supposed to have been the CHARITY from Montreal for Liverpool.
A list of those saved on the 6th boat and taken to Quebec by the HURON.
James ADRY, ship’s cook
Firemen, Joseph CONNOLORY, Richard MAKAN, Thomas CONNOY, James CONNOR, John DOURY, Christian MORANY, James WARD, Christopher CALLAHAN
Thomas WATSON, Assistant engineer
Waiters, Robert BRYAN, David BARRY, Erastus MILLER.
Arrived at New York in the LEBANON
Firemen, Edward BRYAN, Patrick MAHAN, Thomas GARLAND, Patrick CASEY, Patrick TOBIN, Dobbin CARNAGAN.
Francis DORAN, New York, 3rd officer
Thomas BRENNAN, Assistant Engineer
John CONNOLLY, Engineer’s steward
Thomas STANTON, Officer’s steward
James CANAGAN, Porter
Michael MC LAUGHLIN, Boy
Peter MC CADE, Waiter, [picked up off the raft]
Passengers, NICOLLS, Scilly Islands, Henry JUDKINS, James THOMPSON, New Orleans, Capt Paul F. GRANN, New York, George H. BURNS, Philadelphia.
The five boats known to have reached land of have been known to have been picked up, are known to have contained.
Crew
Mr GURLEY, 1st officer
Thomas WILDE, Boatswain
Mr BALANE, 2nd officer
Mr GRAHAM, 4th officer
Mr ROGERS, Chief engineer
Mr BROWN, 1st assistant
Mr WALKER, 2nd assistant
Mr WILLET, 3rd assistant
Daniel CONNOLLY, Fireman
John MORAN, Fireman
Engineers, John FLANAGAN, Patrick MC CAULEY, Mr DINGELL, Mr KELLY, Mr IVISON.
Besides a young man named ROBINSON, training with the engineers, sailors and quartermasters.
Passenger, William MOON, New York
Those last seen on deck whilst fastening life preserves on the females, who must have perished, Capt LUCE and son, Mrs E. K. COLLINS and Master Coit COLLINS.
Oct 31st 1854
Arrival of the CANADIAN
The screw steamer CANADIAN, Capt MC MASTER, which left Quebec on the 16th inst, arrived in the Mersey at 9am yesterday, and we have received Quebec papers to the day of her departure.
The statement of the safety of Capt LUCE received by the last steamer from New York is confirmed.
The following is a letter to Mr E. K. COLLINS, received from Capt LUCE :-
In brief
Dear Sir,
It has become my painful duty to inform you of the loss of the steamship ARCTIC under my command, with many valuable lives, I fear among whom must be included your wife, son and daughter, with whom I took a last leave the moment the ship was going down, without myself expecting to see the light of another day.
He then goes on to describe the moments up to the ship going down and then goes on to say :-
In an instant the ship went down carrying every soul on board with her, I soon found myself on the surface of the water after a brief struggling with my own helpless child, Willie, in my arms, when I again found myself impelled downwards to a great depth, and before I reached the surface a second time, had nearly perished and lost the hold of my child.
On the surface of the water, a most awful heart-rendering scene presented itself to my view, over 200, men, women and children struggling together amongst pieces of wreck, calling each other for help and imploring Almighty God to help them.
I was in the act of saving my child, when a portion of the paddle box came rushing towards us edgewise, grazing my head, and falling its whole weight upon the head of my darling child. In another moment I beheld him lying lifeless in the water.
I succeeded in getting on top of the paddle box with 11 others and we passed the dreary night, everyone of us expecting every hour to be our last, morning came, dreary, cold and with a dense fog, not a living soul to be seen but our party - only seven now being left.
About noon Mr S. M. WOODRUFF of New York was relieved by death, all those left were suffering from the need of water except myself and Mr George F. A. ALLEN.
Night came on thick and dreary, three more of our party were relieved by death, leaving Mr ALLEN, a young German, and myself.
About an hour before daylight on Friday the 29th we saw a vessels light near us and exerted ourselves hailing till we were exhausted, the light faded into the distance and disappeared.
Soon after daylight a barque hove in sight to N.W the fog now lighted, she was steering towards us but changed her course, again we were doomed to disappointment.
Shortly afterwards a ship was discovered to the east, steering directly for us, we watched her intensely, they picked up the man on the raft who informed the Captain there were others on pieces of wreck, and by the Captain going aloft we were found and three others. We were safely taken on board at 3pm, those saved after us were Mr James SMITH of Mississippi, 2nd class passenger and five of our firemen.
The ship proved to be the CAMBRIA, of and from Glasgow bound to Montreal, Capt John RUSSELL, who commanded the barque JESSE STEVENS and was rescued by Capt NYE of the PACIFIC.
Of Capt RUSSELL it is impossible to praise enough for his kind treatment and the Rev Mr WALKER and Lady and Mr SUTHERLAND passengers on the CAMBRIA, unceasing in their efforts to promote our comfort.
On Saturday at 11am we arrived at Quebec
Quebec, 14th Oct 1854, James C. LUCE
Copyright 2002 / To date