CHRONICLE. 
people from Portland, and. who 
are always praying for wrecks 
on their coast) attempting to re- 
scue the drowning wretches from 
the water, their whole attention 
was devored to plunder, and I 
was myself witness to a scene the 
most unpardonable that ever huma- 
nity shuddered at: the body of an 
oficer was driven ashore; a party 
of the Portland people ran to itfor 
the purpose of plunder; a chest, 
however, coming ashore at the 
instant, the body was left to be 
washed back by the next wave, 
while the inhuman wretches were 
solely intent on preserving the 
chest, which they bore away in tri- 
umph. The officer, however, was 
saved by some of our people, and is 
now living. 
Three vessels went to pieces in 
this way within the space of an 
hour. Out of one, only two lives 
were saved; out of another, ten; 
and out of the third, three; of those 
saved, one was alady, whose hus- 
band, an officer of the 26th light 
dragoons, was drowned; she had 
been ill, and was in bed when the 
ship struck, but was miraculously 
carried through a port hole, and 
thrown on shore naked and very 
much bruised. She was conveyed 
to a house senseless, and has since 
been delirious, at times waking to 
a recolleétion of her situation, only 
to add to her misery. Of the ten 
who escaped from one of the ships, 
one (asoldier) had his leg broken, 
and crushed by a piece of the wreck 
in so shocking a manner, that he 
just crawled on the sand, and then 
very soon died from the loss of 
blood. Some vessels were lost 
farther up the country, and out of 
these some, but not many, lives 
“were saved. Among these a lieu- 
A5. 
4 
tenant-colonel Ross, and a surgeon, 
are the only officers I have heard 
of. During the whole time, the 
Portland people, and a considerable 
mob from different parts, were sole- 
ly intent on plunder; neglecting, 
with more than savage indifference, 
to give the wretched sufferers the 
smallest assistance. An officer’s 
party from our regiment at length 
put acheck to their proceedings, 
and we remained on the sands the 
whole of last night to protect the 
property. One merchantman ran 
ashore without bulging, and though 
all but ten of her hands were drown- 
ed, the property of this vessel was 
saved, and great part of it brought 
ashore, and we posted ‘sentinels 
over it during the night; bur even 
this did not prevent the rascals 
from attempting to plunder, and our 
men were absolutely obliged to fire 
upon them to disperse them, The 
number of vesséls lost is not. yet 
ascertained, although it is known 
that six or seven certainly are: 
one is now lying off Weymouth 
quite dismasted ; another with only 
a foremast standing, &c. The 
number of people drowned it is im~ 
possible to guess at; but you may 
conceive it to be great, when I 
assure you that I counted 275 dead 
bodies which the tide had thrown 
up to the sands yesterday, many of 
them women, and their numbers 
are hourly increasing, 
6K Weymouth. Theshorefrom 
* hence to Abbotsbury, about 
seven miles distant, is still covered 
with dead bodies, and parts of the 
wreck are hourly appearing. Yes« 
terday we counted nine bodies 
thrown upon the beach by one 
tide within the space of a quarter 
of a mile; the violence of the sea 
had torn every particle of clothing 
off 
