HORRORS OF THE SHIPWRECK. 57 



the ship lying down on her side, as she was gradually turning over and trembling 

 through her whole frame with every blow which the short, jumping, vicious seas, now 

 white with the squall, gave her.* The roar of the steam from her boilers was terrific, 

 " outscreaming the noise of the storm/"' but not drowning the shrieks of the poor engineers 

 and stokers which were heard by some of the survivors. The horrors of their situation 

 can be imagined. The sea, breaking down the funnel, would soon, no doubt, extinguish the 

 furnaces, but not until some of their contents had been dashed into the engine-room, 

 with oceans of scalding water ; the boilers themselves may, likely enough, have given 

 way and burst also. Mercifully, it was not for long. Hirst, with two other men, rushed 

 to the weather-forecastle netting and jumped overboard. It was hardly more than a few 

 moments before they found themselves washed on to the bilge of the ship's bottom, for in 

 that brief space of time the ship had turned completely over, and almost immediately 

 went down. Hirst and his companions went down with the ship, but the next feeling 

 of consciousness by the former was coming into contact with a floating spar, to which 

 he tied himself with his black silk handkerchief. He was soon, however, washed from 

 the spar, but got hold of the stern of the second launch, which was covered with 

 canvas, and floating as it was stowed on board the ship. Other men were there, on the top 

 of the canvas covering. Immediately after, they fell in with the steam-lifeboat pinnace, 

 bottom-up, with Captain Burgoyne and several men clinging to it. Four men, of whom 

 Mr. May,f the gunner, was one, jumped from off the bottom of the steam-pinnace to 

 the launch. One account says that Captain Burgoyne incited them, by calling out, 

 " Jump, men, jump ! " but did not do it himself. The canvas was immediately cut away, 

 and with the oars free, they attempted to pull up to the steam-pinnace to rescue the 

 captain and others remaining there. This they found impossible to accomplish. As 

 soon as they endeavoured to get the boat's head up to the sea to row her to windward to 

 where the capsized boat was floating, their boat was swamped almost level to her 



* One man testified that he had heard Captain Burgoyne' s inquiries as to how much the ship was heeling 

 over, the answers given being respectively, "18," "23," "25 degrees." The movement was never checked, 

 and almost the moment after she had reached 25 degrees, she was keel-uppermost, and about to make that 

 terrific plunge to the bottom. 



f Mr. May's statement at the court-martial was in part as follows: "Shortly after 0.15 a.m. on the 

 7th inst., being in my cabin, which was on the starboard or lee side of the ship, I was disturbed in my sleep 

 by the noise of some marines. Feeling the ship uneasy, I dressed myself, and took the lantern to look at the 



guns in the turrets It was but a very short time from fifteen to twenty minutes past midnight. 



I then went to the after-turret. The guns were all right. Immediately I got inside the turret I felt the ship 

 heel steadily over, deeper and deeper, and a heavy sea struck her on the weather-side. The water flowed into 

 the turret as I got through the pointing-hole on the top, and I found myself overboard; I struck out, and 

 succeeded in reaching the steam-pinnace, which was bottom up, on which were Captain Burgoyne and five or 

 six others. I saw the ship turn bottom-up, and sink stern first, the last I saw of her being her bows. The 

 whole time of her turning over to sinking was but from five to ten minutes, if so much. Shortly after, I saw 

 the launch drifting close to us who were on the pinnace ; she was but a few yards from us ; I called out, 

 ' Jump, men it is your last chance ! ' I jumped, and succeeded, with three others, in reaching her. I do not 

 know for certain whether Captain Burgoyne jumped or not. I was under the impression he did ; but the others 

 in the launch do not think so. At any rate, he never reached her. When on the pinnace, a large ship, which 

 I believe to have been the Inconstant, passed us fifty yards to leeward. We all hailed her ; but, I suppose, the 

 howling of the wind and sea prevented their hearing us." 



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