The Ocean Monarch, an American emigrant-ship, left Liverpool on Thursday,
having on board 399 persons, crew and passengers. She had not advanced more than fairly into the Irish Channel before she took fire, and in a few hours was barnt to the water's edge; and at least half the number of the persons on board perished!
The beginning of the disaster is described in a letter by Captain Murdock, the commander of the ship. The fire was announced to him at noon, when the ship was off the Great Ormshead.
"I at once went below, and discovered smoke proceeding into the main cabin through one of the after state-rooms. We began without delay to throw water down; but in five minutes afterwards, indeed almost instantly, the after part of the ship burst into flames. We put the ship before the wind, in order to lessen the draught, but were obliged to bring her to again. The fire produced the utmost confusion amongst the passengers: all appeared infatuation and despair; yells and screams of the most horrifying description were given- all control over them was lost; my voice could not be heard, nor my orders obeyed. Finding that nothing could be done with the yards, I caused both of the anchors to be let go, that the ship's head might be to wind, and the fire be kept as abaft as possible. The pas- sengers crowded in numbers to the bowsprit to avoid the heat of the flames; many, in alarm and despair, leaped overboard; and, although spars and all loose mate- rials lying about deck were thrown out for them to cling to, a great majority were drowned.
"In spite of all that could be done, the flames increased I gave orders to get the boats out. Two of them were got out; but before the lashings of the others could be cut they were enveloped in flames. The mate and several of the passengers, with part of the crew, got into one of the boats which was lowered, and a portion of the crew with some passengers into the other. The last thing which I did was to throw overboard a topgallant-yard, with the assistance of the carpenter and one or two men, with a rope attached to it to make it fast along- side, and to tell the people to jump overboard and cling to it; then, finding the flames approaching so rapidly that I could neither get forward nor aft, I was obliged to heave myself overboard." Some got off in boats; the first mate, Mr. Braga°, gallantly helping them in their distraction. "At this time," he writes, "the confusion was so great—pas- sengers screaming and running against each other—that order was entirely out of the question. On looking round to see what could be done, I saw that the second mate had lowered the stern-boat, and, with three men, had got into it. They were lying by astern. The captain was all this time exerting his utmost to restore order and to save lives. I next saw that some of the crew and passen- gers were launching the waist-boat- They succeeded, and a crowd pressed eagerly to fill her. They would most assuredly have swamped her, for she did nearly fill. In order to preserve the boat, as essential to the saving of lives, I jumped overboard and swam to the boat. I ordered the rope to be cut; and that being done, she drifted astern. The captain was still on deck. The boat was nearly full of water and without an oar; I managed, by bits of boards, to keep her head to the sea, and by means of hats, shoes, and boots, to bale her out. While thus employed, a cabin-passenger plunged into the water, and made for the boat; I succeeded, by means of boards, to approach and save him. The wind being very fresh, I found it utterly impossible to regain the ship, but still held the boat to windward all that I could. After drifting about four miles to leeward, a sloop picked us up: we were thirteen in number. I do not recollect the name of the schooner. I put the passengers on board; and having got four oars, with four men of the ship's company, I pulled with all energy for the ship. After proceeding about a mile, the Prince of Wales steamer, for Bangor, came alongside and took us in tow, and steered for the Ocean Monarch. When within about a mile of the ship, we saw a passenger holding on to a life-buoy: I picked him up, and put him on board the steamer."
Mr. Littledale, of Liverpool, had borne down on the burning ship in his yacht, and took up many of the sufferers. "In their maddened despair," he says, "women jumped overboard with their offspring in their arms, and sunk to rise no more. Men followed their wives in frenzy, and were lost. Groups of men, women, and children, also precipitated themselves into the water, in the vain hope of self-preservation; but the waters closed over many of them for ever. No pen can describe this awful scene. As the fire was making its way to the fore-part of the vessel, the passengers and crew, of course, crowded still further forward. To the jib-boom they clung in clusters as thick as they could pack—even one lying over another. At length the foremast went overboard, snapping the fastenings of the jib-boom; which, with its load of human beings, dropped into the water, amidst the most heart-rending screams both of those on board and those who were falling into the water. Some of the poor creatures were enabled again to reachthe vessel, others floated away on spars, but many met with a watery grave." The chief services in the rescue were rendered by the Brazilian steam-frigate Affonso, which was out on a trial trip, with the Prince and Princess de Joinville and the Duke and Datchess d'Aumale on board. Upwards of 160 persons were sa- ved by the crew of this frigate, and taken on board, to receive the most generous treatment. The Princesses, in particular, were unceasing in active kindness to the multitude of poor women and children who formed a large proportion of the passengers. The stewardess of the Ocean Monarch perished in an attempt to gain the cabin and bring out the gunpowder: she was suffocated by the smoke.
The fire is ascribed to various sources. The Liverpool Mercury says—"It appears that the fire broke oat about twelve o'clock. Captain Murdock received his first intimation from the steward, who came to him and said there was a great deal of heat coming up the ventilator. Ile added, (what afterwards proved to be the fact,) that he believed one of the passengers had made a fire in a wooden ventilator on the third deck, which ran through the captain's state-room. The man had mistaken the ventilator for a chimney. Those who have seen thefittings- up of the passengers' berths of an emigrant-ship are aware that they are of thin deals and spars, easily ignited; and fire having once gained the mastery, there IS little chance of extusguishing it." Captain Murdock, however, contradicts this- " There was no wooden ventilator on board the ship; the ventilators were of iron. The fire originated, in toy opinion, from smoking amongst the steerage passengers: the night before several pipes were taken from them. The fire was instanta- neous; five minutes after it was discovered the whole stern of the ship was in flames. The cargo consisted of iron, dry goods, salt, and earthen-ware, the letter being packed in crates stuffed with straw."
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