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AWFUL SHIPWRECK ON THE IRISH…

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AWFUL SHIPWRECK ON THE IRISH COAST. >KARIA 'l)l.ilt HUNDRED LIVES LOST. It ijico'tios our painful anl melancholy duty to ohroniclo the t.()tnl destruction of a large emigrant ship .I the loss of 374 human lives, in our own immediat nei2hbourhood. The splendid clipper ship Pomona, of '\e York, Captam Charles Morrihew, left Liverpool pn Wednesday, with a crew of 36, and 393 passengerq, I )r N'w York. The Pù-n.ma had also on bo-Ard 1062 -1. L ..] P tons deaci weis.ii bhu t-u ions 01 measurement goods. Siif left the Mersey with a fair and full breeze, and everything seemed to be going on well up to a late hour, when suddenly the ship struck, and almost in a moment tneir hopes were blighted, and nothing but death and desolation lay before them. Many of the pasgengers :nd a portion of the crew had retired early to thir ros- p.-ctive berths, but a large number more cheerfully in- clined, had congregated together in the stloons, and were sinking and dancing up to a late hour, there bfiniz both fiddler and piper on board As the night ad- vanced, however, the breeze freshened into a stron°^ pile, before which the gallant ship tie A-, as it were, to w arils her destination, and most of the remaining pas- sengers turned in. By some means. which at present t I "e have been unab le to ascertain with accuracy, the captain, when turning Tuskar, seems to have lost his reckoning, and mistaken his position, for a little past midnight the ship was driven on a sandbank some seven miles off Balliconigar, near to Blackwater, the sea ma- king a clear breach over and sweeping decks. The p:1S- ?ens;t'rs rushed in crowds to the deck, most of them but pnrtially dressed, and many with only their night- cloUus on. For a short time a wild scene of terror and confusion ensued, which, however, gradually subsided as the calm orders of the captain were obeyed by the crew, and something like order was re-established. The pumps were quickly manned, and it was found that the ves3el w is fast making water, but the captain was in hopes that it the weather moderated he should be able in the morning to land all his passengers by means of his boat, In this, however, be was doomed to be disap- pointed, as the gale continued with increased fury during the whole of the day. In the course of the mornmg an attempt was made to launch the lifeboats, but they were stove in and their crew drowned. In this fearful state of suspense they remained till towards everring, when the ship. which had till then remained firm on the bank, slipped off the stern into dpep water, and commenced rapidly to fill The whale boat was then launched, and a number of the crew and passengers rushed into her. The captain, in the hope of being driven back on to the 1.ank, iet go the best bower anchor but all his exer- tions were fruitless, and, though more than 40 men were working at the pumps, the water gained upon them so fast that in less than an hour she sank. The heart- Tending scenes that must have occurred during that hour are fearful to think of, but are only known to God, for bevond those ia the boat not a soul was saved. The captain and the first and second mates remained on the sinking ship, the only officer in the boat being the third mate, Stephen Kelly, who succeeded in reaching the shore in company with 18 others of the crew and three passengers, five being washed out in their passage from the vessel. On visiting the shore in the tcighbourhood of the wreck at a late hour yesterday, nothing whatever was to be seen of the vessel, very little of which was washed ashore. On the beach of Ballyconiger, however, were {,Und the lifeless remains of several of the unfortunate pissengers, which were removed to the boathouse rear there to await an inquest. One of the nrot bodies re- scued from the waves was that of a lady, apparently about 40 years of age, who in life had been a handsome woman, and evidently moving in a resppcfihlc spi-jre of life. Here, however—we blush to record it—we iiiii-t not ce an an act of b-irbiii-m so gross that it is bardly (■reliable t't-t any person in this age of civilisation could be f iuud guilty of it. The body of this lady when found bv the to..stguui-J* was stripped of ail its clothes, with the ext ent-oil of t lic.- body linen, and it was ascer- tained li.at this diabolicul act had been committed by j o!ie of the same sex, a •.vuman residing in the village of Blackwater, w)?o had thus dt?e?r.itcd the dead bo :y and m3'" viI with t!w cbt1jd On the arrival of the c,m-/ sta?uhirv, however, a body of whom, ua'?er the Sub- ImpeCLor Snin and Head-Constable Harding, arrived in t?" !mnnn3, this bmt'j in human shape was made t.? give up her plunder, and it is to be hoped th .t she wiU meet the just reward s'jcn inhuman conduct de-, serves. The dress of this unfortunate Indy con-iiled f.f a bbrk. ailk jacket, with small white sp-t:?; a black siti-i kirt, two flne fltnnel skirt?, linen crset, white cotton stockings, and slippers. Two large and handsome gold ear-rings were h lso found with the body, to which was attached an indiarubber lifebelt, Near to the spot where' this body was discovered there was afterwards found that of a young man, apparemly about 2a years of age, DaLk haired, and dressed in bhek (with a lifebelt), and, according to the statement of the third mate and some id the sailois, the son of the lady ab ) ve-nienlioned, who is jpported to have been the widow of an American captain, and to have with her a daughter ab >ut 16 or 17 vears old. The next body come to was that of a gen. tleman of middle age, dresse d in black, on whose person was found a silver lever watch, a pocket book containing letters and private memoranda, and some few pounds in gold and silver, but nothing leiding to identification. Near to this body was also found that of a male infant of about six months age, and that of a young woman of nbout 20, partially clothed, with a black stuff and It flan- nel skirt, black stockings, &c. With the exception of a fine linen shirt and a barrel (with M. Shannon-' paint- ed thereon) containing potatoes and other provisions, evidently the property of some steerage passenger, no- thing ehe was discovered near this pot, the nearest p. int to the scene of this awful caiastrophe, and we re- turned our search along the coast towards "W exford. On Lrriving at Bullyneskar, some two miles from lilack- wattr, we were informed that the body of a young lady bad been found there and removed to a cottage near at fcund. On proceeding there we beheld the remains of a very beautiful young girl, the calm expression of v.hose pallid countenance indicated tLe peaceful sleep of inno- cence rather than an untimely and violent death. The dress ot this poor unfortumte was of an expensive des- cription, and from the similarity of features to those of the elderly ladv and her son mentioned above, there can be little doubt but that she was the daughter spoken of by the sailors as being with that lady on board the Po- mona before her loss. An indiarubber lift-belt-inade- quate t) save the life but sufficient to rescue the body from its watery slJroud-was also found attached to these ron:fiins, a fact which still more Strengthens the suppo- sition that these three persoas were o f thi, same tumily —united in death as tliey had been undivided in lilc. Here and at Curracloe, to which we next turned our steps, were a few roninnwts of the ill-fated ship, a piece of the bulwarks, portions of spars, and several broken casks and chests. Here, while gazing with sorrowful melancholy on the rolling waters whi_ch raised their white heads like surpliced choristers chanting a requiem f..r the dead, our attemtii.n was drawn to a dark object hebl in the grasp of the waves, tit one moment cashed forward as though it would be laid at our feet, and in the next drawn back as if the deep ocean was loath to give up its dead. After watching for some time the outline of the human form was more clearly made out and we knew ili-it before us was the body of another ot the unfortunates who bad been called so hastily to their last account. As if unwilling to render up its prey the waves plaved with this remnant of human ity, throwing it forward and anon sucking beneath the reeling surge, bu* it Gradually approached the shore where we stood watching its fate, and was soon near at hand-wheu, .t w,n it of Wexford men, a dozen of whom, AU '4"=&' strorg anl stalwart, stood around us, not one was there who would step forward to rescue it, unless, as thev said, you'll pay us." Ashamed and indignant at such Dchaxiour, a gentleman present dashed forward, and wading fur some distance, with tIc help o* a con- stable who came to the spot, he succeeded in bringing to shore the bodv of an elderly grey-haired woman, whose rigid features told too surely ot the bitter struggles of death through which she had passed. The only articles of wearing apparel on this poor creature were a chemise and a nightcap, leading to the impression that she must have met her death while lying in her berth, or at 1__L ."u.tr\¡ the moment when she rushed up on.oeam i terror This was the last body found up to a late hour last evening. From Curracloe to the Raven loint the shore was strewn with pieces of the wreck, including diart and panels from the saloons and cabins, beautifully .?mted and gilded chairs and couches, pateut life seats, Sand bedding, the cabin skylights and other ^tings, with the remains of the two shattered hteboats first at- tempted to be launched. In conclusion, we cannot withhold a word in praise to the coa-t?uardmen and constabulary, who were untiring in their efforts to recover whatever property might be washed ashore, and decently caring for the rdics of such of the passengers whose bodies bad been given up by tae seething and troubled waters.-Frcnt the llerjoul Con- stitution.

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