Page:True and correct narrative of the dreadful burning of the steam-ship Amazon.pdf/4

 a great number were drowned on the lowering of the boats. This account was brought into port on Monday by the brig Marsden, of London, from Cardiff, with iron, for South Carolina, which picked up from the life-boat twenty-one of the persons above referred to. Mr Vincent (son of Captein Vincent of the Severin), the midshipman in the Amazon, who was saved, has furnished the following narrative :—

We left Southampton with the West Indian and Mexican mails on board on Friday, the 2d instant. On the 3d at noon, we were in lat. 49. 12 N., long. 4 56 W., steering west by south half south, with an increasing fresh breeze. At 9. 30 p.m. we stopped with half bearings. At 11. 20 we proceeded, wind still increasing. About 20 minutes to 1 on Sunday morning fire was observed bursting through the hatchway foreside of the fore funnel. Every exertion was made to put out the fire; all was ineffectual. The mail boat was lowered, with twenty or twenty-five persons in it, but was immediately swamped and went astern, the people clinging to one another. They were all lost. The pinnace was next lowered, but she hung by the fore tackle, and being swamped the people were all washed out of her. In lowering the second cutter the sea raised her and unhooked the fore tackle, so that she fell down perpendicularly, and all but two of the persons in her were washed out. Captain Symons was all this time using his utmost exertions to save his passengers and crew. Sixteen men, including two passengers, succeeded in lowering the life boat, and about the same time, I (Mr Vincent), with two men, the steward and a passenger, got into and lowered the dingy. In about half-an-hour the lifeboat took the dingy's people into her, and bore down for the ship, with the dingy in tow ; but the sea increasing, and being nearly swamped, they were obliged to cast the dingy off and bring the boat head to sea. The masts went—first the foremast, and then the mizenmast. About this time a barque passed astern of the lifeboat; we hailed to her with our united twenty-one voices and thought she answered us, but she wore and stood under the stern of the burning vessel, and immediately hauled her wind and stood away again. The gig with five hands was at this time some little way from us, but the sea was running so high we could render her no assistance, and shortly afterwards lost sight of her. About 4 a.m. (Sunday) it was raining heavily, and the wind shifted to