may have been picked up. Mr. Baahlam, the second
officer of the ship has published an account of the
disaster. He says: "So dense was the fog that the
vessel could not be seen a minute before the collision.
The wheel was put hard to starboard, the engine stopped
instantly, and backed at full speed, until clear of the
other steamer, which occupied a couple of minutes.
The French steamer seemed to be sinking, bow first.
Captain Luce immediately gave orders to clear away the
quarter boats, which was done, and Mr. Gourley, chief
officer, left the ship in charge of the starboard boat, and
in lowering the port boat the captain exclaimed, 'Hoist
up that boat again, Mr. Baahlam,' and beckoned me to
go to him. Upon doing so, he ordered me to go over
the bow to ascertain, if possible, what damage had been
done. I then found the holes above mentioned. Upon
informing him of the facts, he ordered the ship's head
to be kept for the land, which bore N.W. by W. By
this time we had lost sight of the officers' boat and the
other steamer, which we supposed had sunk. We
had not been on our course more than four or five
minutes before we ran over a boat and crew belonging
to the other vessel, all of whom perished, with the
exception of one, who caught hold of a rope hanging
over the bow. Directly the boat was seen, orders were
given to stop the engine, which the chief engineer said
could not be done, as the ship was fast sinking. In
about thirty minutes all the lower fires were out, and at
the least there were six feet of water in the ship fore
and aft. By this time the confusion amongst the
passengers was very great, but they used all efforts to
assist the crew in keeping the pumps going, and in
lightening the ship forward, for the purpose of
endeavouring to get at the leak from inside, which was found
to be useless, and numbers of them got into the boats,
which were still hanging to the davits. In forty-five
minutes after the collision I came up from the forehold,
and informed the captain that the water was on a level
with the lower deck beams, and that it was impossible
to get at the leak. I then asked him what he thought
would be likely to be the fate of the ship, and when he
stated his belief to me that there was no hope of saving
her, he then told me to see to my boats. On going to
those on the port side I found them completely filled
with men and women, and no possibility of getting near
them. I immediately went to the starboard side, and
ordered two of the crew to lower the guard-boat, and
asked the captain what his intentions were, who replied
that the ship's fate should be his. I then asked him if
he would not allow his son to go with me, as I intended
to take a boat, but he returned me the answer that he
should share his fate. I then jumped into the boat, and
was ordered by the captain to cut away the tackle falls,
and drop under the stern. I did so, at which time
about twenty persons, as I suppose, jumped overboard,
of whom seventeen or eighteen were picked up. Fell
in with another boat which had been lowered from the
other side, and lightened her of part of her complement,
leaving nineteen in her, and twenty-six in my own
boat. The last sight we had of the ship her guards
were level with the water, and the surface of the sea
strewed with human beings, who had jumped or fallen
overboard, to whom, however it was impossible for us
to lend any assistance, and we soon lost sight of all, as
the fog continued to be very dense." Mr. Baahlam
then describes his having taken charge of the two boats,
which, after forty-two hours' pulling, reached the shore
at Broad Cove, about twelve miles from Cape Race.
He then proceeded to Renews, and obtaining a small
schooner, went in search of the Arctic, but no trace of
her or her other boats could be found. One of the
passengers who were saved by means of the boats has
written a letter to his mother, dated St. John's,
Newfoundland, the 5th of October. After describing the
collision, he says:—"Then, oh! good God! commenced
the dismal scenes. Those in the screw steamer imagined
that we were deserting them, and several of them (14,
it now appears) jumped into the sea, in hopes of
reaching our vessel, which, alas! was also sinking, and
were, of course, all drowned, some of them sinking
beside us, while others were smashed to pieces by our
paddles. The screams of the unfortunate victims are
still ringing in my ears. And now came our sufferings.
We had proceeded 12 miles from the scene of the
disaster when the water, notwithstanding the application
of the engines to the pumps, was gaining fast upon
us, and the fires all extinguished. All hope was then
up, and there was a general rush to the boats, which
could not save more than 150, while there were 400 on
board. One boat was filled and lowered, in which there
were the Collins family, &c., when the rope attached to
one end of the boat gave way, and the contents were
emptied into the water. I need not try to describe my
own feelings while all this was going on, but God gave
me great presence of mind. Mr. Gilbert, a New York
gentleman, and one sailor, by means of a rope, got into
the boat whose contents had just been emptied into the
water, and brought it round to the side of the vessel,
which now was not moving, in order to get the Brown
and Allen family into it, with whom he was very
intimate, and formed one of their party; but the crowd
was so great they could not get near the proper place.
I called to W—— to follow me, and we rushed to
the paddlebox, and from that we sprang into the
boat, which was then moving off (a fall of about 40
feet), without receiving any injury except that I sprained
my ankle. How shall I describe to you what followed?
—men jumping into the water and sinking beside us,
while we could not let any more into the boat, twenty-
five already being in it, most of them good seamen, and
to whom, under God's direction, we owe our safety.
We then put out a little distance, and soon lost sight of
the Arctic and her unfortunate contents in the mist,
meeting another boat filled with several of the crew,
among whom was the second officer, who took
command of the two boats. We started in search of land
(which was, by the most direct course fifty-four miles
distant), with what feelings you may imagine. Up to
this time our feelings were those of excitement and
despair; now came real mental agony. There we were
on the wide Atlantic in two open boats, in the midst of
a dense fog, wet through, and I without my coat. We
rode all night; morning came, but no appearance of
land. We had a compass on board, but the boat being
of iron it would not act. Everything seemed to
combine to show us that we must die, if not by drowning,
certainly by starvation, when at one o'clock on Thursday
the sun for the first time came out and partially dispelled
the mist, showing in the distance a three-masted vessel,
which made our hearts beat with joy. Off we set in
pursuit of her, and when within two miles of her, a
fair wind for her getting up, she went off at a speed that
bade defiance to all our exertions. The very same
thing happened about five o'clock in the evening, and
again the cloud of night came over us with a dense
mist, the second mate, who by general consent had
been appointed captain, declaring that he had not the
least idea where we were, and that we must rest on our
oars till daybreak. I do not believe that out of the forty-
five who were in the two boats there was one man who
entertained the slightest hope of ever again seeing land,
though we all expressed a hope, in order to keep up the
spirits of the sailors." He goes on to say, that they
reached land twenty miles to the north of Cape Race,
after having been two days and nights in the boat,
and that they made their way to St. John's where they
were kindly received by the inhabitants.

Newcastle and Gateshead have been visited by a
Dreadful and Deplorable Calamity. On the morning of
the 6th instant, about one o'clock, a fire was discovered
in the worsted manufactory of Messrs. Wilson and Son,
in Hillgate, Gateshead, which spread with inconceivable
rapidity; and, notwithstanding the prompt attention of
the police, firemen, and military, with the town and
military engines, the large building in less than an hour
was one mass of flames. Adjoining the manufactory
was a bond warehouse, in which was stored a quantity
of sulphur, nitre, and other inflammable substances. So
large a fire naturally attracted an immense number of
spectators; and about three o'clock, when the whole
range of Mr. Wilson's buildings was in flames, the
inflammable material in the adjoining warehouse
exploded, shaking the whole district within a radius of
twenty miles, and scattered the burning mass of material
in every direction. Many people were buried amid the
mass of rubbish; and a company of Cameronians, who