| Title: | Extract of a Letter Describing the Loss of the Ship Lady of the Lake. |
|---|---|
| ID | 518 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Capt. Grant/166 |
| Year | 1833 |
| Sender | Captain Grant |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | ship captain |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Ship The Lady of the Lake |
| Destination | Aberdeen, Scotland |
| Recipient | Thompson, George |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | employee-employer |
| Source | The Belfast Commerical Chronicle, 6 July 1833. |
| Archive | The Central Library, Belfast. |
| Doc. No. | 9409039 |
| Date | 01/06/1833 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | LET |
| Log | Document added by LT, 01:09:1994. |
| Word Count | 462 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | LOSS OF THE LADY OF THE LAKE. Extract of a letter received from Captain Grant, of The Lady of the Lake, by the owner George Thompson, Aberdeen, dated Quebec 1st, June:- "On the 11th May, in Lat. [Latitude?] 47.O. N. [North?] and Long [Longitude?] 47.10 W [West?] at 5.A.M. we were steering W.S.W. [West South West?] with a strong wind at north, when we fell in with several pieces of ice. At 8 o'clock the ice getting closer and thicker, I judged it prudent to haul the ship out to coastward again, under easy sail, to avoid it. About an hour after, in endeavouring to pass between two pieces, a tongue under water in the lee ice, struck our starboard bow, and stove it in entirely. We immediately wore the ship round, expecting to get the leak out of the water, but did not succeed. The ship now filling fast, the mate, with seven of the crew, and a Mr. Wright, a cabin passenger, got into the stern boat, after getting beef, bread, compass, etc. and left us to our fate. The awful scene that then took place is beyond my power of description. after getting the long boat out, the passengers crowded into her with such mad desperation that she was twice upset alongside drowning about 80 of them. I now attempted to save my own life, and succeed in getting the boat, with 35 in her, clear of the ship, without oars, sails, compass or a mouthful of provisions of any kind. The last time I saw the brig. (the ice coming between her and us) she was sunk upto the tops, and about forty persons in the main topmast rigging. We then tried to pull after the other boat with the batten boards and [shafts?], but got beset with ice. We now lay down in her bottom, expecting a worse fate than those who were drowned, viz. to perish with hunger and cold. Next morning, the wind changing to the west, we got clear of most of the ice, and then steered to the eastward in the faint hope of some vessel picking us up. At noon, saw a brig. lying to; at 4.p.m. got on board her, and found the crew just leaving her, she being in the same state as our own - sinking. We however got some provisions out of her, and there being as boat lying on her deck, I got half of the passengers out of our own boat into it. On the 14th we were picked up the the Stepney of Glasgow, a small brig., bound to St.John's, Newfoundland, after having been for 75 hours exposed to the open sea, [------], wet and frost bitten. Next morning, I left the brig. with two boys and passengers bound to Quebec, just as we stood, having lost everything; but we have great reason to be thankful that we are in the land of the living." |
