LOSS OF THE FRANCIS SPAIGHT.


On the morning of the 7th of January, 1848, the barque Francis Spaight,
lying in Table Bay, at the Cape of Good Hope, parted her anchor, and in
attempting to beat out, grounded, broadside on the beach. The gale at
the time she struck was furious, and the surf tremendous, making a clean
breach over the vessel, carrying away the bulwark, long boat, main
hatch, and part of the deck, with one of the crew.

The shore was thronged with the inhabitants of Cape Town, anxious for
the fate of the vessel. An attempt was made to send a rope from the land
to the wreck, but the rope broke. Rockets were fired with lines
attached, and one was thrown across the foremast stay, where none of the
men could reach it, on account of the fearful rolling of the sea. After
some extraordinary delay, a whale boat was brought from the town, and
manned by six daring fellows, who dashed through the surf, and were soon
alongside the vessel.

All except the carpenter, fifteen in number, got into the boat, and
pushed off. At this moment a terrific sea upset the boat, and twenty-one
persons were struggling in the surf for life. The people on the beach
were horror-stricken; and men on horseback were seen plunging into the
sea, risking their lives to save their fellow-creatures; but eighteen
sunk to rise no more. The masts of the vessel fell with a tremendous
crash, but the carpenter still clung to the wreck. At length a
surf-boat, towed by a smaller one, proceeded towards the wreck. One of
these boats was capsized, and two lives lost. But the carpenter was
rescued. This man, (James Robertson,) and John McLeod, seaman, were all
of the crew that reached the shore. The inhabitants of Cape Town were