My dear William, — I wrote a few lines to my mother a week ago, giving her an account of our accident, which was unfortunately interrupted by the sudden departure of our courier for Singapore. I have, however, a little more time to-day, and shall therefore devote it to you. In the first place, to go back several weeks, the Transit's difficulties recommenced in the Bay of Biscay, when, during a gale, she sprang a leak in her stern, which could not be got at, and which kept a small donkey steam-engine incessantly employed baling out the water during all the rest of the voyage. After leaving the Cape... we steered S.S.E. till we reached latitude 30° 30' S., when we steered nearly due E. The first week we had very bad weather, constant gales, and a tremendous sea peculiar to that part of the world. We had then very fine weather till we passed the islands of St. Paul and Amsterdam, when we fell in with a gale which was as near to a hurricane as anything could be; it lasted for three days. It commenced by snapping in two, like a walking-stick, our mainyard, a spar about 80 feet long and nearly two feet thick; it then tore into shreds, literally, one foresail, which went with a bang like a cannon. We then tried to take in the fore topsail, but it was too late; in attempting it the sail was blown clean out of the bolt ropes, and later the fore-topmast staysail was lost also. Tell Helen, i" with my love, that the last act of the gale was to destroy one of the ship's whiskers. We then struck our royal masts and lay to for two days. The sea was magnificently grand, and the wind so strong at one time that no one could face it; and what with the moaning of the gale through the rigging, and the incessant thumping of the waves against the ship, we were prevented from sleeping. It was a circular storm commencing in the E. and veering round through the N. to the S.W. When the storm was over it was reported that the ship had sprung a leak, and all hands were ordered to pump, which we had to keep up, with certain intervals, for nearly a week, when the leak was patched up to a certain extent; but if we had met with another gale she could not have stood any more knocking about, and must have gone to pieces. The leak was a most formidable one; you could turn some of the rivet bolts with your fingers so loosened were they. The plates of iron had thus come disconnected, and then the water flowed in. When I saw it the leak was 8 feet long, and I believe it afterwards extended to more than double the length. One day we pumped out 600 tons of water. However, no further casualty occurred till the loth of July, when we ran upon a coral reef at 9.30 a.m., about 3 miles offshore, and 12 to the N. of Minto, the capital of the isle of Banca. The men were disembarked without casualty, and as quickly as possible, and in two hours the ship's stern was completely under water, which came nearly up to the mainmast. We have been now a week on this island, and I do not think I ever spent a more agreeable time. This island is lovely, and we have made several excursions inland, and although we are under the line, the heat is far from oppressive. We are encamped in a forest which grows quite down to the water's edge, and have plenty of fresh water and good food. The natives are Malays, and there are plenty of Chinese and a few Indians, so that our market is the most motley sight you can conceive. There are plenty of monkeys in the island, and some parrots, and pine-apples, cocoa-nuts, and bananas are most plentiful. A Rajah came to pay his respects to
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me the day before yesterday with a peace-offering of half a dozen pine-apples, and as many cocoa-nuts; and yesterday another fellow came with a dozen eggs as a present, wishing to trade with us, and our market is now amply supplied. We expect to re-embark to-morrow, some ships being on their way from Singapore. The 90th will go on to Calcutta to quell the disturbances, but I think I shall go to Hong Kong, when I will write home again.... — Your affectionate brother,
Fredk. Stephenson.
To his Sister
Singapore, August 3, 1857.