Danbury Times

Loss of the French ship Leopoldina Rosa.

The Leopoldina Rosa left Bayonne early in May, for Montevideo, having on board, besides her Captain and crew, 303 passengers, men, women and children, nearly all industrious emigrants from the Basque Country. When approaching her destination the vessel was assailed by a severe storm, and during the night was thrown upon one of the reefs, called the Castillos on the Eastern coast of Uruguay, at a distance of about 40 leagues from Montevideo. At daylight, Capt. Frappaz desired a sailor, who was a good swimmer, to take a small rope to the shore tied to his body with the intention, when landed, of drawing to him a cable attached to the other end; but the man refused as did also all the other sailors who were applied to, although the lives of more than 300 passengers might have been saved by this act of courage.

At length the crew, with the exception of only three men, made arrangements for their own safety by means of spars, &c., leaving the captain, the lieutenant, the doctor, the steward and all the passengers to their fate. Thus abandoned, and taking counsel only from despair, the most vigorous threw themselves into the sea, but they were nearly all dashed against the rocks and drowned. Most of them who remained on board, were either deterred from following the example of those who had plunged into the sea, by seeing assembled there an immense number of those wretches, the Gauchos, who watch the wrecks on the coast for the purpose of pillage, and massacre those who offer resistance; or they were parents whose feelings would not allow them to abandon their offspring. During the whole of the terrible day the Leopoldina resisted the fury of the waves, but towards 5 o'clock in the afternoon the stern gave way, and was separated from the body of the vessel. 231 passengers perished, 73 escaped as by miracle. These were protected from the brutality of the Gauchos.—

Among the sufferers was the Captain of the Leopoldina, who remained with his vessel until she went entirely to pieces.