The night was very dark, and for some time he could not distinguish any objects nor find the slightest trace of the ill-fated Strathallan, but after awhile he encountered several men clinging to floating wreckage, such as spars and hencoops. These he at once took on board his boat, all of the survivors being in a very exhausted condition, and the result of his arduous efforts was that he saved ten men, including the captain, Mr F. J. Harford ; the chief officer, Mr D'Allen ; the chief engineer Mr Dalley ; and a passenger from Swansea, Mr E. J. Beor, late of The Rhyddings.

Some considerable time naturally elapsed before he was satisfied that there were no others left in his vicinity, and meanwhile, owing to the darkness, a strong current, and a somewhat choppy sea, he had lost himself, and could not make out the whereabouts of the Adara. Fortunately the weather was mild, or otherwise the consequent exposure must have proved fatal to the half-drowned men who had been rescued from impending death. Having drifted about until daylight, Captain Park managed to regain his vessel, and the shipwrecked men were at once despatched to Cardiff on board the pilot cutter No. 51. In the meantime, as soon as the first crash was heard, most of the steamers in the neighbourhood sent out boats to scour the surrounding water, but they were unable to render any assistance, nor was a second boat despatched by the mate of the Adara any more successful.

The account of the disaster furnished by the survivors of the Strathallan is of thrilling interest. It seems that the vessel was following in the wake of the Adara, and when the latter came to anchor, as detailed above, Capt. Harford was in a dilemma as to the best means of avoiding her. It seems that on the leeward of the Adara a schooner was riding at anchor, and to the leeward of the schooner again there was a dangerous and impassable spit of sand. As this passage was, therefore, closed to him, he endeavoured to steer in between the other two vessels, and here it should be explained that the pilot had left the vessel about twenty minutes previously. Capt. Harford, however, miscalculated the force of the current — a tidal one, with a very strong set — the result being that he drove, starboard on, against the bows of the Adara, and the force of the collision was so great that the Strathallan was cut nearly in two.

So badly injured was she that she sank in less than three minutes. Within that brief space a wild and terrible scene of confusion occurred. The second mate, Mr Potter, shouted to the men to take to the rigging, and this order was instantly obeyed. Those who happened to be below at the moment rushed on deck and followed the example of the others. The vessel was rapidly settling on her starboard side, so that those who clambered into the rigging on the weather side were in a somewhat better position than the others. The moment only came too soon, however, when the Strathallan lurched heavily forward and went down into deep water, so that the precaution of taking to the rigging was of little avail.

Before the slightest provision for personal safety could be made, the crew were all struggling in the water. To render matters worse, several of the men sustained more or less serious injuries in the collision. Captain Harford was himself hurt, and naturally somewhat shaken by the subsequent events of the night, but inquiry at his residence, in Andrew's-crescent, Grangetown, show that he is not quite recovered. The firstmate, Mr D'Allen, who was also wounded, is at the Hamadryad Hospital Ship. When the crew, numbering 14 all told, &nd the passenger (Mr Beor) were thrown into the sea, a scene which almost beggars description ensued. The first mate, whilst casting about for a spar on which to support himself, encountered a boy struggling wildly for life, and shrieking in heartrending tones for his mother. Mr D'Allen grasped him by the shoulder, but the youngster still continued crying in his fright, " Oh, mother, mother, save me ! " The mate held him for some minutes, but then he found his strength failing him, so he was perforce obliged to relinquish him, as the struggles of the boy and the weight of his own clothes were exhausting him. The poor lad, therefore, sank almost immediately, and his despairing cries were stilled for ever by the waves.

Mr D'Allen shortly afterwards met with a floating piece of wreckage, to which he clung until he was picked up by Captain Park. As there was some mystery concerning the identity of this boy, it is interesting to note that Mr D'Allen was struck, even in the excitement of the moment, by the fact that the lad was very unlike the boy who belonged to the vessel. He was apparently bigger and stronger, and was differently dressed. It was surmised that the boy who was regularly shipped on board the Saharan had deserted, and it is reported that he was seen in Grangetown, where his parents reside, on Wednesday afternoon. Further information to hand shows that this boy's name was Salmoni, the son of the steward who was lost), and his father, it appears, determined to leave him at home this voyage. The probability is, therefore, that the boy who was drowned was a stowaway.

A thrilling episode was at this time being enacted but a few yards away. The second mate, Mr Potter, whose address has not yet been ascertained, was seen by one of the crew to be with difficulty keeping himself afloat. This man helped Mr Potter to a hatch, which afforded them both sufficient support. But the terrors of the disaster had been too much for the unfortunate mate's brain, and he went raving mad. It must have been an awful sensation for the sailor to be drifting about at the mercy of the waves, clinging to such a frail support, and with a maniac for his companion. Mr Potter, however, did not long maintain his bold. In his delirium he let go of the hatch and fell back into the water, yelling wildly, " Oh, Lord. save me ! "

The others drowned were Jerrv Sullivan, an able seaman, of Lynda, Cardiff, who bad only left the Hamadryad Hospital Ship a few days ago Salmons, the steward, of Andrews-terrace, Grangetown and a fireman, name unknown, a native of Birkenhead. The survivors, of course, saved nothing except the clothes in which they stood, and everything, even the ship's papers, are lost, this fact accounting for the difficulty in ascertaining the fireman's name and other particulars. Many more lives would have been lost had it not been for the fact that there was a considerable number of loose articles, including Mr Beor's luggage, on the deck, and the men clung to these when in the water.

When the survivors were landed at the Docks they were received by Mr Lander, the honorary agent of the Shipwrecked Mariners' Society, and their immediate necessities were relieved. Mr Lander sent some of them to the Sailors' Home, but the men had left that refuge on Wednesday evening.

The Adara sustained such material damage from the collision that Captain Park deemed it advisable to put back for repairs. She was found to be chiefly injured at the bows, and partly under water forward — plates being started or been stove in, and the water having consequently admitted into her fore compartments. Captain Park himself is at present confined to his house in Despencer-gardens. He was greatly shaken, and received some severe bruises from the floating timber which be encountered whilst drifting about in his boat.

The following, so far as can be ascertained, is a complete list of the men who were drowned : -

Mr Potter, second mate, address unknown.
Salmoni, steward, Andrews' terrace, Grangetown, Cardiff, married, leaves a wife and three children.
Jerry Sullivan, A. B., Lynda, Cardiff, married.
A fireman, of Birkenhead, name unknown.
A boy, name and address unknown, believed to be a stowaway.

- South Wales Daily News [325] [361] 31st March 1887.