At 1.30 A.M. on the 18th April the Coastguard reported that a vessel was firing guns apparently on the rocks to the west of Bryher, and at about the same time the Bishop's Rock Light-house fired signals for the Life- boat. The crew of the Life-boat Henry Dundas were assembled and the boat despatched with as little delay as possible. The sea was smooth but the weather very thick. On arrival the Life-boatmen found the Transatlantic liner Minnehaha, of Belfast, on the rocks. The vessel, a steamer of upwards of 13,400 tons gross tonnage, was bound from New York to London, and had on board sixty-six passengers in addition to one hundred and sixty cattle- men and crew. Before the Life-boat reached the steamer all the passengers had been landed with the assistance of gigs from Bryher, but the crew and cattlemen remained on board. Two tugs arrived from Falmouth and the Life-boat stood by until 3 P.M., when the captain ordered all but the officers and part of the crew to leave in the tug.

As the vessel remained on an even keel and no further assistance was required the Life-boat returned to St. Mary's, arriving shortly before 4 P.M..