The Express.
London, England, 1851-09-24 00:00:00

WEST INDIES.

The Royal West India mail packet Avon, Capt.
P. Hast, from the West Indies, arrived at South-
ampton to-day, and landed her mails under the
charge of Lieut. W. 1). Lyster, RN., Admiralty
agent. Her dates are: Honduras, Aug. 19; St.
Jago de Cuba and Havanna. 24 ; Chagas, 25; Car-
thagena, La Guayra, and Bermuda, the 26th; De-
merara and Trinidad, the 27th; Granada, the 28th;
Barbadoes, Jamaica, and Vera Cruz, the 29th; Anti-
gua and Martinique, the 30th; Tampico, 31st; I'orto
Rico, Sept. 3 ; and St. Thomas, 24th. The Avon
carried, besides a miscellaneous freight, specie, bul-
lion, and gold dust, received across the Isthmus
from the Pacific ports, to the amount of 770,991
dots., of which 226,22.3 is in gold, and 544,766
in silver • specie and bullion from California and
Panama, dols.; ditto from other ports of the
West Indies, 49,496 dohs. The total value brought
by this steamer in dollars is 1,487,423, of which
859,967 is in silver, and 627,123 in gold. The Avon
also had on board precious stones, diamonds, &c., to
the value of 2,000 dots.
Amongst the passengers by the Avon is General
Sales, from liavannali, charged with despatches for
Cadiz, London, Paris, and Madrid.
On the 17th Aug. a dreadful hurricane was felt in
the West Indies, ft-um St. Thomas, along the whole
line of islands to the northward of St. Lucia. The
hurricane was felt severely at St. Kitts. The
Kitts Adrerttser says, the sloop Eliza F. Cook, with
a cargo on board, from St. Thomas's, the sloop
Henrietta, with a cargo of sugar from Montserrat,
and the cutter Harriet, all belonging to the island,
were driven to sea from their anchorage in the
roadstead, and well-grounded apprehensions were
entertained for their safety. 'these vessels were
all without crews. The sloop Prinee of Wales, of
Dominica, was also driven out, and went ashore at
Point Town, where she became a total wreck.
One man was lost in attempting to swim ashore;
three others, who remained on board the vessel,
reached the shore in safety after she struck. The
schooner Petrel, Captain 11 attley, of St. Kitts, was
driven out of one of the bays to leeward, and has not
since been heard of. The cutter Margaretta, be-
longing to Messrs. John W. Gould and Co., was
driven on shore at the lower end of the
bay. She had since been got off, fortunately
without sustaining any serious damage. A large
boat, the property of Mr. S. A. Wade, was
driven on shore near the Margaretta, and lost her
anchor and mast. The bark Glaphyra, of Lon-
don, and the brig Emma Graham, of Liverpool, rode
out the gale in safety. The brigantine Bell, of Yar-
mouth, United States, Captain Poole, front Antigua,
bound to St. Martin's for a load of salt, was driven
on shore at the eastern part of the island at 4 a.m.,
and shortly became a total wreck. The captain was
unfortunately lost in attempting to leave the vessel.
The wife of the captain and crew, consisting of five
men, were saved.

From Montserrat we learn that the sloop Rachel
James, front Dominica, laden with coffee and
cocoa, bound to Antigua, ran ashore. Crew and
cargo saved; the latter a little damaged. The brig
Xarifa, Reynolds, master, from Liverpool, taking in
produce, rode out the gale with two anchors, pitch-
ing and rolling very heavily during the gale. The
sloop Regulator, of Antigua, put to sea during the
gale, and has not since been heard of. A vessel
was passed stranded at ltosscau, in Dominica, by
the schooner Fortitude, from Iharbadoes, bound to
Antigua.
In St. Lucia the effect of the hurricane was fright-
ful, and the sea rose to a tremendous height. threaten-
ing to engulf the city of Castries, a great part of
which was submerged. The damage, however, on
shore was not extensive, although several of the shore
craft were destroyed, yet the shipping weathered the
storm with only slight injury. A shock of earth-
quake had been felt in the island. The heat of the
weather was intense.

At Antigua six mills were upset, and others in-
jured. No lives were lost, and the shipping almost
escaped. To the fortunate circumstance of the wind
having blown off the shore was ascribed the pre-
servation of the whole of the vessels loading for Eu-
rope. Two island droughers and a brigantine were
driven on shore; the barque Lancashire Witch, from
Liverpool, bound to Porto Rico, was lost during the
gale, on the north side of the island of Barbuda, and
went to pieces in 10 minutes; the master, five men,
and a boy were drowned.
At Martinique, on the night of the 1 i th, the sea
was greatly agitated, without being excessively rough.
Various accidents occurred during the night. The
sloop Herald had her bowsprit broken. The British
brig Chedabucto (J. H. Basden, master), from Nova
Scotia, with a lmd of lumber, ran ashore below the
Figuicr quarter. Measures were promptly taken on
Monday morning to save the wreck, under the aus-
pices of the naval and customs authorities, and of
the British consul. Everything but the lumber was
got out of the vesseL 'lke stranding of the Cheda-
bucto is attributed to the snapping, by accident, or
through carelessness, of two hawsers by which she
was made fast to one of the buoys in the harbour.
An investigation has been instituted into the circum-
stances of the case. The sloop Eugene, attempting
to put out to sea, lost her rudder, and had to be run
ashore on the beach at Point-Lamarre; there was no
great damage done.