The Sun.
London, England, 1854-10-06 00:00:00

THE CHOLERA.

The epidemic is still lingering among the poor at the
eastern part of the metropolis, and numerous deaths
are daily, recorded in the districts of Whitechapel,
Goodman 2-fields, St. Botolph, Aldgato Without, St.
George's-in-the-East, St. Paul's, Shad well ; St. John's,
Wapping ; the hamlet of Ratcliff ; All Saints, Poplar ;
St. Matthew, ; Bethnal-green St. Duustan's, Stepney ;
St. Anne's, Limehouse ; Christ Church, Spitalfields ;
St. Leonard's, Shoreditch ; and other places, notwith-
standing the additional appointment of medical officers
for the relief of the afflicted and destitute sufferers.
There are a groat many dangerous cases at present in
the cholera ward of the London Hospital, and several
deaths have taken place since the last weekly return
of the Registrar-General.
NORWICH.—The mortality from cholera is declining
in Norwich, but a considerable number of persons
have fallen victims to the ravages of the disease. The
following is a return of the deaths in each parish made
by the surgeons employed by the board of guardians:
—St. Peter per Mountergate, 1 ; St. Stephen, 2 ; St.
Giles, 1 ; St. Benedict, 15 ; St. Gregory, 1 ; workhouse,
6 ; St. Peter Hungate, 1 ; St. Martin-at-Palace, 7 ; St.
isiichiel-at-Coslany, 5 ; St. Mary-of-Coslany, 10 ; St.
Martin-at-Oat, 15 ; St. Augustine, 9 ' • the infirmary and
asylum, 19 ; St. Clement, 2 ; St. Saviour, 2 ; St.
James, 4 ; hamlet of Pockthorpe, 5 ; hamlet of Laken-
ham, 20. Total, 127.
GLOUCESTER.—The deaths from cholera in this city
during the past week are scarcely so many as might
have been expected, considering the heat' of the weather.
We understand that about eight persons have fallen
victims to the epidemic. The removal of all nuisances
calculated to injure the public health is being en-
forced by the magistrates and other authorities.— Glou•
cester Journal.
EDINBURGH.—During the last four days 22 new oases
of cholera have been reported to the inspectors of the
city, St. Cuthbert's, and Canongate parishes. Of these
10 have proved fatal. The disease seems to be on the
decline in the city, only four cases and one death having
been reported on Tuesday.—Scotsman.

FUNERAL IDEAS.—A merchant in a considerable town
in Scotland was lately visited by the newly. made widow
of a workman, residing in an adjoining village, who in-
formed Lim of the loss of her gudeman, and asked his ad-
vice and assistance regarding the funeral. She, was
determined, she said,. to give him a decent bUrial,
though she spent every farthing she had in the at-
tempt. He kindly took the charge of the business,
and engaged, at a moderate rate, a plain hearse
and a couple of mourning coaches, roomy enough to
carry a dozen relatives and friends to the churchyard.
In a day or two she returned, and was profuse in her
thanks at the satisfactory conclusion of the business.
"It was a most respectable funeral," she said :
"a' her neebours wondered hoo Sally Tamson could
afford to bury her man in siccan style." ThiS was
the cumulative point of satisfaction ; but in the cup
of human happiness there is always one bitter drop ;
and here it was according to her own native admis-
sion : there was just one thing which vexed her, that
John, poor man, had not been able to witness the !style
in which his own funeral had been conducted ;
," for
she was sure be wad hae been proud to see't." This
curious confusion of ideas brings to our recbllec-
tion a story told of an old lady in Liddesdale,
who in her will bad given particular direotions
as to her interment, which was to take place! in a
churchyard far away among the hills, and remote from
her then residence. When laid upon her death beet and
patiently waiting for her expected dissolution, a
heavy snowstorm came on, and appeared likely to
continue. Ruminating upon this, she dictated a
codicil, revoking her previous orders as to Inter-
ment, and directing it to take place in a ceinetery
not very distant from her house ; her reasons for the
change being, that the funeral party with so long a dis-
tance to travel in •such stormy weather would be sure t o
catch cold ; there would be a great deal of grumbling in
consequence, and she was sure she would never hear the
end o't.—Dumfries Courier.'
CHUISTENING SHIPS (Vol. x., p. 66.)—1 have always
considered this to be more a Pagan than a Christian
ceremony, a relic of the ancient libation rather than a
"caricature of the sacrament of baptism." In modern
Greece, when a Fliip is launched, the bow is decorated
with flowers, and the captain takes a jar of wine, which
he raises to his lips, and then pours out upon the deck.
It is more than probable that many nautical customs,
superstitions (the broom at the mast-head when the ves-
sel is for sale, shaving when crossing the line, whistling
for wind, &c.), and even technical terms, might be de•
rived from a very remote antiquity. Even if we descend
to a comparatively modern period, we may find that
sailors have preserved among them the technical terms
of their profession, though numberless terms of other
trades and professions have become obsolete within the
last two centuries. Scarcely the half of the technical
terms of various trades and professions that handle
found in that most curious omniunt gatherum, e
Holme's " Academy of Armory," would be undersioed
by their respective craftsmen at the present day, whereaa
every nautical term in the much earlier production; ,",4.
Ship of Fooles," would be understood by the modern
Rearaan.—Notes and Queries.

[PRICE SD.

SURVEY OF THE ISTHMUS OF DARIEN•

The following letterd have been received at tho Ad•
miralty relative to the rescue of the United States ex•
ploring expedition, under Lieutenant Strain, by a party
from her Majesty's ship Virago, and will probably be
read with interest :

" President, at Callao.

" Sir,—My Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty have
been made aware of the rescue of Lieutenant Strain, of
the United States' navy, and his party from starvation, by
an expedition sent up the Chuqunaque River, by Com-
mander Marshall, of the Virago.
" I have now to enclose two letters addressed by Lieu-
tenant Strain and his party to Commander Marshall on
the subject. •
"I have also the honour to enclose a copy of a letter
from rue approving the roceedings of Commander Mar-
shall and the officers who haVe been employed on the Da-
rien. The letters therein referred to have already been
forwarded to their Lordships.
"I am, Sir, your most obedient bumble servant,
"D. PRICE. Rear-Admiral.
"Mr. Ralph Osborne, M.P., Admiralty."

" TO COMMANDER EDWARD MARSHALL, R.N., COMMAND-
ING HER BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S SHIP VIRAGO.
"United States' Darien Expedition, Cantonment
of La Palma, Darien Harbour.
" Sir,—ln my own behalf and of the officers and others
composing the expedition under my commapd, I write to
tender to you, and through you to the officers and seamen
under your command, our sincere thanks for the prompt
and inestimable assistance rendered by the party despatched
to the Upper Chuqunaque, under the immediate command
of Lieutenant W. C. Forsyth.
" For the perfect understanding of the service rendered
a brief recapitulation of 'preceding events will be neces-
sary. You are already aware of the circumstances con-
nected with my crossing the Cordillera and reaching the
banks of the Chuqunaque, and of the imperative reasons
which induced me to follow the banks of that stream.
"During our progress down the river we suffered great
inconvenience for want of provisions, those which we
brought from the sloop of war Cyane having entirely failed
us on the eighth day, when we were deserted by our Indian
guides. On the sth and 6th of February we halted, and
with great difficulty constructed a raft for the conveyance
of the invalids, but were obliged to abandon Alb() first day
on account of insuperable obstacles which we encountered
in the channel of the river.
" On the 18th of February, or 24 days after leaving the
Cyane, the necessity of sending a party in advance to ob-
tain provisions and canoes forced itself upon my mind, al-
though I entertained it with much hesitation, as I was
loth to separate the party, which, though it consisted of 22
persons, was, owing to physical debility, in no condition to
cope with the Indians, who were well aware of our where-
abouts and condition. Yet the step became imperative, as
the spirits of a few of our men began to flag, while despair
had taken possession of the minds of the New Grenadian
commissioners.
" Of the other naval officers in the expedition, not one
could have taken the advance with the slightest apparent
prospect of reaching the Pacific.
"The same remark would apply to the engineers and
surveyors, all of whom suffered excessively from sore feet
and general debility, arising from the deficiency and cha-
racter of the food.
"After mature deliberation, I came to the conclusion
that the time had arrived when I must separate myself
temporarily from the party, and that, whatever service I
might render by my presence, I could more effectually
assist them by reaching the settlements and bringing them
provisions and means of transportation. Early on the
morning of the 13th of February, I called together the
officers and men, and, after announcing my intentions,
called for three volunteers to accompany me. From the
many who presented themselves, I selected Mr. Frederick
Avery, a volunteer assistant-engineer, and two of the crew
of the Cyane, whose appearance would promise the'most
physical endurance.
'lndependent of the absolute and increasing necessity of
obtaining assistance, I calculated upon a powerful moral
benefit from my absence, as a prospect, however remote,
of aid from without would excite those who wore inclined
to despair to greater exertion. The correctness of my sup-
position was afterwards verified to a certain extent, espe-
cially when the main body of the party, after six days'
marching, only reached my first night's camp, where they
found a note which I had loft for them.
" From the 13th of February until the evening of the
6th of March wo followed tho river. On the 15th and 16th
of February we attempted to float down the stream on a
raft of driftwood; but after being several times wrecked
among the snags and rapids, we were obliged to abandon
it. On the let of March, finding that, owing to the lace-
rated state of my feet and Mr. Avery's, it would be im-
possible to proceed much further by land, we halted and
constructed a raft large enough to carry two persons, in-
tending to add to it as soon as an opportunity offered, and
when the two mon should overcome a repugnance, which
the narrow escapes we had on the 15th and 16th of Feb-
ruary had caused them to entertain against raft naviga-
tion.
" On the 24 of March wo set out, on the 3d met tide-
water, and on the evening of the 9th arrived at Yavisa in
canoes, which we met some two miles above the town.
Understanding that the Virago was at Darien, and about
to sail for Panama, 1 determined to lose uo time in obtain-
ing an interview with you, and in making au effort to ob-
tain your assistance in behalf of my party. Immediate
aid was, however, a matter of the first importance, and
about 9 p.m. on the 10th, or a little more than 21 hours,
after our arrival, I despatched Mr. Avery, with five ca-
noes and ten men, all obtainable provisions, and accompa-
nied by is Mr. Noreiga, who acted as interpreter, and was
expected to use his influence among the natives, and in-
cite them to proceed us far as might be necessary up the
river. On the morning of the 11th I set but, and arriving
the next day at Chapigana by daylight, was informed
that the Virago had sailed for Panama to be absent
six days, and that upon her return it was your inten-
tion to despatch a force up the Chuqunaque, to the
assistance of our party. From Chapigana I proceeded
without loss of time to the junction of' the Savant and
Lars rivers, where I was received by Mr. W. C. Bennett,
civil engineer in the service of the Atlantic and Pacific
Junction Company; with the provisions which he kindly
supplied' I returned to Yavisa, where I arrived on the
evening of the 15th inst., and learnt that one canoe and
two of Mr. Avery's party had returned without reaching
the main body.
"They brought a note from Mr. Avery, informing me
that all his men would abandon on the next day. Early
on the morning of the 17th he returned with his whole
party, and bringing with him one of our men who had
strayed from camp on the sth of March, was absent from
the river until the 15th, and was found on the 16th. Al-
though rational when found, he was perfectly delirious
when he arrived at Yavisa, and died within two hours.
" Mr. Avery reported that he had arrived with his party
at a camp which was the lowest point attained by the
main body, and which was somewhat short of my second
camp after leaving it. Ho also brought a note from Passed-
Midshipman Truxton, United States navy, the second in
cornmand,and in charge during my absence, announcing
the death of one of the men, the illness of others, and that
he had finally acceded to the urgent desire of the great
majority of the party to attempt to return to the banana
plantations on the river, which we had left on the 29th of
January. The date of this note was the sth of March.
They commenced their return on the 6th, and the note
was received by Mr. Avery on the 16th, and, had it not
been for the despicable cowardice of the Yavisa canoe-men,
the party might have been relieved on the 17th, or about
one week before the timely arrival of the expedition from
your ship.
" With all Baste, within an hour after Mr. Avery's re-
turn, I engaged five canoes, and demanded men from the
authorities, who levied them in the three adjoining towns
of Yavisa, Real, and Pinogana.
" Fearing much from the results of a retrograde move-
ment in a party already so much broken down, I deter-
mined not to risk its safety in the hands of the renadian
boatmen, who might, and I had every reason to believe
would, desert us at a critical moment, and would not be
induced to advance far enough to be of any service. So I
directed Mr. Avery to set off with the canoes and provi-
sions as soon as the men might arrive, while I determined
to hasten to the ship to ask your assistance.
" As the tido was now ebbing, I could not even venture
to remain and . see the last sad offices performed over
my late comrade, and, leaving the priest and Mr. Avery
charged with that duty, I set out for the Virago, which I
hoped to reach by daylight.
After proceeding some 18 miles, I fortunately met your
paddlebox boat armed and equipped for the expedition,
and under the command of Lieut. W. C. Forsyth, the
first lieutenant of the Virago, who delivered to me your
very kind and polite note of the 16th inst., inviting me to
accept the hospitality of 'your ship for myself and party,
for which very considerate and courteous invitation parmit
me, Sir, to return my sincere thanks, and those of my re-
maining companions.
" Arriving at Yavisa on the same evening, with the aid
of your officers, and assisted in a very high degree by Mr.
Bennett, we obtained three of the five canoes that had
bean promised me, and were enabled to commence ascending
the river at about 11 a.m. next day. The natives whom
I had engaged did not join us until the next afternoon,
when 11 made their appearance in two canoes.
" The particulars of the expedition you have doubtless
received from Lieutenant Forsyth, by whom it was so ably
conducted, and that portion of the subject I will dismiss
by remarking that the strength, courage, and indomitable
energy of your officers and men, aided by the dexterity of
the natives in the management of canoes, enabled us to
make the most rapid journeys, and to pass over distances
in a few hours that would cost mo many days in the
descent.
"Arriving at hospital camp No. 2, whence our party
had commenced their return, the natives insisted on re-
turning, which I resisted by mingled entreaties and
threats, and again, on the ensuing day, they insisted upon
going no further, and finally declared it to be their irre-
vocable intention to return after a day's journeyo. „
red _
" During the last day of our ascent we dis.cvo
grave of M. Ramon Castillo de la Rada, the
of
grave of
rt. Unh ,e; t
iGo Tel
bat! iaatutdbn i commissioner,nterred had dies
bodyduring
nttchhiePearil,eaNtrutrvi:
amp
ed
Bernt:upontd,,
ilattuye the eremainswhose i
ion by tfghtesl iterruetaioti
strength
ocbfettli,niii7i
ilu.
to remain behind and die upon the grav
IC'efsatiillus,oufu'Aideli)ejeltne°a
o
igns of
I%.vicnehr were
eu)111.8
espici withni)s.
t `ijeL
buriedieateiiaun
pt
oln'ortshyothg
s
cross totetnii
,reealaryfkt
het
rohtuieoirro
mulp;
00l arfoeestdrhr:ioefsfonidnlnatutyda:n:di
involved ative natives (canoe
lives7te 1:0 11;111
) .1()
becameich
sPulio'ena‘ ..Iter:ioln/ftgkoteshlateogl eaeeyve htmnyet'air
made each announcement of near a
it was answered by an enthusiastic cheer from the uiet of
Mr. Forsyth's party, who renewed their already wonderful
efforts to overtake the missing party- At tl
that we were rejoicefidane,t observe
ooacicaarsminoei u
of
a near up-
( a l tesalir
ase t signs
o th
t rid ge
bso tale same
in wh
ich
we awintiniClhe
one
'eN
Val heahno ltlod abandoned
p i
atr nd , well aware of the diger ganising in-
ur
it
otohfo retrograderaoushlydemoralised.
ino
vere
Nearent,l sunset thethatfeared natives
nwaemigs tit
n
thetthahudesviraainsvtoeie cheers advanced
bank,
dcanoparty
on discovered the remainder of our
wbhyietilhealiwilhooulnecreemlieenvtinwtapsarretcye.ivedivith
on
" Upon landing, we learned that of the 18 persons whom.