The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-17 00:00:00

have killed a couple of express riders. The bag con-
taining the mail has been found perforated with two
bullets, one of which was found in a package of letters.
I fear we shall hear bad news shortly from these Indians."
Captain Ward, a passenger on board the ship Grotius,
below at Boston, from Manilla, and last from St. Helena,
reports that seven vessels, slavers, had arrived at St.
Helena, with 700 slaves, prizes to her Britannic Majesty's
cruisers on the west coast of Africa. The last that ar-
rived (March 2) threw overboard sixty dead slaves in
sight of St. Helena.
GOOD.—The following is said to be the last joke of
Sidney Smith. He says that the Chinese affair is all
picking (Pekin) and choosing (Chusan).
ODD THEFT.—During a recent fire at St. Louis, a
thief broke into a cabinet maker's shop and stole a coffin.
REPEAL OF THE SUB-TREASURY—OR Thursday
last, the House of Representatives of Pennsylvania passed
a resolution, which had been previously acted on in the
Senate, instructing the Senators and requesting the Re-
presentatives in Congress, to vote for the repeal of the
Sub-Treasury-law, and providing that the Governor for-
ward copies of the resolution to the Senators and Repre-
sentatives. The resolution was carried by a handsome
majority.
HUMINIGGERY.—Thus a Correspondent writes us :
" The people humbug the rascally banks by not paying
up, and the banks in return humbug the people for their
rascality. The merchants are humbugged by doing bu-
siness for nothing, and paying tribute to Columbus in
every shape and form, which business assumes. The
majority of the merchants are humbugged by the few
selfish and mercenary ones, who refuse to give their aid
in forming a Chamber oC. Commerce for the transaction.
of business on honourable principles, and for a fair re-
muneration. The young ladies are humbugged by the
beaux, who only flirt about them for pastime ; and, in
fact, Mr. Editor, everything is wrong, and must be re-
gulated through your interesting Journal.' " That's a
fact—all humbugs must and shall be journalized.
1) AnING.—On the 15th of February, a Mr. Taney of
Washington county, Md. was awakened about midnight
by a sound like the breaking of a door, in an adjoining
room to that in which his family were sleeping. He
sprang from his bed, seized a loaded rifle, and stood wait-
ing about fifteen minutes when the door was softly
opened, and he saw his servant man by the light of a fire
in the stove, with a large butcher knife in his hand.
Upon his exclaiming advance one step and you are a
dead man,' the negro instantly ran, and succeeded in
making his escape to Pennsylvania.
FIRE.---The cotton mill owned by Messrs. James
Rhodes -and Sons, at Rhodesville, Thompson, Ct. was
destroyed by fire on Wednesday night. The building
was of brick, and eighty feet in length. It contained
3,000 spindles and 50 looms. It was insured for 10,000
dollars at the American Office, and for 12,000 dollars at
the Manufacturers' Mutual Office, in Providence. The ori-
gin of the fire is not known.
SHOCKING ACCIDENT.—WhiIe Mr. Martin Mikesell,
Cambria county, Penn., and his wife, were absent from
home at a sugar camp, their house took fire and was
totally destroyed, with all its contents. When they re-
turned they found their dwelling in ruins; and that three
little children left in it had perised in the flames.
The Cincinnati Chronicle of the 17th inst., states that
Edward Layton, the young man who had been arrested
on the charge of having caused the death of Mr. Gris-
well, a Baptist preacher, was brought before the Mayor
or examination. After hearing the testimony in the
case, he was committed for trial on the charge of murder.
GRAVE ROBBED.—A man by the name of Jackson
died at Chenange, N. Y. two weeks since, and on the
succeeding day was interred in the village grave-yard.
During the night his remains were removed by persons
unknown, for whose detection $5O reward is offered.
MAIL ROBBERY,—The way-mail from this City to
Albany on board the North American was robbed on
Friday morning lust—the bags cut open, the letters rifled
and thrown into the river. The first intimation of the
robbery was given by the letters, which were seen float-
ing in the current near Stuyvesant. It is not known
whether the letters were rifled on board the boat or
stolen thence and broken open afterwards ; but in either
case the remissness •of those in charge was most culpable.
We trust this robbery will put an end to - the shameful
carelessness with which' mails have hitherto been kicked
about the decks of our steam-boats, as if they were
sacks of potatoes.
MURDER.—The Portland Argus states that Mr. Moses
Butterfield murdered his wife and two youngest children
in Sumner, Oxford County, Maine, on Wednesday last.
Two others of the family only saved themselves by
flight. Mr. B. has been hitherto a highly respectable
citizen of that town, but has been subject to fits of in-
sanity. His alleged reason for murdering his family was
to save them from eternal ruin at the approaching end
of the world. He has been committed to jail in Paris.
HONOURABLE.—It will be recollected that some months
ago, four of our packet ships saved each the crew of a
British vessel in distress. They were the Rhone, Cap-
tain Walton ; Stephen Whitney, Captain Thompson ;
Columbus, Captain Cropper ; and Sheridan, Captain De
Peyster. Yesterday, Mr. Buchanan, the British Consul,
addressed to these commanders the following extract of
a letter :—" I am directed by Lord Palmerston, to de-
sire you to express to the commanders the thanks of her
Majesty's Government, for their praiseworthy conduct,
and for the assistance which they rendered on the same
occasions, and you will state to these commander's that
her Majesty's Government intends to show its sense of
their services, by sending to each of them a gold medal,
so soon as the die, which is now in preparation, shall be
finished."—Journal of Commerce.

EXTRAORDINARY FIELDS OF
ICE IN THE ATLANTIC.

Great Western Steam-ship, Bristol Channel, May 14, 1841.
Sir —Under the impression that ice, to the extent it has
been seen this year, has never before been heard of in these
latitudes, I give you the following particulars fofthe informa-
tion of your readers :—On Sunday, April 18th, the ship steer-
ing west, at six P.M., first saw one iceberg on the starboard
bows ; and 7 30 passed it: at that time four or five others
in sight. At 915 passed se, eral small pieces of ice—
slowed the engines. In a few minutes after the ship was sur-
rounded with sight field ice, which appeared similar to a field
I ran through on the llth Feb , 1839. This induced me to go
slowly, with the hopes of getting through as I had done on that
occasion, but by 9 30 finding it became closely packed, and
much thicker, prudence dictated our escape by the same
channel we had entered. I then stopped, and attempted to
get the ship's head to the eastward by turning ahead and
astern until there was room for her to come round ; in the
course of this operation the ship had occasionally (at least)
two strokes heel given by either wheel passing over large
masses of ice. At 10 15 succeeded in getting the ship's head
to the eastward. and by 11 entirely clear ; from that time went
slowly, passsing several icebergs; the night at times very clear,
the aurora borealis very bright. At 330 A.M. of the 19th,
again got embayed in the ice, stopped, hauled short round on
our keel. and steered E. by S., coasting the ice foretve or six
miles; 4 20, kept her to the westward, running through innu-
merable icebergs until 8 30 when we passed the last iceberg
and point of the field ice. When the sun arose the ice was
visible as far as the, eye could reach in an unbroken line
from N.E. by E by the northward to N: W. by W., at the
same time icebergs innumerable in every direction, forming
one of the most magnificent sights I ever beheld. The first
iceberg we saw was in lat. 43, lon. 48 30, and this last in
42 20, lon. 50. I am quite sure there was an unbroken
field of that extent, and from what I heard from Captain
Bailly, of the American packet-ship United States, I
have no doubt the field ice extended, with very little break, to
lat. 40.30, where Captain Bailey fell in with it on the morn-
ing of the 18th. Several other ships also fell in with it in the
same longitude, and were completely stopped, giving them an
opportunity of kiting seals, which were on it in great num-
bers. Some of the icebergs I estimate a little (if at all) less
than a mile long, and from 150 to 200 feet high. 1 his field
of ice was in large masses, some of them not less than 20 feet
square by six feet thick or more. The temperature of the
'water, when within two
.mites of the first iceberg seen, fell
suddenly from 50 degrees to 36 degrees ; air, 40 degrees to 36
degrees. When in the ice the water was 25 degi ees ; air, 28
degrees; during the remainder of the night and following
morning, the water was not higher than 30 degrees, nor the
air higher than 32 degrees. Immediately after passing the
last ice the water became 36 degrees, and the air 42 degrees.
I am, Sir, &c.
JAMES HOSKEN, Captain.