Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1823-1847, 1839-06-04

Tnr 49, nr ~ nORNEr.

NfNNA y NAffatAas FsAA w NAAhNH "
u. n. .ioep of va, Hornet. los, sonre years since
is ,Ac Gulf q Mexico. Tie is reported 10 have
stated THAT the Hornet pts making ior q hafbof
~hen sh~ struck spop a rock and that he kaows
oftbe escspc from The wreck u no person hu, him.
sslf and his I've companions They ~rre drn.
ed ssbore spon the BLAND Of Cubs. whence. sner
difsrcnt changes tnJ fortunes, lac is found al the
West
The statements hero made by this soi-dis'ani
ssilor ot The lIorne, are 10 ~palpshly false that they
would nc, obtain from ne, =, least. q contradiction.
hst fot tie reason that at d,Hereu, and distant pc
RODS the fate Of the Horne, Lss been with me a
sve,eet Of interesting investigation near Tie place
OF her destruction.
Before ! proceed 10 relate the result ef my in
guinea, ! w,ll ogeI ba, a word Of comment upon
the miserable attempt al deception ptaetieod by
the pretended survivor Of ilat ismcnied weasel and
crew. II, is tnoxn officially that the Horne, was
al snehor of Tsmpieo bar. on the oOss, Of Mexico;
and that. a widen, Horhasr comiog on, she pu, to
ses. and has never s'neo been heard OF; that she
thea foundefed. ihoro can be no doubt. ard that
ell on board persisted with her Is nearly equally
certain. Some remains Of the boats Of the Hornet,
IL 10 understood. were subsequently, found upon the
eJseent coast Of Mexico. How The survivor IN
the West cou,rsed TO ge, ashore upon the island
Of Cuba, nearly one Thousand miles from Tampico,
will appear 10 a seaman somewhat miraculous /;
and ,ha, the Hornet should have struck upon a
rock, in making for a harbor. is apparent 10 any
one at all acquainted with tho coast of Mexico. TO
be a ally Ite--for there is no, a single harbor for a
vesse! OF tina, class upon The whole Mexican coas,
Of the Gulf Of Mexico. Vera Cruz, about $50
miles south OF Tampico. admits large vessels be-
tween tho island and the city; bu, i, 10 no harbor
10 q storm.
"A fp0 naonfhs ker,ro The loss nf tho IIosnnt ,Io
writer Of this communication was in Havana. in
commsnd Of an armed vessel the Hornet made
her appearance OF the Moro, and sen, a boat into
the port 10 communicate with the consul, Mr..
Rodney. 1t came on 10 blow a gale Of wind, and
the boat could not return. An invitation was
given and accepted for the officers and men TO re-
main on board the vessel under ny command; the
following day the weather moderated, aud the
Hornet came into port. This small oct Of cour-
tesy led TO an acquaintance with Capt. Norris and
hts officers. which, Of course, from knowing the
sufferers personally. augmented the deep regret
ieit by every American at the sad event which
took place Immediately afterwards.
About ono year after the event alluded 10, while
landing a cargo Of valuable merchandise on the
coas. Of Mexico at the mouth of the ST. Andcr, [
was informed by an American gentleman, o doctor,
then there, that he was at Tampico, at the time
~ ~ AhNfn't ~ u " III U
passenger in her his trunks and baggage were on
board. and he was prevented from embarking by
the suddeuness Of The gale. lie stated that the
Hornet was Al anchor of the bar at Tampico, about
three miles from land; her boats were on shore
inside the bar. taking of some provisions; and that
before the work was accomplished, owing, as he
supposed. to the strong indications of a norther,
the boats were suddenly recalled to the ship by sig
nal, and accordingly instantly abandoned their task
snd repaired TO their vessel. Tho beats we're i'm
mediaieiy hoistcd in, the Horne, weighed her an.
chors. and 4 little before dark. stood off to sea un-
der close rccfed to~pss,ls-ihe norlher having fair
Iy Get IN, and with great violence. Two or three
other vessels put to sea at the same time. He
cav her sail standing to the eastward until night
and the storm closed the view forever.
II was sfter the lspsc Of several years that, in
The city Of T~ampico, | was repeating to several Of
my country m - sea. captains and othcrs-the
statement, Of DR.. - relative to tho Hornet. Tho
rcisi'on being ended, one Of the persons present,
Captain -. well known as having been many
gears IN the trade between Tampico and New Or
leans. informed us that he vas in command of one
OF the scbooncrs which lay offthe bar Of
and put 10 sca with the Horne, that evening. lie
stated that the wind commenced blowing violently
from the north hence it had been considered mere.
Iy 4 noriher Of unusual violence. Such, he said.
was no, The fact. bot that I, purtook more OF the
character Of a West Iadis hurricane ; for that, be-
tween 8 and 0 at night. the Wind suddenly shifted
from north, or northwest, TO southeast and the
shsngc was made with such violence tina. his ves-
sci. being in ballast only. was instantly thrown on
her beam ends. when he was 10 imminent danger
and momeniary expectation Of p~erishing miserably.
With the closing Of The night he had lost sight Of
The Hornet aud other vessels. On that awful night
While ~cIinging to the rigging OF his c~spsired vessel
which required the utmost ~exertion Of his strength
10 effect. the lea having been dashed into fury by
the opposing winds, amid the roar OF the tempest
and rush Of wa,srs, suddenly arose above the storm
the shnli sound Of the b~oa,swain's call. lie was
ztsntly Awsie Of the proximity Of ihe Hornet. and
&&edeenly she burst in sight. s~epjding north o,
tsstienng before the gale for a moment i, appear
- 10 him she vas bent on his snnihiiaIion. to rur
bim over aud down hs esssyed TO hail. Boobies
I'll. Before hs s,ised words we're half uttered
3besrd and unseen. he was passed within twen,,
LIT BY the Hernet-lho last time. probably, ths
+ oses hamsa eyes. other than ihosc faied to perish
Rtth her. beheld her. She came and vent like
hsntom ship. lie could hare sllnos, touched he
, close did The approximation seer. asked. dn
~ could he note q, such a time the sPpcsnne,
~ A4x 1901 .n..ls.. 49, 49, ..ngI. ss... =