Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1854-11-23
Altstelianeoils.

order OF occurrence, but first in sad character
and melancholy interest, is the loss, on the af-
ternoon Of the lst inst, Of the independent
Steamship Yankee Blade. This terrible disaster,
by which some fifty persons, many of them fe-
males lost their lives, and hundreds their entire
fortunes, was occasioned by the ship striking on
a reef, short distance from San Diego, in
dense fog. On the afternoon Of the Saturday
previous, thousands gathered on tho wharves to
witness the beautiful and animating scene of the
Ideparture-frst of the Blade, with eight hun
dred passengers, all standing on the upper decks,
waving their handkerchiefs and swinging their
hats, many, as they hoped, in a final adieu to
the land of gold and humbug-next went the
Nicaragua steamer Cortez-and last, but in close
order with the others, the Mail Steamer Sonora,
with full complement of passengers. The ap-
pearance Of those noble steamers, as each swung
gracefully from her pier, covered with homeward
bound passengers, moving down the harbor in
stately pride, the stars and stripes floating at
the mast, amid tho boom of peaceful cannon,
was stirring and exciting, even to those accus-
toned to such sights The next news from that
squadron of rival steamers was that the elegant
and splendid Blade was total wreck. She
struck the reef at ten knot rate of speed. Her
stern instantly sunk to the main deck. The
boats were lowered. and in the scramble, conse-
quent overlooking and subsequent capsizing in
the surf, most of the loss of life occurred.
Simultaneous with the striking on the reef, a
deliberate and systematic course of plunder, pill
lagc and robbery was begun, and carried on amid
ali the horrors Of a Sudden shipwrcck, and all
attempts by the owners to protect their own ef-
fects were resisted with knife and revolvers. The
actors in this unhallowed drama were a gang of
political shouder-strkers and the ships firemen,
and their fendish conduct, in {. moment Of such
imminent peril to all, amid tAe phrenzy of de-
spair and the agony of supplcation around
them, reckless Of their own danger, proved them
equal to any deed in the whole register of crime.
by this catastrophe, probably 100000 in
private hands was lost, stripping, most particu-
arly, steeragc passengers Of their entire worldly
possessions
The cause of this shipwreck must rest with
the Commander, Randall, who, like the other
Independent Captains, is not thoroughly sci
eptifc and practical navigator, Or fully acquan-
ted with this coast His fault lay in trying to
save distance, by taking the channel inside the
island of Santa Barbara, thus compelling him
to round the point ON the main land, near which
no was wrecked and obliging him also to hug
the coast in a dense fox, which had hung over
him from the start, and which should have
warned him not to attempt that difficult inside
passage, but to give both the mainland and the
island a wide berth. Capt R. was warned by
his passengers, many Of whom had made the
circui. before he ever trod q ships deck tina!
they were occasionally in sight Of land and that
he WAS out of his course; but he per sisted, and
soon wrecked one of the mnst beautiful steamers
that ever parted wave in these Pacific waters
The Blade and Uncle Sam had been sold il
New York to the Nicaragua Company, and the
North Star, plying between New York and As
q pinwall, to the Mail Line. The latter was al
that ever gave the Independent Line any supori
. ority over the others, and her trausfer, perma
6 nently, to tho Mail Line, will give them the pre-
r, eminoncs, and the palm Of speed and quicl
trips, till the fastest and most powerful Ameri
can built steamer now afoat, (tho Star,) i
q beaten And the regular Mai Line, after all
: would seem to be the most reliable one. 1T
4 splondidly equipped and feet Golden Gate, Ste
: phens and Sonora, and those safe, thorough sea
boats, the Panama Oregon and California, Oh
: this side, and the Star, Illinois and Law in th
Atlantic, will now place it beyond competition
= in point of safety and speed. Moreover tn
Il surety Of finding an extra steamer at Panama
in case OF accident to the regular one--a festur
o not found in any other lns--is alone worth tn
II price of passage. In the case of the Winfield
Scott Of this Line, wrecked in December last
~ her passengers were Immediately forwarded il
II another boat from here, The passengers by tn
y Blade-thnre being no other steamer in port b.
! longing to the Independent Line--must by law
which says that the trip ended with the wreck
+ lose their passage money which is denied them
u stay here or purchase new tickets on Lines NJ
10 defunct
G The dreadful calamity of the Yankee Blad
ID comes coupled with huge and disgmceful fo
'r gerry, which has disturbed and distressed tl
II community for two weeks past and which pu
far in the shade Rathburn, Edwards and Schu,
l. Ter. Henry Meigs, ex-aldcman, possessing til
T. unlimited confidence OF this community, recen
ly dooamped in bark for parts unknown wit
10 at least half million Of money, aud larg
ID cargo of lumber. lie forged the stock of I'll
is California Lumber Company, of which he W,
is President on which he realized nearly quartz
IN OF million he hypothecated over million