The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1854-08-22

Thirteen years have rolled axsy, with thsir loys
and sorressl tssis hopss and fssis their a.sacipar
ashes, spce tie happy thrOng that waved their
adieus and shoated good bye,n from the dechs d
that new and stannch steamer" the Erie, wers
borne away from our wharves, one bright summer
amid the Haunting Of banners, and accompanied by
the best wishes Of hundreds Of spectators Gro wding
her forward and lower decks were scores On scores
Of forei people. freshly arrived from Tho densely
broad pFsirs~s Of our fan land, to reaching which
they now looked with hopes stimulated BY pros
porous voyage thus far, and cheerful reliance
upon the good shio beneath them and her expe-
rienced crew. As hey stood there, The young, the
sged the parent and child, sexes and conditions all
mingled In the pursuit Of the one object, the seek.
ing new home among strangers, In cline Of
which they knew absolutely mourning, those Inflated
thought 81 Ss Psl 81 ne se
soon y be presented 70 their bewildered minds, Of
death by the demon Of IRE, or -quieter grave be-
heath the waters Of the lake that looked 80 placid
and 20 innocent Of danger. Thus she went OF, with
ing, and majestically ploughed the bosom Of her
adopted element, the peerless and unrivalled craft
that ives to bear the palm from all contestants.
There were some WHO came 70 the wharf TOO late,
those on bra d, and many . c0ntemptuous laugh.
Bnt later at nigh. there came the awful rumor OF
ship on fire and burning at sea, and those who
watched the great globe Of fire, and saw it rise and
fall upon the swelb, know 1t for beacon Of death
and woe, and went shud dering to their coaches TO
await the morning with its full revelations Of disas
teri. .ts.-. ....a. .s... --
Thirteen years have passed since then, and many
another calamity has obscured, with its dark story,
the details Of that Dreadful night For thirteen
years the ashes Of the Erie dead have been washed
by he surees that doomed their requiem uuon the
lonely beech and tossed the bones of the Victims,
and tran that mt l,s Hkoun nvSI
the sands and shells Of the deep, in one confused
heap. s...e,.sttese 49, tI
But once more the light Of day shines in upon
the secrets that the sea has 50 long kept and the
ocean renders up its charge, at the behest Of men
who claim the hidden tr asures. As Of old the
savage nations consecrated great enterp lee by
the Acriice Of living beings, this exploration Of
the watery sepulchre has been accompanied by new
those who would have learned the lesser ones. But
long and difficult labor has accomplished the task Of
the seaIcters, end their zeal has been rewarded.
BY the courtesy Of Messrs. Mann, Vail 4 Co, and
the gentlemen In their Office, we were yesterday
shown the results Of the enterprise as FAR ~ they
have been revealed; and q melancholy story they
tel. TIE coin which has been obtained from the
wreck Is partly American and partly French. Some
were depoeitt in the HOLSTER Bank and about the
same amount in gold, which had been burned and
disCOlO1ed, but without loss of value com letes the
tale Of perecs coins rescued thus far. BY far the
STtdttK bDOuut VI IledsuIc ID prOOaOiy CO0LameJ
the unshapen mass Of metal which have been taken
from the mud and ashes in the bottom of the hull.
These present the appt arance Of having been melted
and cropped INFO the water and are Of gold and
siSeI-ns some cases, perhaps, with the baser metals
mingled in tnen-sLd only by their great weight
revealing their intrinsic wo. tn. Roueanx of five
franc pieces, which, having been slightly tipped
from the perpendicular, are solderet together by
fusion: and in one case, we noticed q gold piece
with single link of lsdy's watch guard adhering
to its edge, as if placed there to suspend the coin.
The pork barrels are filed with this confused and
sgglomerated material, much Of 1t in bits like shot,
aud weighing altogether, some 600 pounds. Be-
sides this, there are many pounds weight OF coin
partly melted and ciiDeing t0geSher very curousy
At rough estimate, if the metal prove only silver,
We should say that $40 900 of teasue has been 10
covered, which, with the avails Of the machinery,
iron, &C., will MAIZE handsome return for tne
outlay.
Our article is already so extended that we have
room only to advert to the other yaluablss that
have been brought to light, and which, even more
thsn the money, seem to carry the mind by ass0cia-
tion, back to the owners Of IL all. Tue household
eo1ds the little familiar articles Of property at
directly point TO home and its JOY and tell the tale
Of sorrow SO plainly, atches. with the hands point.
ing to the boar when they stopped for ever Knives
even the little ppeH that were in the pockets OF she
dead, all act M silent historians an ,emembrancers
OF the awful event. and seem, by tleis familiar look
take us back, st 0uce, to the day and moment
when thote who used them were hurried from life
into death as horrible az unlocked for.