The daily union., 1854-01-11
The Mails Of the . .winneld scott.

We have been furnished by the Post Office Departm ent
with the following Of letters giving an account
OF these mails The FIRST 10 from report OF Frank W.
Henderson to the postmaster Of San Francisco dated
18th December, 1858. He says;
Il otedionce 70 your instructions. reported myself TO
Captain Mclane Of the Pacido Mail Steamship ConPa-
nys Republic and sailed IRON san Francisco on
~. .v.nne OF the 9Th Instant the island Of Anacupa 10
inform alton In regard the mails which des-
.,cbed from this port tho winfield Sect on The La,
ir,.n We reached the anchorage noar the wreck oth~
Scott on the 10Th instant, at II, p m after stormy and
.As IL was TOO that night to visit the wreck nothing
-. done exec pt the embakaton Of the officers and
of ths shipwrecked vessel.
r,on What coad from the officers OF the Scott
,hrt .bou, (4S forty eight of the bags Of mail matter
had hsen saved the ship and forwarded In the steam.
,hp Csifoana prior arrival Ihey also informed
me tina, mabags which were gotten OUT and
war. IN very wet and damaged state and fear that II
M, detained and dried Panama, they viii be so much
ch. fad on their arrival New York as to render the
of the letters almost entirely iicgble II s
think much to be regretted 'na' he who'e mai 80 "o
leA to be returned to this ofhce.
On sunday lith inst wen, on board of the steamer
n6eld sco 70 what could be done to save the re-
n,,ndsr Of the mall found the maii'room OF the scott
to be in Freehold Of the shp-heiow she water we az
all time,-and that whatever mail matter was then on
bo. I'd the ship was least osrreen feet under water
ain company with Capt Biun, OF the Scott and Capt
Ncf ma OF the Republic went down to examine the
of the mal-rOom, ana WosS kohb1"V" so'S ~ -
th,, decided opinion Ia. 1t was mine at the tme) that
there was no possibility of saving any portion oil the mails
then on board. !,
. ne, ,srinr some time consider upon the mater,
determined with the consent OF Captain hunt 70 ohef
reward of $40 per bag whatever portion OF The mails
that might be recovered Captain Blunt put Immediately at
nv disposal and seven men, and py sp m hao
the good fortune 0) twenty bags which took on
board of the Republic with The next day the search
was prosecuted at and two more bags Were re-
covered when tho commenced breaking SO violently
upon the ship render Il impossible to save anything
else besides being TO remain on ooafu the men
were recalled board the Republic and az D. p. NJ oil
Monday the 18th Instant got under way for San Fran
cisco and after encountering severe gales and hesy
weather. the Republic anchored In this harbor m on
the IA,h instant
shouid aso mention that Captain Blunt ordered he
r,,.., of mi. s,eamer TO pay to the the S22o"
In transmitting this report Of Mr. Henderson, the post
..t.r Of San Francisco, under date OF 18th December,
says;
In consequence OF his [Mr Hendersonsl energy, TWEEN
v,xo bag, were brought up the mail room OF the
steamer though fourteen feet under water These bags
vere brought from the wreck. and now being re-
handled We are now engaged in opening the packages
and drying them An the letters brought back viii be pre-
served and in a condition forward per ensuing mall
am vet unable report how many bags II any, were lost
Il seems that foyeght bags were taken on board the
e,u,er California these, with twenty two brou Rht M.
make seventy leaving twenty lost unaccouned Tor.
The bags brought back contain abou, ten thousand letters
all Of them for New Yotk city and distribution"
or The mails frs, taken from the wreck, il appears from
the report OF Colonel Ward, the post office agent at Pana
ma that sixty bags (ins,ead Of foyeghi as supposed
by The postmaster OF San Francisco) brought to
Panama by the "Calfornia'-ihe steamer which took
the place of the 'Win6eld Scott" With these sixty
there were nins o,her bags, containing supplementary
mail from San Francisco OF December 7h made up after
the wreck, making the sixty bags referred to By
Colonel Ward. As bu, ninety bags were originally put
board the Winfield Scott and as the sixty which went
forward by the California and the twenty-five sent back
make eighty Two, it follows that eight bags only remain
with the wreck The injured mails received by The last
arrival those OF course, detained 81 Panama to dry
Colonel Ward. under date OF goth December writes;
"Sirty-nioe bags OF the California mail OF December
is,. pat board the mail steamship Winfield Scott,
wrecked the 81 instant. received here from the
steamship Csliornis ia vety condition thirty one
bags Of which Immediately forwarded having been
selected the dnest. The remainder being much
damaged by thst TO snd them forward would be 70
esus total oss therefore opened the bazs here, and