The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1857-06-25
Melancholy

Mr.. George E. Smith.
Melancholy s~hipwFeck.
The following interesting account Of the loss of the
American ship Cathedral, belonging s. to Messrs. Enocn
Train & Co., off Cape Horn, on her way from Phlia,
delphia to San Francisco, has been klnd!y iurnisnSu
TO us. saws the Panama Star and Herald, Tor pupil-
cation by Mr.. A. r. Clarke, late Chief Otlcer Oh the
i'll fated vessel, who, together with the second, tniro
and fourth officers and cook, are at present III .Ms
city, from whence they will be passed home oy ~
.Messrs Enoch Train & Co.:
Geatlemen.-It is with sincere and heartfelt SOTO"
that 1 write to announce to you the total loss VI st ~
noble ship Cathedral and her gallant ana l!i-raVeG
commander. VIM. H. Howard, which took place ~
Cane. Horn on the afternoon of Wednesday, Feoruagy
18th. 1857. while in latitude $50 S, and longitude
600 3StW The full particulars OF TINS Helan0hoS
disaster I shall now proceed to detail.
At about 2 40 p. M, whilst lying to under close
reefed topsails, fore storm staysail and spencer Tue
ship heading to the southwark and west"aru' ~
about n. n. W., a tremendous sea sIrucA ny &c
and q heavy souall passing at the same moment sue
fell Immediately over on her beam ends. Inc caP'oin
being unable to leave his berth on account oi IL
| (be having been very unwel for a week previous 81
much so that at one time [ gave him up tor Il uynS
man \ T proceeded at once to inform him OF the
situation of the ship, and to request MS orueIs'
directed me to use every means IN my po"er 80
the vessel, and not to cut away the masCs eAooPtas
a last resource-I found, however, that no o'ner
means would avail, and accordingly gave the orueI
to cut away the mizen mast, which was uone' "
without any good effect. The main mast was nsAs
cut away, and, as it went over the sue, ~ 1aaLoS
away with it the gaIOWs, upon Wnlch were en-
the life boats, the Captains gig and q "hale OVo..
AS l then perceived that the ship did not pay Oh, u
lay dead in the trough of the sea, setting moreesely
moment and as the carpenter reported that "a'er
betV cen the decks through the forwards cuttle'
directed the second officer to go forward anu ote"
away the long boat which was dashed on the weather
side of the forward house, while went peio~ ~
oHrpooJ flo Tonfoip of What Il had done. i UOlu
him that in my opinion the vessel would go down IN
a very short time and requested him to allow me 70
have him carried out and placed on board the Doat;
This, however, he refused, declaring tnat ne Wouru
never leave the shin. and that the boat could not live
five minutes in such a sea. [ then went again on
deck, when the third officer informed me that tne
topsides were open, the coal falling out anu the water
rushing in. Again L went below to the captain W
inform him that the ship was rapidly settling, ana 10
beg him to go with me, but he refused, and as L was
endeavoring to prevail upon him, the ship 1en over
full upon her side. and the water Immedlateiy nan
filled the cabin. The Captain then cried out 10 me,
6 For Gods sake, save YOURSELF and as L perceived
the vessel must go down in a very few minutes, ana
that no time was. to be lost, L broke the window out
on the weather side of the cabin, and first pushing
the Doctor, (who had remained by the Captaln,)
through the window, l followed him myself, and ran
along on the bilge of the vessel outside her channeIs,
and leaped down upon the side OF the forward mouse,
breaking it through, and falling up 10 my snouluerS'
[ Immediately got out, and leaping into the water,
was picked up and placed into the boat which had
been foated off the house by the sea, so far mad the
vessel gone down into the water. Having picked up
all whom we could, although owing to our having no
oars we were obliged to leave the Doctor and one man
on board the wreck, as they would not jump over
board, and we could not get near them, we showed
off, and had hardly got fifteen yards from the VesseI,
when a tremendous sea struck her, lifted her up,
swept us around her stern and covered her had at once
from our sight. We Saw nothing of her afterwards,
except a few pieces of board and one spare spar.
1t was just ~forty-fve minutes from the time the
ship was thrown upon her beam ends until she ols-
appeared forever from our sight.
When the main mast carried the four after boats
over the side, all the oars which were on deck, being
dashed inside them, of course went also, and the spare
oars were below and of course inaccessible to us.
We therefore found ourselves 90 in number, on
board an open boat with neither oars nor sails. One
half our number-the watch which was below at the
time of the acknowledging in the clothes they LETT
their berths in, and with nothing but three or four
pieces of batten, a piece of the loom of an oar and a
small piece of board which we broke from the bottom
ceiling of the boat to keep her head to wind.
During the whole time of the disaster, a bark and
ship were in sight of us to leeward, the bark, at the
time the ship went down, being distant about three
miles, bearing about S. L. Towards her all our hopes
were directed, but we soon found that she drifted lee
ward faster than we did, and that our only chance
would be to put the boat before the wind and run
down to her. This, after much trouble, we succeeded
in doing, by making some of the men stand up In the
bows of the boat and spread out their oil jackets, and
after several hours of hard labor, in bailing and
keeping the boat before the wind, we rounded to un-
der the sterno fthe bark finn Pitcairn Sharp, Urinary
port, England, Capt. Robert Glaister Sharp, to whom,
under Providence, ia due our lives. He had hove to
on seeing our disaster, determined to wait till day
light and then run over the spot to see if any one
could be picked up, as neither he nor his officers
expected for a moment that any boat could live in
such a sea, and owing to the squalls which were con-
stantly passing, it was impossible for him to see us so
far to Windward, though he had a look out at the
main topmast head.
This, gentlemen, is the full and circumstantial
accoTDf of tho most 1amonfablo opd rpforoeaop oofaa
trOphe which it has ever been my misfortune to be
concerned in. Lamentable ON account of the loss Of
life which occurred, especially that Of the Captain,
and unforeseen, as no one could have foreseen or
fancied an accident of this description happening to
a vessel so strongly built and so well bulkheaded as
the Cathedral.
INGENUITY OF BIRDs.-Thrushes feed very much
OF snails, looking for them in messy banks. Having
frequently observed some broken snail-shells near two
projecting pebbles on a gravel walk, which had a
hollow between them, l endeavored to discover the
occasion of their being brought to that situation. Al