, 1858-11-12
Only 81 Passengers Saved!

As were preparing to go to press Mr. JOINS n
SCRANTON arrived here from the Columbia river -.
has kindly placed us in possession of New York ao,..
OF October 9th, and from San Francisco of Octoh.-
z9th and SOth-indednitely ahead of the mail. Tbs
steamer Co'teS had arrived at Portland, bringing nm
the papers to which we have referred.
The San Francisco Bulletin contains n Dr0..- a.,
synopsis of the news containing the startling and mel
ancholy announcement Of the burning at sas NJ ~.
steamship austria, Capt HEYDrMANN, bv which .,r,s
500 lives were lost At the latest dates at leos, No
clue had been obtained to their fate other than tba,
they pershed in the flames, or were drowned T1.
AustTid was en- route from Hamburg to New YORK.
This terrible visitation occurred on the 18Th sen,.r
Der, in latitude As deg. NJ. longitude Al dec. 40 M
The bark Lotus, from Liverpool had arrived in Hals
fax harbor with IL Of the CT surviving passenger,
Some 40 others were rescued by the French bark
MauTiee, bound from New Foundlaud 70 the Isle or
Bourbon with fish; which craft neared the burning
vessel on the day of the catastrophe. A Norwegian
bark came up with the steamer the next morning and
boat was observed going around the burning shin
They may have picked up few persons, but only a
very few. large proportion Of the passengers were
immigrants for the United States, among whom were
many families. But six of the females were saved.
There were 46 men and women, and 10 children in the
first cabin; lO3 men and women and children in the
second cabin; and 2ll men and women and ssOhil-
dren as steerage passengers making in all I2O, The
crew consisted of about 100 persons; besides which
she may have taken at Southampton some so or 60
extra steerage ngers-making in all about $50
souls. The Austria had eight lifeboats but it seems
that in the excitement that pervaded the vessel the
chance for life afforded by them could not be advan
tageously avaied of several being so much crowded
as to cause them to Swamp. The first and third ona
GERS were saved. The Captain either threw himself
into the sea, or was drowned by the swampinR of
lifeboat The fire 10 known to have arisen from yery
cupable negligence of some of the crew. The csb-
tain aud surgeon considered 1t expedent to fumiRae
the steerage with burning tar Tho operation was to
be performed by the boatswain under the Supsrinteu
dence Of the fourth officer The boatswan heated the
end Of chain to dip into tar to produce smoke The
end became too hot to hold and be let it drop upon
the deck, to which it set fire. The tar upset, and i'm
mediatey all about was in flames.
This is terrible calamity, only equalled Of late
years by the fonnderng of the Central America last
year with the loss of many hundred Cahfonans. The
N. Y. Herald of the 2Tth SEPTEMBER the date
of the dispatch from Halfax-indulged inibopes that
many Of the passengers and crew Of the Astra sup
posed to be lost, might really have been saved
Tho overland stage which left St. Louis and Mem
phis on the 3Oth September arrived at San jose Cal,
on the 26th october-2s hours over schedule time,
with the mails. ....a
The pixies Peak" gold diggings have nzzled out;
$50 persons had prospected them thoroughly and
abandoned them, as they would not pan-out on an
average, more than so cents per day.
The Atlantic Telegraph Cable is not yet in working
order. A current was at one time received at this
end but it failed again. SO that the cable is still NOR.
ally, Geographically and literally precisely where il
was at our last advices from the Atlantic 1t Is as
certaned concusively, however, that the continuity
is not destroyed, and that it is not broken. ...
In Utah a term Of the District Court for the 50 Ju
dicial District had been commenced. Judge SING
CLAIR had delivered handsome address to the bar.
TroublePwas Anticipated with the Pahuta Indians.
The annual Fair Of the Desert Agricultural Society
had taken place.
We have room this week to give our readers fur
ther news received.