The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1856-1888, 1862-07-03
Foreign Items.

Nearly One-half of the beautiful village of Coopers-
own y. T., has been laid IN ruins, by two confa-
gratlons which have occurred there, one on Thursday
OF last week, the other on Tuesday of the present
Out OF Z hotels only 2 remain. At one time every
family in the village had their goods packed I'D for
removal, for 1t was feared that the whole town would
be consumed.
An official dispatch from Commodore Dupont gives
an account of the surrender of the rebel armed steam
er Planter, on the 18th, by her colored pilot, in the
absence of her captain and officers. That morning
the pilot, with the aid of some contrasands. took her
from the wharf, close to the Government Offices in
charleston, and brought her past the forts i'm the har-
Dor with the rebel flag flying. After getting out of
the range oil the guns of the forts he hauled down the
nag and surrendered to the fleet. She was armed
with a 32-Pounder and a 81 pound howitzer, and
had also on deck four other guns which were to be
taken TO a new fort on the middle ground the morn
ing of her escape.
New YORK, May 1-OpPosIrIoS CALIFoRs1.
STEAMSHIP LINE.-ln the journals of to-day there is
an advertisement calling for the sc third - instalment
on the shares OF the new Central American Transit
Company. This looks n little like business, and may
serve to strengthen the faith Of those parties who
have not hitherto been very firm believers in the
substantial existence Of this company. Nothing fur
Their can be learned of the operations of the parties TO
this enterprise, as they choose to remain entirely in
communicative. The two Collins steamships, the
Baltic and -fHaAtic. which you will recollect it was
stated were to run in the line, are now in this port,
but sill, under charter to the Government. In the
meantime Pacific Mail stock is wonderfully buOyant,
while Panama keeps but n few steps behind il. This
would seem to show that the parties who manage
these two companies have not yet begun to put faith
In the vitality Of the threatened opposition. whatever
others may do.
\ FRIGHT To \ BALLOONER-Tbere was an acct
dent Of a most thrilling nature at McClelIan's head
quarters on April 18th, Gen. Fitz John Porter
assembled in the balloon for the purpose of recOnnois-
ance. When high up the rope broke and OF foatcd
the balloon directly over the enemy's intrenchments.
The officer was considered to be inevitably lost. The
hearts that were wrung with the hardness and
sirangeness of his fate. were suddenly cheered as
well as amazed with the spectacle of the return of
the balloon over our own camps. 1t had assembled to
n counter current of air, and was waited with its
precious freight back to safety. Once again over his
own troops, the soldier aeronaut pulled the valve and
discharged the gas from the balloon and came down
to the earth with Il run, entirely unframed. What
he saw is for military use and not for publication
REBEL DGsPoxDENCY.-The tone of the most of the
letters found in the rebel camps at the West is ex-
ceedingly respondent, indicating great decentralization
in the rebel ranks. One of them. apparently from
an officer, and addressed to the Hon. \. VI. Gentry
of Texas, is thus prefaced : For obvious reasons, |
do not sign my name to this letter; but you will
know at once whom it is from" The reasons are
rendered - obvious" by the following paragraph
" tell you, Colonel, that there is no use in fur
Their resistance. Our troops are utterly demoralized,
heart-sick and home-sick. My regiment has not
been paid n cent in five months, and L. who, rs you
know, am worth in ordinary times 500. 900, am
obliged TO borrow the price of the postage upon this
letter. How can men be expected TO fight under such
circumstances
RUSSELL on THE PEA RIDGE BArTLE-The magni-
tude and severity of the action at Pea Ridge are
shown by the official returns of the killed and wound
ell on the Federal side, which General Curtis places
at 400. 1t must have been a picturesque combat,
and is well described in the UOrid. Sigel and his
Germans, behaved nobly. and saved the baggage
train and rear guard by determ. ned, hard fighting,
against which the wild Texans and Indians with shot
guns, bowie knives AMI scalping knives could not
stand. Their batteries ran short of ammunition,
also; and the loss of the leaders-the so often slain
Ben ~Culloch, as well rs Mcintosh, accelerated their
headIong rout under Price and Van Dorm. The
Indians acted as sayageS-scaipIng dead and wound
ed on the feld.-LOHdOH Times.
ANOTHER MONSTER GUN.-One of ROdman's To-
inch guns was successfully cast recently ut the Fort
Pitt Works in Pittsburg. This Is the third casting
made of these guns, and the work Will soon be re-
garded as an everyday performance. The process
as follows The rough casting IN the PIT weighs
about 5000 pounds, and nearly 40 tons of metal
were melted for the purpose in three furnaces. The
furnaces were fired about D O'Clock, and at S minutes
past 10 the first furnace was - tapped" y line OF
trorphs or .srunners' had been laid from the farth-
est furnace, some so feet, the scond furnace about
Joining in, and the two streams emptying,
With that from the first furnace, into q large cauId-
ron at the edge of the pit, from which two streams
liverged, and passing around the pit emptled INTO
he gun on opposite sides of the core barrel. The
were tapped i'll succession and nearly all the
metal allowed To run out before the next In order
,as opened. At 2i minutes past 10 the mould was
He'd i'm lust 16 minutes from the opening OF the nrst
showing that the metal must have poured
nto il at the rate of nearly two and a haII tons per
minute.