Ashtabula weekly telegraph. [volume] (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1853-1873, 1870-06-18
Missing Ships.

The mysterious disappearance in the
Atlantic Ocean of the steamer City of
Boston, with large number of passen-
gers on board, recalls to mind many
similar cases in the annals Of ocean navi-
CATION. Two occurred in the eighteenth
century, which attracted general atten-
ton. The first of these was the diSap-
pearance in 1869, of the British frigate
Aurora, bound for India, which, after
touching at the Cape of Good Hope, was
never again heard Of. The poet Falcon
er, author of "The Shipwreck," was or
board of her as purser. The other in
stance was that of La Perouse, the
French navigator, who after long cruise
of discovery in the Pacific Ocean with
the frigates Astrolabe and Boussole, left
Botany Bay early in 1928, and was new
er heard of again; tho in 1928, traces of
wrecks were found on the New Hebrides,
which are now tho't to have been those
of the missing squadron. The disappear
ance Of the President, in lS4l, caused the
most unparalleled excitement. Ocean
steamers were novelties in those days
for only few years had elapsed since a
well-known philosopher had pronounced
it impossible to cross the Atlantic by the
aid of steam alone. The President left
New York early in January, and was dis
paired of in April. Tremendous weather
had prevailed during the interval, and
unusual quantities of ice had been seen
in low lalitudes. Among her passengers
were Lord Fitzroy Lennoy, son OF the
Duke of Richmond, and Tyrone Power,
the celebrated Irish actor. In 1854 the
screw w-propcller City of Glasgow lett Liy-
erpool, tor Philadelphia, on the lst of
March, with four hundred and eight per-
SONS on board in all. She has never since
been heard of, and no fragments which
could be identified have been discovered.
In 1856 the Collins steamer Pacific left
Liverpool on the 23d of January, with
one hundred and eighty-six persons on
board, among whom were Messrs. Eliot
Warburton and Catherwood the artist.
Nothing has since been heard of her, and
she is supposed to have struck on an ice
berg. In 1862 the steamer l.ite-guard,
Which left Newcastle on the goth of De
cember, disappeared, and is supposed to
have foundered off Marlborough Head.
These are the only cases within our knowl-
edge where large steamship has disap-
lieared without leaving behind a trace OF
her existence; but, as an example of the
manner in which such terrible calamities
may occur, we may cite the case OF the
Fefort, Russian vessel-of-war of eighty
four guns, which, in the year 1857, heel
ed over and went down bodily in the
Gulf of Cronstadt, in sight Of three OF
her consorts. The whole ships compa-
ny, amounting to eight hundred and thir-
ty six persons, were drowned. No hu-
man tongue survived to tell how the Hun
garian, Canadian steamer, was wrecked.
She was discovered, in 1859, on the rocks
near Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, and, tho
two hundred persons had been OH board,
only three bodies were found, while the
mail-bags were reduced to PHlp. The
Prussian corvette Amazon may doubt
less be enrolled in the list of missing
ships. In 1861 she disappeared from the
ocean and some arm-racks, containing
swords and guns, marked "F. W." Erred
erck William), found on the sands offthe
Helder, are the only proofs of her wreck