The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1875-05-20

Perhaps the most dangerous part of the coast
of England is the cluster of isles, hundred
and forty in number, off Lands End, Cornwall,
and known as the Scilly Isles. Only six of
them are large enough to be habitable. All
the rest are mere outcroppings of granite rocks,
some of which rise conspicuousy above the
surface of the sea, whilst the sharpe and rug
ged crests of others are only visible at low tide.
Of these, the worst the mariner has to encoun-
ter is the scattered group that has been known
for more than two centuries by the singular
title of "The Bishop and his Clerks" The
dread of being wrecked on these treacherous
rocks is 80 great to seamen approaching or
leaving the coast of Cornwall, that in stormy
weather they give wide berth, and when logs
prevail they stand off until the weather clears.
Yet from mismanagement, or recklessness, or
from the too great confidence of skilled mari
ners in their ability to navigate the channels
between the islets, disasters are of frequent
occurrence. There are lighthouses on the
islands, one at St. Agnes, and another on the
rock known as the Bishop, the peril of striking
either that fantastic mass or the multitude of
low-lying rocks (his clerks) scattered about for
a space of several miles, being the greatest of
any. 1t was on these rocks that in 1907 three
English ships-ofwar, forming part of the Med
iterranean squadron of Sir Cloudesley Shovel,
struck in the night and went to pieces, with a
loss of two thousand lives, including that of
the Admiral. His body was subsequently
thrown on the sandy beach of St. Mary's Is
land, but so disfgured that it was only identi-
fed by the emeral ring that the Admiral was
accustomed to wear. The other six ships mar
rowly escaped the same fate. The loss of this
brave Admiral, who had risen from the posi-
ton of cabin boy to the chief command of the
English Navy, and of so many hardy seamen,
was mourned all over England, and from the
magnitude of the disaster is one of the saddest
incidents in her naval annals. Other terrible
wrecks have occurred there even of late years
the most notable being that of the steamer
Thames, when 81 persons we're swallowed up
by the remorseless sea, and of the Douro, with
all on board. We have now to record the loss
of the steamship Schiller on her voyage from
New York to Hamburg via Cherbourg The
Schiller, one of the finest Clyde-built vessels,
was complete in all her appointments. She
was built with other steamships of the same
class, for the German Transatlantic Steam
Navigation Company, but the business, prov
ing improbable, the line was consolidated
short time since with that of the Hamburg
American Packet Company. The Schiller left
New York on her fatal voyage twelve days
ago, carrying one hundred and forty-fye cabin,
and one hundred and twenty steerage passen-
gers. Including the officers and crew The total
humber of souls on board was three hundred
and eighty-nine Of these, up to the present
time only, forty-three are known to have been
saved. From the accounts of the terrible Ca
tastrophe which have reached us thus far, it
appears that she struck the rocks apparently
of the group known as the "Bishop and his
Clerks" at 10 o'clock on Friday night in the
midst of a dense fog; and it is remarkable
circumstance connected with her fate, and with
the confidence of those who went so hopefully
on board of her to revisit the Fatherland-for
the great bulk of the passengers were Ameri-
canized Germans-that her commander, Capt.
Thomas, was regarded as one of the best Off
GERS in the service of the company 1t would
be idle to moralize over an event that has
brought profound grief to many German fami-
lies in this country and great sorrow to kins-
men and friends who were waiting to welcome
the victims. Nor is it worth while to specu-
late on the cause Of the catastrophe, but we
feel more than ever the propriety and the SOL
omn beauty of that prayer in the Protestant
Episcopal Church service "for those who 60
down to the sea in ships."- Baltimore Gazette.