The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1884-01-21
The Great Disaster.

III 10 long lime since wreck, SO awful
in its consequences and SO thrilling in its de-
tails as that of the City of Columbus, has
occurred on our coast. Over one hundred
persons, large proportion OF them well
known in Boston and the ether New Eng
land cities where they had their homes, have
persisted under circumstances of peculiar
horror and hardship. There have been dis
asters where as many, or more, have lost
their lives; but they did not affect us SO
deeply as this one. The steamer. etauncb
and powerful vessel, sailed from Boston ON
Thursday afternoon with every prospect of a
safe and agreeable voyage The passengers
were cheerful ii the expectation Of soon es-
Gaping the rigors of our climate and enjoy
ing the warmth and comfort of the favored
uth Before another morning broke they
were swallowed up in the chilly sea, or
clinging for life to the rigging of the sunken
vessel exposed to the severity of the winter
wind.
The thing which makes this calamity seem
uncommonly sad IS the circumstance that it
is unaccountabe on any theory which is
consistent with ordinary carefulness. No
fire broke out to drive the victims into the
sea. There was no explosion or derangc-
nient of machinery to render the vessel un-
manageable. There was no furious gale,
battling the best efforts of engineers and pi-
lots. There was no storm to blind them, no
fog to hide the peril. The vessel was sound
and safe, the wind was strong but not dan
gArously SO, the place was common highway
of ships, perfectly known and charted,
beacons and buoys were all about, the moon
was shining brightly, and the course was
unobstructed. Nevertheless the ship was
run upon well known dangerous rocks al
most under warning beacon light that had
been in view for at least an hour. She was
long way ont of the broad road of safety.
and appears to have been wrecked as unnec
essarlly as the Brooklyn was run upon the
rocks of Fort Gorges in this harbor.
When the captain left the pilot house in
charge of the second officer the vessel NAV
have been on proper course. If so, she
got out of it. Had this happened in a hur-
ricane when she could not be controlled, or
in storm, or fog which hid all the neigh
boring landmarks, the mystery would be ex-
plcable; but these were not the conditions.
Every landmark from which to take bearings
was in plain view. How then was the yes
sci suffered to get out of her course? How
did she happen TO get out of it without the
fact being discovered by those on watch?
How could they fail to know that she was
passing peiilously near to Gay Head with It's
outlying reefp Did somebody trust to his
judgment TO pass the point of danger shy a
close shave?" to escape it by a cables
length, instead Of stunning it by>s,slnilep to
sight tie outlying buoy as he sailed past?
we may never know this. We do know
that while there was abundant sea-roam.
and al the guiding lights were in sight, aud
the vesselnnder perfect control, she was
driven directly on the Devils Bridge, and
hundred lives were cruelty forfeited.
When it is apparent that no human fore
sight or care could have avoided great cal
amity, when men are confident that every
thing was done that could be done to pre-
vent it, even then it is dreadful aud hard
to bear. But when, as in this case, the
avoidance of it would have been easy aud
the wonder is why IL was not avoided, the
conviction that it was unnecessary intensi-
fies every woe. We do not undertake to say
who is blameworthy, but the noble vessel
which sailed out OF Boston harbor SO brave
ly last Thursday is foundered on an easily
avoided reef, most of her gay passengers are
CHASTITY corpses, hundreds of families are
plunged in sudden grief, and no narrative Of
the circumstances which we have seen is
consistent with the theory that this has hap
pened in spite of due care and fidelity