The Van Buren press., 1893-04-29

6ontouvcS, Wnero business was tmmo-
diately suspended. while the members
congratulated one another on the good
tidingA In this city preparations were
made to fire cannon in the City Hall
park and otherwise to celebrate the
safe arrival of the missing vessel
A second dispatch arrived few
hours later which put an end to thS
preparations for the celebration. II
announced that there was NO founda-
tion for the ne WIS that the City OF hos
ton was safe. Tho disappointment re-
doubled the anxiety felt before.
Mr.. Inman three months after tho
ship sailed, in letter to the board of
trade Of London, gave as his opinion
that the City of Boston had got into .
big field of floating ice, where 1t had
probably foundered in q storm.
Bottles containing alleged news from
passengers aboard the City of Boston
were found yearly for half dozen
years after the disappearance Of the
ship. As late as 1915 1t was surmised
that the vessel had been blown up by
dynamite, exploded by an Internal ma
chine.
The winter and spring Of 1870 was =
season Of terrific gales that swept tho
Atlantic from north to south. At tho
same time that the Boston was missing
the Samaria, of tho Cunard line, and the
ironclad Atlanta, which had been sold
after the war to the president of Hayti
were also supposed to oe lost
Another steamship which, like the
City OF Boston, was never heard OF
after leaving port was the Pacific. of
the Collins line. Tho Pacific sailed
from Liverpool for this port in Februa-
ry, 1856. The ocean was secured for
some trace of it by steamers sent out
for that purpose, among them being
the Arctic, the vessel which went to
the Polar seas in search of DR.. Kane.
Whether the Pacific foundcred In
storm, was sunk by collision with an.
other vessel or by running into an Ice
cerg or was burned was never learned.
The fate of the Erin of the National
line is still fresh in the memory of all.
The Erin was one of the stanchest YES
sells afoat ut the time it started on its
last voyage. 1t was built at Newcas-
tie in 1864, and was of $500 tons. It
was 415 feet long, II feet wide, and IS
deep. 1t left New York December as,
1885, for Liverpool with crew Of s.
men under charge of Capt. Tyson. The
deck cargo consisted Of 5ss cattle. The
Erin was sighted December 81 of Cape
Sable, proceeding east under full
nj 81 nd hat I<~k
seen Of 1t. The British steamship
Creole, Capt. Darling, picked up life-
boat January Q containing ten ash oars
and bearing the name ERIN" Near
the boat Aoated life buoy, o steam
er's bridge and an awning. The Gallia,
which arrived few days later, re-
ported that 1t had passed through q
great number of floating csrcassea Of
cattle.
In spite of this hope was not aban-
doned. Capt. Darling OF the Creole
had reported that the boat which he
picked up bore the name ERIN of LON
don," when rs o matter Of fact the vcs-
sci was not q London ship. The fact
that the Florida had lost 40 cattle was
given Us an explanation OF the Gallin's
find. News was expected for loug
while from the Azores, but none came.
1t wus not until the Timos from
Gibraltar and the Astral from Rottcr-
dam arrived At New York, the former
passing over the track Of the Erin
without reporting any news Of the
missing ship, that hope was aban-
doned. Three months after the Erin
sailed a bottle was found containing .
letter purporting to have been written
by one Of the dozen cattle men aboard,
stating that the ship was burning and
death by fire or water In the great
storm which was raging at the time
was matter of few minutes only.
The London board of trade, In its re-
port on the loss Of the Erin, stated that
the vessel had probably been over
loaded, but the board did not venture
the opinion that it was this that led 10
the loss Of the ship. The Erin, the
board declared. had PROBABLY found.
cred in the heavy January gales
OF the fortunate cases In which tho
human freight at least Of ships long
missing has bcen saved tho most re-
inarkable probably is that Of the Dam
mark Of the Thingyalla line. The
Danmark. Capt Knudsen, with 72o
Norwegian and Swedish emigrants,
left Copenhagen March 20. -
So long was the vessel missing that
its loss seemed assured.
The City of Chester, Of the lnman
line, Capt Bond, which arrived at
Queenstown April IL, reported that In
latitude 40 degrees north, longitude 81
degrees west, it had passed the abAn-
doned Danmark. The fact, however,
that the boats Of the Daninark were re-
ported missing seemed to indicate that
the passengers might be safe. and the
chains fastened to the bow of the aban.
doned steamer led shipping men to be-
lieve that it had been in tow Of some
other vessel.
1t was not until April % that news
was received of the Danmark's passen.
gers, all of whom were safe. The ves-
sci had broken its shaft in storm
April 4, and lay helpless In heavy seas.
Fortunately the Missouri, from Lon
don, bound for Philadelphia and Balti-
more, fell in with the almost sinking
ship The Missouri took the psnmsrl<
in tow, but ON the following day, as
the disabled ship seemed likely to sink
at any moment, It was cast adrift.
The Missouri, previous to this, had
taken aboard but twenty Of the Dam
marks passengers, but now It jet
| ticouad TIC oorno and kcolr o1xoo ~ = II