The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-05-13


doubled the anxiety felt before
Mr.. Inman three months after the
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 il i 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 1876 ii was sucmised
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 the
Atlantic from north TO south. At the
same time that the Bottom was missing
the Sarnaria, of the Cunard line and the
ironclad Atlanta, which had been sold
after the war to the president of Hayti
were also supposed to be lost.
Another steamship which, like the
CITY of Boston, was never heard of
after leaving port was the Pacific. of
the Collins line. The Pacific sailed
from Liverpool for this port in Februa-
~, 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 foundered 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 afloat at the time it started on its
last voyage. 1t was built at Newcas-
tie in 1864, and was of $500 tons. 1t
was 415 feet long. Al feet wide, and SIS
deep. 1t left New Yorl, December %,
1884, for Liverpool with a crew of 90
men under charge of Capt. Tyson. The
deck cargo consisted of 52S cattle. The
Erin was sighted December 81 off Cape
Sable, proceeding east under full
head of steam, and that was the last
seen of it. The British steamship
Creole, Capt. Darling, picked up life
boat January containing ten ash oars
and bearing the name Erin" Near
the boat fioated life buoy. steam
er's bridge and an awning. The Gallia,
which arrived few days later, re-
ported that it had passed through
great mum Der Of floating carcasses 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 as matter of fact the YES
sci was not a London ship. The fact
that the Florida had lost 40 cattle was
given as an explanation OF the Gallia's
find. News was expected for long
while from the Azores, but none came.
1t was not until the limos from
Gibraltar and the Astral from Rotter
dam arrived a. New York, the former
passing over the track of the Erin
without reporting any news of the
missing ship, that hope was abau-
doned. Three months after the Erin
sailed 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 a matter of few minutes only.
The London board of trade, in it's 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 to
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 the
human freight at least of ships long
missing has been saved the most re-
marlable proba bly, is that of the Dam
mark of the Thingvalla line. The
Danmark, Capt. knudsen, with 720
Norwegian and Swedish emigrants,
left Copenhagen March 20.
So long was the vessel missing that
It's loss seemed assured.
The City of Chester, of the Inman
line, Capt. Bond, which arrived at
Queenstown April II, reported that in
latitude 80 degrees north, longitude 81
degrees west, it had passed the aban-
doned Danmark The fact, however,
that the boats of the Danmark 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 il had been in tow of some
other vessel.
1t was not until April % that news
was received Of the Daumark's passen-
gers. all of whom were safe. The yes
sci had broken its shaft in a storm
April 1, and Law helpless in heavy seas.
Forum ately the Missouri, from Lon
don, bound for Philadelphia and Balti-
more, fell in with the almost sinking
ship. The Missouri took the Danmark
in tow but on the following dsv, as
the disabled ship seemed likely 10 sink
at any moment, it was cast adrift.
The Missouri, previous TO this, had
taken aboard but twenty Of the Dan
marks passengers, bat now it jet
tisoned its cargo and took aboard all
Most Of them were left on the Azores,
bat the Missouri brought so 20 Phiia-
delphia- Engineer Kaas. Of the Dan
mark. was killed when the shaft broke.
The list OK marine accidents and mrs
te-ics might be multiplied indefinitely.
i Is 20 be noted. however. that the
adoption Of international codes Of sig
nails and regulations and the advance
in the art Of shipbuilding are render
ing the percentage OF accidents smaller
each year. Chicaco Tribzne.
An interesting east-sIdc institution
in New YORK city IS = cider saloon.
where IUtche~, county man sells
cider OF MS OWE manufacture. IN spite