The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1893-04-09
DISASTERS ON THE OCEAN
Many Of Them are still ShrOadGd In
Mystery,
SOME TERRIBLE sRlPwREOKs
Vessels That Sailed Away Never to be
Heard From AEain--strange Cases
ofUnexplained Disappearance.

Continuing the list of noteworthy
marine disasters which was published
in these columns a few days ago, the
following will be read with interest:
A few days later the fine line-of-bat-
tie ship Prince George was burned at
sea while making a passage to Glib
ralter. She lost four hundred of her
crew. The Lichfield. Tilbury and Ram
lilies, all British men-of-war were the
next to visit Davy Jones locker Some
years afterward an entire British fleet
was rocked in West Indian hurricane,
all hands being lost. The vessels that
met disaster were the Thunderer, IA
guns; the Startling Castle, "a; Defiance.
Ga Phoenix, A; La Blanche, 80; Laurel,
2S Shark, 2S; Andromenda, 28; Deai
Castle, "a; Penelope, "a; Scarborough,
20; Barbados, IA; Chameleon, IA; En-,
deavor, IA; and Victoria, 10 guns.
The wreck of the Vile de Paris, OF
1O4 guns. one of Admiral Rodney's prlz-
es, shortly followed. Then came the
disaster to the 74-gun ship Superb; the
Cato. Admiral Sir Hyde Parker's fiaf
ship, and the brig Indianman. Count
Belgioioso, which went down off Dub
lin Bay, drowning lat of her passen.
gers and crew.
The wreck OF the Indianman, 70,
Halsewell followed soon after. She
carried 1886 persons to the bottom. Tn.
frigate Pandora next drowned 100 OF
her crew, and the the British frigatt
Lutine was wrecked of the coast OF
Holland. Only one person was saved
from the wreck, and he died before
reaching England 1870
During the next decade many trans
ports and men-of-war were lost. Tit
frigate Ajax was destroyed off the Islr
Of Tenedos, in which disaster $50 per
sons perished. Soon afterward thf
Prince of Wales and the Rochdale, TIVE
big British vessels, went ashore on the
Irish coast, drowning 300 Of those Oh
board
Scores of other disasters followed, but
one of the most pitlful of all was the
loss of the ship Amphitrite. bound te
New South Wales with female convict
on board. The vessel was lost on Bou
logne Sands, and. out of 1Sl person.
on board only three were saved.
The dreary record of death at se
without any effort being made to saw
the voyagers is broken by the ac
count Of the steamship Forfarshire
That vessel went ashore during VIC.
lent gale, but through the efforts OF
the Outer-Fern lighthouse keeper
James Darling, and his heroic daugh
ter, Grace. fifteen OF the fifty-three who
were ON board were saved.
The Protector, an East Indiaman
went down with ITO of her 17S passen-
gers and crew. off Bengal, and then
the transport Lord William Bentinck
went down off Bombay, taking recruits,
passengers and crew, with her.
Numerous other transports were lost
at that time. Concerning one of these
story is told which is romantic, but
apocryphal. 1t is to the effect that a
troop-laden vessel was caught in g
stress of weather, and that when she
began to sink the officer in charge Of
the detachment of soldiers ordered
his men to fall in on the quarterback
with arms and accouterments. 1t was
q formation for death. made with the
good order of review. When the grad
ually sinking kull had brought the
waves smashing about the feet of the
soldiers who were lined up for the last
time, they still preserved their forma-
tion AS the water reached their
waists they were ordered to unstrap
their belts and hold their cartridge box
es aloft so as to keep the powder dry
The wreck lurched under a few min
utes later. An English paper. COM
menting on the matter, said: That Of
flcer marched his detachment straight
to heaven"
In the early 4Os many vessels began
to 60 a-missing. The President. a
steamship which sailed from New York
bound for Liverpool, in March. 1S4i,
was among the first OF these. Among
her passengers, Of whom she carried a
large number. was Tyrone Power. the
comedian, a son OF the Duke Of Rich
mond The vessels fate is still un-
known.