The morning call., 1894-02-10
WRECKED ON RONCADOR.
The kearsarge Not the First Ship to
Cast Her Bones There.


There would have been a light upon
no ncador Reef long ago. had not the
American Government been too parsimo-
NOUS to maintain one there, or had the
other nations whose commerce floats upon
that southern sea shown a proper spirit of
liberality in offering to share the expense
of the beacon. AS it is, ROncador Reef, or
RoDcador Cay. lying far out in the
Caribbean Sea. belongs TO no power. and is
too small and too worthless to make
claiming 1t worth while. Still il lies right
in the track Of vessels plying between
American ports and the ports of Central
America, and so is constant menace to
navigators of those seas. 1t is a coral
reef. about a couple of low sand islets
standing but few feet above the surface
of the sea, and when the northwest trades
blow, current sets strongly toward it and
great seas wash almost entirely over the
cay.
Roncador has held its menace good, too,
in times past, for the Kearsarge is not the
only ship that has left her bones to whiten
there.
In 1865 the splendid new steamship
Golden Rule. Dennis master, left New
York for Greytown, having on board $50
passengers. mostly bound for California
by the route cross Nicaragua. Her voy-
age was prosperous one at first, but in
! the vicinity of Roneador the captain failed
| TO allow for the set OF the current, and at
2 O'Clock in the morning the ship ran upon
| the coral reef where now lies the Kear-
sarge. Her passengers were saved, being
! taken to Colon, whittier a boat had been
| sent for their relief. and transferred at
Panama to the steamsh p America. CON-
manded by Captain William l.. Merry,
now president of the North American
Navigation Company, which brought them
on to San Francisco. On board the Golden
Rule there was $1,000 COO in currency be-
longing to the United States Government,
which sum was never recovered.
In 1891 Hon. Warner Miller. president
| of the Nicaragua Canal Company, pro-
posed to take a party of Eastern uewspa-
! per men to inspect the canal, and having
as his guests some of the best known men
of the profession. took passage at New
York on an English vessel bound for
GreytowD. This vessel also found a grave
on Ropcador Cay. uut her passengers and
I crew were saved also and help for the ship
wrecked people was secured from the
| ioihbA wa dO Ia Dliicll
miles west of Roncador. Ii was to PrOvi-
dence Island Lieutenant Brainerd went on
his way to Colon to secure help for the ship
wrecked sailors of the Kearsarge. The
Miller party were rescued and since then
Roncador bias done no evil until there came
the wreck of the Kearsarge.
Speaking of the reef yesterday Captain
| Merry. who sailed in those seas for years
said: "Roncador is a coral reef. bold on
its eastern side. and In the shelter of the
reef are two sand islets rising about five
feet above the level of the sea- There is
DO fresh water, but rain falls frequently
and there are great numbers of fish and
turtles and sea birds. and any quantity OF
sea birds eggs. The current has strong
set to westward over the reef, and this is
especially notable when the great north
east trades sweep down across the sea-
The ships stranded there were trying Ia
pass 100 close to wIndward without allow
ance for the current, and it was thus prob
ably the Kearsarge was cast upon the
reef"