The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1901-03-04
THE WRECK.

Honolulu was thrilled with horror on
Saturday morning, when the Mariposa
brought the news of the wreck of the
s. S. Rio de Janeiro. Little more than
a fortnight ago she passed through our
harbor She bore from our shores
many of our citizens and friends. Her
officers were well known here. She
was a popular vessel. She carried to
a watery grave old and young, rich and
poor, prominent and little known be-
yOnd a dear circle of family and
friends. All went in one common
disaster.
From our insular position we are
essentially a sea voyaging community.
One thinks nothing of crossing either
the Pacific or the Atlantic. Where our
means allow our people are constantly
passing over the oceans and seem to
bear a charmed life. OF the hundreds,
nay thousands that during the last
quarter of a century have gone to all
parts of the world, only few have
met with disaster, and never between
here and San Francisco. If memory
serves there was the drowning of Mr..
Castle and his daughter in the i'll fated
Elbe, in the North Sea, and those are
the only deaths one can recall. There
have been one or two wrecks during
the period, but none have had fatal
results. The City of New York and
the Costa Rica were both wrecked, but
no one from the Islands suffered. We
have come to look upon the voyage
from here to the Coast and vice versa,
a. a mere ferry boat matter. Yet there
have been ferry boat disasters, and
we have at last experienced one on
our ocean ferry which has cast gloom
upon the city, and even upon the whole
Territory.
We are accustomed to reading stories
of wrecks involving loss of life, and
boat load after boat, load of ship
wrecked and half starved and exhaust
cd mariners have reached our shores
from every point of the compass with
in 1000 miles of the Islands. We have
been generous and kind to these peo-
pie, but we have never thoroughly
realized that such disaster should
come into our homes, should fall upon
those near and dear to us, or those
who have been on intimate terms of
friendship with many of us. But the
blow has fallen, and it will take years
for the feeling of fear and anxiety to
wear off when we bid our lei covered
dear ones farewell at the wharf.
The peculiar sadness Of the wreck of
the Rio de Janeiro, lies in the fact that
the long voyage had been performed in
safety. Not only had the couple of
thousand of mides from Honolulu to
San Francisco, but the greater number
of thousand miles from Hongkong had
been completed. The vessel was home.
She anchored at the mouth of her port.
That evening which was to have so
fearful a morning must have been
passed in mutual satisfaction that the
voyage was over, and the saloons no
doubt rang with pleasant merriment.
AS people parted for the night there
would be rendezvous given for the
shore the next day. All would be hap
piness and expectation. The irksome-
ness of the voyage was over, the har-
Dor lights would be in sight when the
fog cleared To those who looked for
ward to a happy reunion with their
loved ones it was only wait of a few
hours before hand grasped hand, or
heart was clasped to heart.
There have been similar cases The
Royal Charter, after making the voy-
age from Australia to England was
wrecked just before she reached Liver
pool. On board she had hundreds of
people who had made their money at
the 'diggings" and were returning to
enjoy the fruits of their toll. Very
few escaped from the doomed ship The
Frfgate Eurydice, sailed across the
Atlantic in safety. In half an hour or
so she would have been safe in Ports
mouth harbOr. People on the Isle of
Wight, coming from church on that
quiet Sunday morning, admired the
beautiful spread of canvas as that
swan-like vessel sped along. Sudden
ly a squat rushed down from the
hills everything was obllterated, when
it cleared, there was no vessel. She
had sunk and only three or four were
saved of a crew of some 300
AS long as one is at sea, one always
feels - risk, but when one is near har-
Dor, the risk seems to to diminish. The
voyage is nearly over, the cup of safe
ty is at the lips. To have it dashed
away seems too cruel, but it is the win
of a higher power than we root Of
Why such things happen, who can tell
Now we see through a glass daFkly,
later we shall see face to face. We