The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-07-20


from Esquimalt, B. c., to honolulu. add:
another to the compar atively short list Of
naval vessels which have gone to the
port Of missing ships, leaving nothing tc
tell of their fate. Merchant ships in great
numbers have disappeared and war yes.
sells in disproportionate numbers have
foundered or been wrecked; but few ma.
tional vessels have disappeared wholly
leaving no survivor to relate the story OF
their end.
The Condor. a screw sloop Of 10 knots
built in 1898. carrying six guns. of $50 tons
displacement and with engines capable
Of. developing 100 horse power, was the
successor of the royal navy list of the
Condor made famous by Captain Lord
Charles Beresford at the bombardment
Of Alexandria In 1882. 'Shescarried COM
plemcnt of 100 officers and men and sailed
from Esquimalt about two weeks before
Christmas. her company expecting tie
spend the holidays in the harbor Of Hon:
olulu. - :
Sailing vessels which left after her have
reached the Hawaiian Islands, hut she
has not been heard of since she passed
out One of her boats has been picked
up by a vessel sent to look for her: but
there is little expectation that Command
er Clifton Sclater or any of his men will
British navy.
AS is natural in view of the size Of (.
Btitish navy. its list of ships that a;
missing and have never been heard fro:
is not in itself short. The Repulse,
guns, disappeared off Bermuda in 177j
the York, "a guns. Is supposed to hav
foundered" about January. 1904 in :
great storm in 1905 the Seagull. tn
Hawke and the Mary are supposed
have foundered.
In January or February, ls07.,the Blen
helm and the Java are thought to hav
tcundered somewhere in the India
miraI Sir Thomas Troubridge, who hi
served under Nelson and was a clos
friend of that sailor. 90
The Blenheim had run aground in t
Straits of Malacca, but Troubridg
brought her to Madras, whence on Jan
nary II. 1907. he sailed on his way home
The ship was last seem near Madagascar
on February /. showing flags of distress
and making bad weather. Since then
nothing has been heard of her or hel
little consort, the Java, = :,
1872, 1873. and, 1874 from, which nothing
WAS ever Heard. Then came "a long m
terval during which, according to nava
histories, no BRITISH naval vessel disap
peared completely. II was not until .1SSt
that the next case IS recorded.
This is that OF. the .Atalsnta. training
ship, which. in command of Captain Stir
ting sailed from Bermuda on January 81
Df that year. She Carried fifteen officers
md crew of petty officers, men, marines
and boys. amounting to 265. a total of 2S
FOULS on board She has never been hearc
of from since she sailed.
ONLY five WaFShina Of the American
navy have disappeared without leaving e
trace of their fate. We have lost vessels
by wreck, by fire and by laundering, but
bnly these five have been lost wholly and
have on the list of the navy against their
names the words: Meyer heard from
The first of these was the Saratoga
built in 1777. ship Of eighteen guns In
command of Capt. James Young, she
yailed from Philadelphia in October, 1880
bound for a cruise. -
On October she sighted three ships
and, gave 'chase-for those were the days
when any vessel was likely to be a prize
The Saratoga hoisted British colors and
Aecoyed under guns a heavily armed n1er-
ehantman. showing British colors. y
Thereupon Captain Young hauled down
his false flag, hoisted the American en-
sign and opened fire. The merchantmen
put up a shart resistance and our sailors
OOarQeO ner, GROVE neT crew DelOW anu
struck the English flag.
The prize was then discovered to be the
Charming Mollie, loaded with a rich car
20. Lieut. Joshua Barney was put on
board with a prize crew and ordered to
lake the Molly to port; the Saratoga
meantime resumed her chase after the
bther ships.
These she overhauled at dusk and cap
lured with less trouble than she had with
the Charming Molly Putting prize crews
on them, she turned for home. Il
That night a British seventy-fouf gun
ship Of the line hove in eight and gave
not sail so raprly as the Saratoga and
were recaptured, but four ships escaped,
only to disappear forever. .-....
heavy gale came up that night and,
with sails set and gunports open. the
Saratoga met her fate. and has never
been heard of to this day.
On February 9. 1899, the. French frigato
Insurgent surrendered to our CoRstelld-
tion and eighteen months later refitted.
carrying thetrty-six guns and $40 men.
che sailed for Baltimore under command
of Captain Patrick Fletcher His orders
were After leaving the capes Of the
Chesane,ake, take. an easterly cou-se,
keeping -neTth -3S- nerth latitud until you
Obtain longitude IS west, and cruise for
a few weeks between Sand 66 west and
stretch as far south as latitude 81 or 30
north" The Insurgent has never been
heard of since
We have had three ships called the
Wasp on the rolls of our navy. The hrst
was destroyed to keep her out OF the
hands of the British; the second was
captured by the British, but was lost
with all hands on her first voyage under
British colors; the fate of the third has
always been a mystery.
Under Captain Johnston Blakely, with
a crew Of 10 New England farmer lads,
she had been making trouble for the
Blittsh during the spring of 1914 ~ June
Is he acquired the frigate Reindeer alter
a h1ttle lasting twenty eight minLtes
Il n, after rehtting at the French port
Of rOrient, she defeated the Avon in q
ifs ut that lasted forty minutes, but could
net destroy her prize because IT the ar
rival of two British battleships, the Cas-
titan and the Tartarus. She hal to take
70 her heels; but she had used the Avor
SO had that the ship sank as her rescuers
took off the last boat load of sailor mer
from her decks.
ON September u. the Wasp met and
captured the Atlanta. once a fine I;alti.
more privateer, and sent her home with
a nrize crew. Thereafter, on October 8
1s14 she overhauled the Swedish bark
Adons.
of5cers. Lieutenant Mcknight and Mas
ter's Mate Lyman. who were passenger
from South America. and. naturally pre-
ferred to travel on naval vessel witt
friends. As the Adonis lost sight of hel
that evening the Wasp disappeared Tor
.ia in naval histories that ar