The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-09-01
SECRETS OF THE SEA.
Mystery of Vessels Which Disappear
Without Known Cause

Nothing is more fascinating than try
ing to fathOm the secrets of the deep,
particularly when it comes to Speculat-
ing on the fate of vessels which have
disappeared without known cause.
There are many such cases. and they
are absolutely battling. Ships have
gayly left port, with every prospect of
a safe voyage, never TO be heard of
again.
What are the secrets of these myS-
terious vanishings of stately ships with
their crews and cargoeS? In nineteen
cases out of twenty the secrets lie with
the ships many fathoms deep and will
perhaps never leap to light. To this
day no one knows what became of the
City of Glasgow, which set her sails
so CALAMITY in the Mersey half CEN
fury and more ago, bound for Phila-
delphia She carried over 400 passen-
she never reached Philadelphia, nor
was she seen again after the hills of
Wales were lost to view.
The Burvie Castle left London some
years ago Oh long voyage to Austria
liza. She should have made final call
at Plymouth, but she never came with
in sight of the Hoe, nor has human
eye ever seen her from the day she
dropped down the channel. 1t was on
May 10, 1854. that the Lady Nugent
spread her sails at Madras with 367 of
the Twenty-fifth Madras Light infantry
and other passengers on board. Her
destination was Rangun, but half a
century has gone. and neither Bangun
nor any other port has sighted her.
Nearly two years later the Collins
liner, the Pacific, dropped down the
Mersey with $50 souls on board. She
was accounted one of the stOutest and
swiftest vessels of her time, and SO no
doubt she was. But she went the way
the City of Glasgow had gone a couple
Of years earlier and for years has
been lying at the bottom of the sea,
but where none may know till all Sc
crets are revealed. The training vessel
ATLANTA started quarter of a cen
fury ago for a short cruise in Bermu
dan waters, and from that day to this
no one knows what became of her and
the go souls she carried.
On Jan. %, 1870 the City of Boston
sailed from Halifax for England with
191 souls ON board. She was an In
man liner. fine ship, splendidly equip
ped and handled, but she. too, was
destined to vanish from the face of
the waters.
The victim of another still remem
bered ocean mystery was the PreSi-
dent, a fine vessel, which was expected
at Liverpool in March, 1871. March
passed. and Liverpool saw nothing of
her The long delay in her arrival
caused great anxiety, and the widest
rumors began to be circulated. On
April Is news came that her engines
and rudder had been disabled in heavy
weather and that she had put into
Madeira for repairs. and there natural
ly followed reaction from gloomy
forebodings to transports of joy. The
vessel was expected at Liverpool on
certain day. and her arrival was await
ed by hundreds of people who had
friends aboard. but she never came,
ullu IL "dS lOuliS tAil tuC SUI VI iiSl
arrival at Madeira was heartless
hoax All the time the ill fated vessel
was at the bottom of the sea.
On Nov. so 1883. 4 large vessel was
seen from the beach at Deal sailing
toward the Goodwin sands. She was
a fair picture to look on as she moved
over the water with her stately spread
-, - ~ tai,
ers followed her she was seen to pause.
and within few seconds she vanished
utterly from their view. What caused
this tragically sudden disappearance
of Il stately ship? That is another of
the countless secrets which the ocean
has in it's jealous keeping.-Philadel-
phia North American