■coast, and others with intentionally running his ship ashore. All the upward bound steamers were crowded, and were unable to take on board the shipwrecked passengers, C. J. Dempster, J. B, Crockett, J. Mc- Dougal and wife, and thirty-four others, men, women, and children, succeeded in securing passage by the Panama; the rest were obliged to wait until a vessel could be sent them. There were in all about ei^ht hundred, passengers and crew. Four hundred had taken passage in sailing vessels and steamers for San Francisco; the others were in a destitute condition, and subsisted on contributions. There was much suf- fering among the women and children during^ their march through an inhospitable country, and while at Acapulco there was much sickness and several deaths. After some delay, the clipper ship Northern Light was sent by Mr Vandewater, agent for the company at San Francisco, to their relief. Stockton made a movement in their aid, and Mayor Harris of San Francisco called a meetino; on the 29th of March — rather late, one would think, but better than never — to devise measures to render them assistance. Many were inclined to censure the company for their dila- toriness in despatching them conveyance to San Fran- cisco. One hundred and twenty thousand dollars, it was stated, had been paid by the North America's pas- sengers; through no fault of theirs, they had been thrown on a foreign and unhealthy shore, and now the company were loth to spend a few thousand dol- lars to save their lives.
Next day we were at sea again, carrying with us, as it would seem, half the inhabitants of the ocean. Myriads of flying-fish skim over the smooth sea, flash- ing their silver tinted wings as they skip from wave to wave, or break cover and fly away. Sharks dart by, leaving, if it be night, a phosphorescent wake, broken and luminous like fiery serpents; porpoises and dolphins leap and gallop along, and play about the ship, followmg in its wake, or trying the metal
