36 EEV. GEOEGE PATTERSON 



respectivelj' named the " Victoria "of Boston, the "Grace Darling" of Phihidelphia, and the 

 " Reliance " and the " Samaritan " of New York, with a car called the Rescue. AVitli them 

 were provided a mortar, cables, trucks, harness, etc. 



They were all ready hy the 25th of ISTovemher, and were imhlicly exhibited on AVall 

 street, attracting great attention by their beauty and strength. It was Miss Dix's desire 

 that the entire fleet should be at once despatched by sailing vessel to Halifax, thence, when 

 opportunity offered, to be transferred to Sable island. But Capt. Forbes objected to this as 

 " putting all his eggs in one basket," and insisted on sending the " Victoi-ia " in one of the 

 Cunard steamers. It was accompanied by the following note from Miss Dix : 



" N'ew York, ISTovemher 28, 1853. 



" To His Iheellency Sir John Gaspard Le 3farehiinf, K.C.B., Lieutenant-Governor of Nova 

 Scotia, etc. 



" I have the honour and pleasure of consigning by this writing to your Excellency a 

 lifeboat, the ' Victoria ' of Boston, for the use of Sable island, and which, with its appendages, 

 is a gift to me for this sole purpose from Hon. Abbot Lawi'ence, Hon. Jonathan Phillips, 

 Col. T. H. Perkins, Hon. William Appleton, R. C. Harper, R. B. Forbes and G. E". Upton, 

 Esqrs., all of Boston. 



" To Mr. Forbes, who for courage and knowledge in nautical affairs has a wide repu- 

 tation, I am especially obliged, since his judgment and experience have assisted me in 

 effecting the completion of my wishes in this business in a satisfactory manner. 



"]). L. Dix." 



In a postscript she states that the Boston boat would very soon be followed by the New 

 York and Philadcl[ihia boats, with the outfits. Accordingly there was shipped on board 

 the brig " Eleanora" three boats, two boat-wagons, one lifecar, the mortar, with suitable 

 ammunition, coils of manilla rope, etc. She left New York on the 27th, and for some time 

 nothing wa>s heard of her. At length a letter was received from Halifax, dated the 16th 

 January, 1854, bringing information that she had been totally wrecked at Cranberry Head, 

 near Yarmouth ; that one of the lifeboats had gone to sea and the others were badly broken. 

 Miss Dix at once gave directions to have the broken boats, as well as the one which had 

 been lost, but which had been afterward picked up at sea, with all the accoutrements, sent 

 on to New York for thorough repair. She also sent orders that the " Victoria " should be 

 retained at Halifax till the others should arrive. Long delays occurred, so that it was not 

 till the 11th November following that the first two of them, the "Victoria" and "Reliance," 

 and other apparatus reached the island. The former was housed on the south side, and the 

 " Reliance" retained at the principal station. Little time elapsed till her services were in 

 requisition. On the evening of the 26th, being Sabljath, at 6 p. m., a fine ship, the " Arcadia" 

 of Warren, Maine, 715 tons, Wm. Jordan master, twenty-eight days from Antwerp, with a 

 varied cargo and one hundred and forty-seveu passengers and a crew of twenty-one men, 

 struck on the southeast side of the northeast bar, in a dense fog, with the wind blowing 

 strong from the south-southeast.' 



' The author of Miss Dix's life says that the lifeboats had arrived only the day before. But from the super- 

 intendent's journal it appears that this is a mistake. The " Victoria " and " Reliance " arrived on the llth November, 

 1854, the "Grace Darling" not till the 18th April following. 



