Early American Liners 73 



In 1854 the Arctic was run down in a 

 dense fog off Cape Race that fatal point 

 for the early Atlantic steamers and was 

 lost with 322 lives. A small French 

 steamer called the Vesta was the cause of 

 the disaster, which created a profound 

 sensation, for the loss of life was far 

 heavier in proportion to anything of the 

 period, save the Birkenhead. The Titanic 

 disaster and those of the Great War, have 

 accustomed present-day people to accept 

 as nothing remarkable losses running 

 into four figures where our grandfathers 

 thought 50 was enormous. The world was 

 smaller then and things moved in a nar- 

 rower channel. 



The loss of the Arctic was a terrible 

 blow, but worse was to follow. Scarcely 

 two years had gone by when the Pacific 

 having sailed from Liverpool on a June 

 day in 1856, was never more seen or 

 heard of. What was her fate? As there 

 was no record of a terrible storm then, I 

 think we can only conclude that an iceberg 



