New dl*jio«itlou of Iho 

 squadron. 



LOSS Or THE PEACOCK. 



Vlnccnnei nail* for SjH 

 Francisco. 



L>!H 



from the officers and naturalists, in reply to a call 

 I made upon them, fat the aspect id which tho 

 transactions presented themsel ves i<> those present; 

 and more particularly to those of the latter gentle- 

 men, who, as spectators, bud an opportunity of 

 whin sniti^ (lit: whole proceeding?. 



By three o'clock, Lieutenant Emmons, with the 

 boat's, was again approaching the ship; hut (he sea 

 was still too rough to venture near h»;r, and it was 

 not tilt five o'clock that he succeeded in getting 

 alongside, when the remaining men were distributed 

 among the boats, and embarked in good order, 

 Captain Hudson being the last to leave the ship. 

 After a pull of two miles, they landed in Baker's 

 Hay, when Captain Hudson was received by the 

 other officers and men with three hearty cheers, 

 the spontaneous expression of their admiration and 

 gratitude for the courage and conduct he had ex- 

 hibited in his efforts for the preservation of the 

 ship, and in finally preserving the lives of all. 



The exertions! of the officers and men were not 

 yet at an end ; for some faint hopes were enter- 

 tained thnt a portion of the property might still be 

 saved from the wreck, as a relief in their state of 

 utter destitution ; and, in consequence, the boats 

 were despatched the next morning at daybreak to 

 the bar. But nothing was there to be seen of the 



h : k, except the cap of her bowsprit ; for her 



tipper deck had been separated, and the pieces 

 scattered for many miles along the coast. 



Captain Hudson passed the highest encomiums 

 on his officers and crew, for the faithful manner in 

 which they continued to perform their duties and 

 carry out his orders to the very last. 



I am satisfied that every thing that seamanship 

 could devise to save tho vessel, was resorted to; 

 and I am quite confident that when the facts are 

 all known and fully weighed by the community, the 

 conduct, of Captain Hudson, and that of his officers 

 and crew, in this perilous and trying scene, will be 

 considered as redounding to the credit of tho 

 service. 



Mr. Bimie, the agent of the Hudson Bay Com- 

 pany at Astoria, Messrs. Frost and Koeu, the 

 missionaries, with several residents, came promptly 

 to the aid of the shipwrecked crew, w ith provisions, 

 tents, cooking utensils, and clothing, all vying with 

 each other in affording assistance. 



When all hopes of getting any tiling from the 

 wreck were at an end, Captain Hudson Kent the 

 crew to Astoria, in the boats, with orders to form 

 an encampment there, where they found an ample 

 supply of provisions in the stores that had been 

 sen! from the Sandwich Islands, and were supplied 

 with clothing by the kindness of Dr. McLaughlin 

 and the officers of the Hudson Bay Company, 



As soon as 1 learned the exact state of affairs in 

 the river, 1 determined to make such disposition of 

 the squadron as would be most advantageous, in 



the performance, under ihe new circumstances, of 

 the duties which remained to be accomplished. 



With this intent, 1 resolved to shift my pennant 

 to the Porpoise, and with that vessel, the Fking- 

 Fish, and the boats of the Peacock, to survey the 

 Columbia to its extreme navigable point This 

 force would be amply sufficient to perform this 

 survey in the shortest possible time, and yet enable 

 me to despatch a party, as 1 had before intended, 

 through the southern section oT the Orcein ter- 

 ritory to San Francisco. The Yineennes, to w hich 

 I ordered Lieutenant Commandant Ringgold, I 

 resolved to send t> San Francisco, to make a sur- 

 vey of the Sacramento river, while I was engaged 

 upon that of the Columbia. 



In conformity with this plan, I directed the Yin- 

 cnoies to hv off and on at the mouth of the river, 

 while I proceeded in with the Porpoise to mnke 

 the necessary changes and transfers. Taking Mr. 

 Knox, and Ramsey the pilot, on board the latter 

 vessel, we passed the bar and stood towards 

 Astoria, but were compelled by the lido to anchor 

 before reaching that place. On the morning of 

 the 7th, we anchored in front of Astoria, where nil 

 the necessary arrangements were comple ted ; and 

 Lieutenant-Commandant Ringgold, "« 'h» next 

 day, proi led in the Flyiu^-Fish, with the trans- 

 ferred officers, to join the Vincvnuef). As soon sis 

 this was effected, that vessel bore away for San 

 Francisco, and the lender returned to the river. 



As it became absolutely necessary !o economize 

 our time as much as possible, every disposition was 

 now made of tho nu n and boat-*. 1 soon, however, 

 found that, although I had sent a number of men to 

 tiie Yinrennes, there would be many tint could 

 nut be well accommodated in the smaller vessel, 

 and I was desirous of procuring some extra ac- 

 commodation. Fortunately, the American brig, 

 the Thomas II. Perkins, Captain Varncy, was 

 lying at Astoria ; and a reasonable ngrceuii nT 

 was entered into for her purchase. Dr. M' Laugh - 

 lin, who had entered into a charter party, readily 

 agreed to surrender it for a small consideration, 

 if the goods he had on board were delivered 

 at Vancouver. This there was no difficulty in, as 

 it was found necessary to make some alterations in 

 her accommodations, and it would lie ucees^rv to 

 resort to Vancouver for many articles; and these 

 repairs could be easily effected during the lime we 

 were engaged in the survey of the river, and better 

 at Vancouver than elsewhere. It was, therefore, 

 determined to proceed up with both vessels, at the 

 time of making the survey. 



It is now proper that 1 should return to the 

 regular order of events, and take up the narra- 

 tion of the interesting cruise of the Peacock, the 

 unforeseen and disastrous termination of which has 

 just been rekited. 



r "J 



