with violence to one side. Unfortunately, Joseph Allshouse, a 
marine, who was in the act of ascending the ladder at the time, 
was struck by one of the spars and so much injured that he died 
a few hours afterwards. It was not until between seven and 
eight o’clock that the ship could be relieved from this situation; 
at that time a light, air from the land sprung up, of which ad¬ 
vantage was at once taken to weigh our anchor; the rollers, 
however, had by this time ceased to break, the sea began to fall, 
and in a few hours afterwards, regained its former placid and 
quiet state.” — Wilkes. 
“ I too have loved thee, ocean we have passed over the bar of 
San Francisco several times in vessels much smaller than the 
u Vincennes,” and on one occasion we caught the duplicate of 
what Wilkes describes; the wind left us, a heavy swell rolling 
in. For six mortal hours of agony we suffered pangs of torture— 
Down dropped the sails against the masts, 
’Twas sad as sad can be; 
We did move only to dodge 
The breaking of the seas.” 
We have a wholesome terror of the bar of San Francisco, 
“ A vessel should not anchor upon the bar if she can possibly 
avoid it; frequently a heavy swell sets in without wind, and if 
the current is running strong ebb, it allows little chance of 
escaping from an uncomfortable berth. . . . During heavy 
southeaster the sea breaks upon the San Francisco bar clear 
across the entrance, presenting a fearful sight. The sound can 
be heard at the anchorage in front of the city.” — Davidson. 
Seamen on the coast of California observe great caution in 
passing the bar; the great ocean steamers get periodical rubs, 
and some have been crippled; the huge ships of our navy have 
also succumbed to the terrors of the bar. On a recent occasion 
the steamship “ Ossipee ” caught a cleaning there, of which the 
local press were forced to take notice. The Alta California of 
Nov. 28, 1870, says : “ The pilot-boat 4 Curtis ’ went outside the 
heads last Saturday to take the pilot of the U. S. steamer 
‘ Ossipee,’ which cleared for a cruise on the southern coast. On 
reaching the bar a very rough sea was encountered. A boat 
was lowered from the 4 Curtis,’ and being manned by one of 
the crew, started for the 4 Ossipee ’ to take off the pilot. It had 
proceeded but a short distance when it was capsized. A boat 
was at once lowered from the 4 Ossipee,’ manned, and sent to 
