Page:A Life of Matthew Fontaine Maury.pdf/69

Rh although my capacity to comprehend your beautiful theories is but limited. I have spoken as I feel, and with sentiments of the greatest respect, I am, &c.

Maury's "Sailing Directions" contain a particular and graphic account of a great race between four clipper ships from New York to San Francisco, viâ Cape Horn, which followed substantially, but with different degrees of fidelity, the "Wind and Current Charts", and suffered just so far as they disregarded Maury's directions. The 'Wild Pigeon' sailed October 12, 1852; the 'John Gilpin', October 29; the 'Flying Fish', November 1st; the 'Trade Wind', November 14. Their tracks are all known and laid down from day to day, almost from hour to hour. It is curious to find how they crossed and doubled upon each other—sometimes close together without knowing it, then falling far apart, once or twice coming in sight. At different dates their several chances varied most strangely. 'Flying Fish' made the voyage in 94 days and 4 hours; 'John Gilpin', 93 days and 20 hours; 'Trade Wind', 102 days; 'Wild Pigeon', 118 days. It is a thrilling narrative of perhaps the grandest race ever run.

The San Francisco Times reported:—"This city is the terminus of one of the most remarkable events on record. Two first class ships, the 'Governor Morton' and the 'Prima Donna', sailed together from the port of New York on the 14th of February; they were towed outside Sandy Hook, side by side, so near to each other that conversation was carried on by the commanders. The racing vessels crossed the equator in the Atlantic Ocean on the same day, though not in the same longitude. They entered the Straits of Le Maire the same day and came out of them the same day; they crossed the equator in the Pacific in the same day and in the same longitude. Both ships arrived within three hours of each other after a race of 16,000 miles! These two facts demonstrate the accuracy that has been attained in the