Wreck of lost 19th century steamship that sunk with nearly 200 lbs in gold found

Among those who perished in the sinking of the Pacific were her captain, Jefferson Davis Howell, who commanded a rebel gunboat during the US Civil War and was the brother-in-law of the former Confederate President, Jefferson Davis.

Among other prominent passengers was the merchant and lumberman Sewell Moody, one Captain Otis Parsons, who had just sold off his fleet of river steamers that sailed the Fraser River in British Columbia, and the former Gold Commissioner of Cassiar, John Howe Sullivan.

While official records indicate that 275 people perished in the disaster, the actual number may have been higher — as children were able to sail without a ticket, and reports suggest that a number of people “rushed about” the Pacific, also without tickets”, just before she left her moorings in Victoria.

According to the experts, no human remains have been discovered at the wreck site yet — and, with the strong currents and the water depth, it is unlikely any will, they added.

The Orpheus — the sailing vessel which accidentally steered into the Pacific’s path after her second mate mistook the lights onboard Pacific for that of the Cape Flattery lighthouse — survived the collision, only to run aground the same night on Barclay Sound after making another erroneous course correction involving mistaking another light for that of the Cape Flattery Lighthouse.

Unlike the unfortunate lives on the Pacific, however, the crew of the Orpheus made it ashore, and were rescued by the United States Revenue Cutter Wolcott, which was out looking for survivors from the Pacific.

Article source: https://www.express.co.uk/news/science/1706660/pacific-wreck-lost-steamship-cape-flattery-sunk-200-lbs-gold-found