After some months of neglect, she was bought by a real estate speculator, who hauled her broadside to on the beach, at what was then the foot of Clay Street, and turned her into a warehouse. By degrees the old craft found herself embedded in some ten or twelve feet of sand and mud at a considerable distance from the water-front, but she made more money for her owner here than at any other time in her career, until one of the periodical fires swept away her top sides. The rest of her hull, which being below ground had escaped destruction, became the cellar of the Niantic Hotel, erected over her remains, and had the reputation of being the only tight and dry cellar in the neighborhood.
In the course of time the Niantic Hotel was torn down to make room for a more substantial building, and upon clearing away the débris to secure a more solid foundation, thirty-five baskets of champagne were discovered hidden away among the floor timbers of the old hull, where they had remained unmolested for some twenty-one years. So faithfully had the wine been bottled and so dry had been its resting-place, that there was not a speck of rust on the wires securing the corks, and the labels were as fresh as the day they were put on, while the wine was found to have retained much of its original sparkle and bouquet. It was the then celebrated Jacquesson Fils brand, which at the time of its arrival might easily have been sold for $25 a bottle. I am not sure that it did not sell at nearly its former value, for almost every one in San Francisco in 1870 needed at least one bottle with which to celebrate the anniversary of his arrival “in the fall of Forty-nine or the spring of Fifty,� and thirty-five baskets would seem a small allowance for that vast and increasing multitude.
The Stag-Hound arrived May 26th. She sailed from New York in January, and when six days out in a heavy southeast gale, her maintopmast and three topgallantmasts came down by the run. She was without a maintopsail for nine days and without topgallantsails for twelve days; nevertheless, she crossed the equator 21 days from Sandy Hook, arrived at Valparaiso in 66 days under jury rig, and, allowing for her detention there, reached San Francisco 107 days from New York. Captain Richardson reported that she was a very fast ship in moderate breezes, while in strong winds she frequently logged sixteen and seventeen knots, although her best day’s run was only 358 miles.
The Witchcraft arrived August 11th. She, too, had suffered aloft and put into Valparaiso for spars and repairs, and, allowing for this delay, she had made the passage from New York in 103 days. The N. B. Palmer arrived August 21st in 108 days, and the Flying Cloud on August 31st in 89 days—a passage never surpassed and only twice equalled—once three years later by the Flying Cloud herself, and once in 1860 by the Andrew Jackson.
The Flying Cloud’s abstract log on this passage is as follows:
| Sandy Hook to the equator | 21 | days. |
| Equator to 50° S. | 25 | “ |
| 50° S. in the Atlantic to 50° S. in Pacific | 7 | “ |
| 50° S. to the equator | 17 | “ |
| Equator to San Francisco | 19 | “ |
| Total | 89 | “ |
It was during this passage that the Flying Cloud made her famous run of 374 miles, while steering to the northward and westward under topgallantsails, after rounding Cape Horn. This was the fastest day’s run, under steam or sail, that had ever been made up to that time, and exceeded by 42 miles the best day’s run that had ever been made by a mail steamship on the Atlantic. A few extracts from her log will, I think, be of interest:
“June 6th (three days out from New York). Lost main and mizen topgallantmasts, and maintopsail yard.—June 7th. Sent up main and mizen topgallantmasts and yards.—June 8th. Sent up maintopsail yard.—June 14th. Discovered mainmast badly sprung about a foot from the hounds, and fished it.—July 11th. Very severe thunder and lightning, double reefed topsails, split fore and maintopmast stay sails. At 1 P.M. discovered mainmast had sprung, sent down royal and topgallant yards and studding sail booms off lower and topsail yards to relieve strain.—July 13th. Let men out of irons in consequence of wanting their services, with the understanding that they would be taken care of on arriving at San Francisco. At 6 P.M., carried away the maintopsail tye and band round mainmast.—July 23d. Cape Horn north five miles. The whole coast covered with snow.—July 31st. Fresh breezes, fine weather, all sail set. At 2 P.M. wind southeast. At 6 squally; in lower and topgallant studding sails; 7, in royals; at 2 A.M. in foretopmast studding sail. Latter part, strong gales and high sea running. Ship very wet fore and aft. Distance run this day by observation is 374 miles. During the squalls 18 knots of line was not sufficient to measure the rate of speed. Topgallantsails set.—August 3d. At 3 P.M. suspended first officer from duty, in consequence of his arrogating to himself the privilege of cutting up rigging, contrary to my orders, and long-continued neglect of duty.—August 25th. Spoke barque Amelia Packet, 180 days from London for San Francisco.—August 29th. Lost foretopgallant mast.—August 30th. Sent up foretopgallant mast. Night strong and squally. Six A.M. made South Farallones bearing northeast ½ east; took a pilot at 7; anchored in San Francisco harbor at 11:30 A.M. after a passage of 89 days, 21 hours.â€�
An analysis of this remarkable log shows that during twenty-six consecutive days the Flying Cloud had sailed a distance of 5912 miles, an average of 227 miles a day, or within a fraction of 9½ knots, and for four consecutive days 284, 374, 334, 264—a total of 1256, or 314 miles per day, an average speed of 13½ knots. This splendid passage of the Flying Cloud reduced by one quarter the clipper-ship record of 120 days made by the Memnon two years before, and established a new record that stands to-day.