EPIC OF THE SEA

Rotorua Morning Post, Volume 1, Issue 56, 28 October 1931, Page 4

EPIC OF THE SEA

a "Correspondent.)

DEATH OF HERO CAPTAIN WHO WENT TO GAOL JRATHER THAN" ABANDQN ! ,DIST|!ESSED sB^MEN: 't BRITISH TRADITIONS UPHELD.

(From

VANCOUVER, Sept. 9. Captain Robert Pamphlet, aged 58 years, the 13ritis|i Columbia master marin'er' who" allowed his 'Bqubr-laden ■ vessel to' fall into the 'harids 'of the tfnite'd §tates cb'astguardsmeh rather th'an leave a shipwrecked crew at the mercy of the sea, is dead. *'' "'4 ' The ' captkiri, whoSe act of selfsa'crifice WaS' Heral'dPd 'thr'bughout the wbr|d, dibd here'ht th'e ^hbriib o'i his brother; F: W! Pamphlet, 322 ;"]Sfest Sixth, a^er : an filriess of" mririy riiottths. y ; ;; '• " ■* It was in the spring of 1925 that Capt. 'Pamphlet,. "then master bf the auxfiiar'y bchborier 'PescaWha, formerly of the Ganadian Fish Oo's fieet, sailed south * on the eventful trip. Owners of the Pescawha had sigried on a 'cargo bf liquor'fbr de(ivery in thb south, aiid Cap.t. Pamphlet Uhdertbok4he trip. ' '.V , ! ,ni' ! ; Rescue at Sea. Hpngh weather was encountered and on the' morining. bf February 3, tfie Pescawha was hqve to about th'irty miles'off ^qbluinhia" 'River! It was blowing a "hajf-gale wheh* one of ihe crew told Capt.* Pamphlet ' he eou|d majce out a boat bft the s't'arboard how. . Through hi's giasses th'e captain discoverbcj the "craft " was * a" llfebbat carryjrig ' nixie men. ; ' '* " ' ' tJapt. Pamplilet 'paused a minute — but it was a brief riijriute. Be reali^pd that rescue of the njne seameri rilfght mean capture. ' - " ' * " After riiany 5 efforts the Pescawha succggcigci ixi rg3,dhing j tli© hfglboa,t whose occupants were half-ffbzeri. Twb members'bf the' PescaWha's cfew werit oVerboard andriss'istbd the shipwrecked' Seamento safety. ' The men wefe SurviVbrs of the lumber schoorief Gaob'a, wMch* they fihd beeri ' fbrc'ed to ah'andori. :: Ariothb¥ boat carrying eleven stirvivors was off to the south-west. Arrested by CoastguardL A few minutes later the Pescawha was bucking the howling south-wester on her secorid errand of riiercy. |n the afternoon, when the' vesse| was still about twenty miles out to sea, Captain Pamphlet sighted the United States coastguard eutter Algonquin. There had been no sign of the' secbnd Kfehoat*.' With the intention of transferring the Caoba's nine surviVOrs to the eutter, Capt. Pamphlet hove his veSsel to. The Pescawha was boarded by the cutter's captan, who listened to the story of the rescue and then ordered the hajches to he opened. Capt. Pamphlet'protested, claiming to be outside United States jurisdicfion, but finally consented. After a glance at the cargo the cutter's captairi anriounced that the Pescawha!s captain and* crew were under arrest. Appeals Failed. The Pescawha was towed to Astoria and her crew held pr'isoners. (Theri followed the trial and the subsequent sentencing of Capt. Pamphlet to two years' imprisonment at' MhNeil Island penitentiary. Capt. Pamphlet; Whd had been granted a twenty-day st'ay, went voluntarly to Portland 'to serve his sentence. *•■''' _ A gold watch, bearing the inscription: "Capt. Robert Pamphlet, a true sailor, in recognition of his action in rescuing the crew of s.s. Caoba at 'sea, February 3, 1925. Sudderi "& Christensen,'! was presented to the B.C. master by tfie- owners of the shipwrecked vessel. Many appeals were made to the President of the United States for the release of Captain Pamphlet. Among them was a petition signed by thousands along the Oregon coast. But the President took the stand that he would ri'ot interfere unless the Federal Court interposed. Capt. Pamphlet served his term de~ spite protests by Canadians and Americans alike. * * Released in 1929. On August 30, 1929/ Captain Pamphlet arrived back jn Vancouver after having completed hfs term and paying a fine of ! £200. When his health failed several months ago it was said that his confinerixent and the mental sferain' suffered had sapped his ^ strength seriously ' 'militatihg against his cHance fdj' recovery. Captain Pamphlet was born in Victor'ia iri 1873.' His "father liad been'a seafarin^ man. ' He spent practically all his lifp on coast boats arid was known in every port from Panama Canal to Alaska. He was sittgle and is survived by a brother at North Vancouver and a sister, Mrs. A. Pf o'vis, of Ladysmith. Another brother' predecerised him.