Perils of the Sea.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7972, 8 November 1905, Page 2

Perils of the Sea.

sap catastko-piiiss cai'skd ity fogs. XOIII.F. SUM'S CAST AWAY. SAN' FHANCISCO, Oct. 12. The steamer Alaniedn,.of the Occan- ; ic Line. sufTeriil a sorry experience at ' the mouth of San Francisco Bay on Sept :!(>. The vessel sailed on slieil- • ule lime for Honolulu 'with a full cur- ■ go of freight and many passiitsurs. One half hour later the vessel was i fast on tin- rocks at Furl Point. The passengers wen' immedialcly taken . ashore, as curiously enough, the fog . lifted ten minutes after the ship had ■ilruck, showing live shore to Ik- -but ! 1.10 feel disianl. There was-no ox- , citoment among the passengers, and tlio members of the crew performed the'r tasks as quietly and effectively as if such occurrences were but affairs of routine. The extent of the d.-wiiage to the vessel was at first believed to he 'more serious than \\:a,s afterwae'ds '. demonstrated. The Alameda hung on 1 the rocks a week, during which time the weather was unusually favourable. Captain llinvdell remained on he deck of the ship and, with theft id of his ollicers, superintended the taking oil of tin- entire cargo. This work completed, with ballast and a remnant of th,- cargo carefully trimmed. I he ship was towed off the rocks by two powerful'lugs and laken lo her wharf. Later she went lo Ihe dry .lock at Hunter's Point, where she will be repaired. It was believed during (he week in which the steamer remained on (he rocks she woukl be .- lost ami the underwriters would suffer a large pari of the loss, though she vessel was not-insured lor full value. II 'is now lieliovcd the repairs will cost less than .100,(100 dollars, but the uirderwrilers must bear live expense as they did thai of salvage, etc. Thousands of people [visited points from which the Alameda could be viewed during her imprisonment, and I lie soldiers at Fort Coin I cheered hearlily when the vessel slid oil the rocks and slarU'd oti'heHway to port. The vessel was in charge of a pilot when the accident occurrodi Captain A. F. .Pills-bury, representing thei local underwriters', ami Captain Mclcalf, representing (he llritish underwriters, were in change of the salving, 'but. t|, c credit of saving the ship goes to Captain Pillsbnry, who worked both day and night during the week the ship was fast. The disaster 'to the'Alameda was the first in a series of accidents on the coast. The steamer Santa Barbara went out at the Golden Gale in the fog.which caught the Alameda —only lo crash on a reef close 'in the shore of Mondicino Country. Sixteen passengers (live being women) were landed, within an hour, though the surf was heavy. .More serious was the disaster to the steamer St. Paul, of (h,- Alaska Commercial Company. The vessel left. Sua Francisco for Portland on Oct. I, experiencing little fog till she reached Port t'orda, early oij Oct, d. The lirsl warning the. officer on deck receivul was the roaring of the surf on Ihe shore. The course was imnniliaUl.y changed and the ship struck a moment later. The fog was thick, ami the shore could "ma l„. seen. and these were not alarmed wheif the vessel struck. 'Phis was at 2.110 ii.m. Seas were breaking oveif the ship, and neither the captain nor the ollicers believed the vessel .would remain afloat Iwo hours. J.t was then impossible to launch boats, but an hour biter a heavy rain beat down the waves, so it. was doicruiined to launch Hie boats. This was done ami Ihrieboal loads oil passengers,' including women and children, were lossed about by fearful seas for 12 hours before being picked up bv tugs. The courage of the crew is warmlc praised by the survivors, but .Mist I'lorence Macaulay. a little maid of t-\ whose home is in London, was the. herein,, of that wild night'. The captain had ordered Ihe lirst lifeboat to be manned, and though' the crew stepped out without .pinching Hie passengers told oIV for this" boat drew 'back, believing ~„ hlral couM live a moment in thai sea. Women sobbed and men were silcnl. till Miss I'lorence:, quiet and self-possessed, Mild, " Com,., mania, we must, be brave and it will -be all -right," TUcv took their places In Hie boat anil : the others followed. The lil-lle girl spok.' words of cheer lo lb,. ~„.„ j„ the boat, which was quickly lowered lo in- t the augn waves \ bi« M .-i caugr.l the boat, and she went "into the bough of lb,, sea and shipped so mm It water that it. was not believed ' she could final. |,„| t|„. ~,„.„ managed lo pull away and then lo bale out Hie water. Soon after two more ' lioitts were Inuni'heil in the same fear. ■ but the remnant of the passengers remained on the ship. f„ ,|i„, corning ; help eaiue from the shore, but fin'. ' passengers in Hi,, boats lloated about ' until three in | hj,. afternoon, when J they reached Ihe lightship, whence t they were la lei- taken off liv Hie Po- It mona. The SI. Caul was a fine steamer which has made many successful trips t<f Xome and other Alaskan : ports since the discovery of gold in ; the Nerlhlund. S|-„. carried „ cargo \ of in-re I han a thousand tons of I. freighi ad this has been abandoned h wilh i':e ship, which rniiii.t be savnl ' and is expected to go I o pieces in the next storm. s