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| San Francisco Call, 26-November-1895 |
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RUSHING WORK AT MISSION WHARVES
All Classes of Vessels Are Represented There at Present.
Return of the Wrecker Whitelaw From the Remains of the San Benito.
The Compasses Were in Perfect Order and the Vessel Was Well Equipped.
The busiest scene at the water front is to be found at Mission-street wharf. All classes of vessels are there. The big ship from Australia is unloading coal, the whaler is being refitted, the scow schooner is unloading and the American ship is taking in a general cargo for New York. Steam schooners can be seen loading and unloading and all in all Mission 1 and 2 presents the busiest scene on the front.
The Norwegian bark Stjorn and the British ship Travancore are both alongside Rosenfeld's bunkers. The whaling bark California is being fitted out for a South Sea island cruise, the McNear is almost loaded with lumber for Australia and the scow schooner Piute is taking in a general cargo. Several steam schooners and small craft are in the intermediate spaces and in consequence Wharfinger Short is more than busy.
The wrecker Whitelaw got in from the remains of the San Benito yesterday. All she brought back was the steamer's chronometer, her compasses, the signal lights, the steering wheel, the signal gun and all the small stuff that could be saved. "In all her life the Whitelaw never bucked into a heavier gale than she encountered when on her way to Point Arena," said Chief Engineer Collins yesterday. "We had a terrible time of it and yet the wrecker logged her eight and seven-eighths knots an hour right along. When we got to Point Arena the wreck was breaking up and all we could do was to save anything that the waves had spared. When the gale came up again we had to put to sea again and came right back to San Francisco. The San Benito, cargo and all, will be a total loss."
"The San Benito's compasses are now aboard the wrecker," said Captain Whitelaw. "There are seven of them and everyone is in as good condition as those of the City of Peking, and the latter vessel got in from China yesterday. The chronometer is also aboard the Whitelaw and it is in perfect order. We only had a cursory view of the wreck, but judging the stuff we saved she was one of the best formed vessels that sailed through the Golden Gate. She was better equipped than any collier I have ever seen and that is saying a good deal. Give the devil his due and say from me that on any other collier in the same circumstances the chances are that the loss of life would have been twenty-six instead of six."
When the second gale came up the Whitelaw had to run for San Francisco. It was lucky she got in as soon as she did, because at 5:30 p. m. it was blowing 66 knots an hour, while at the heads the Hydrographic Office recorded 56 knots an hour. The San Benito was fitted with Sir William Thompson's patent deep-sea sounder, and it was saved from the wreck. With other sounders the ship has to be hove to in order to make a sounding, but with the new invention an observation can be made when the vessel is at full speed. Crossing the bar Captain Whitelaw tested the new contrivance and found that he could gauge the depth of water on the bar while the Whitelaw was going full speed.
The schooner Amethyst got in yesterday, and the captain reports having passed a water-logged and dismasted schooner on the 21st inst. off Cape Blanco. It was blowing hard at the time and a very heavy sea was running, so the crew of the Amethyst could not lower a boat. The schooner Joseph and Henry was very close to the wreck at the time, and the chances are that when she reaches port some more definite information about the derelict may be obtained.
Mrs. Thorold, owner of the tug Ethel and Marion, and the captain of the little vessel had quite an altercation yesterday. The master of the vessel made a remark which the owner resented, and she went for him with her umbrella. The skipper raced up the wharf and Mrs. Thorold after him, and it was only when Officer Henneberry put in an appearance that the chase ceased. A new master will go out on the Ethel and Marion to-day.
The new steamer for the Hawaiian inter-island trade was not built by Matthew Turner but by Hall Bros, of Puget Sound. She is a splendid vessel and one of the best of her class, and has more than fulfilled the expectations of her builders. She was called the James Spiers in order tp fulfill the requirements of the California law, but when she reaches Honolulu her name will be changed to Mauna Loa.
The schooner Challenger, seventeen days from Seattle, put in last Tuesday night leaking and had to be run on the mud flats. She was in collision with a steam schooner outside the heads, but as a heavy sea was running and a gale blowing Captain Sovernd could not make out his antagonist. People on 'Chance think it was the Alice Blanchard bound north that did the damage.
The schooner Charles Hanson was unfortunate during the run from Grays Harbor. On the 19th inst. Mate Gregolison gave an order to jibe the mainsail. He went to the assistance of the men and his foot caught in a loop of the rope. With a jerk the sail tightened the tackle and the leg was broken like a pipe stem. The disabled man was put aboard the lightship Columbine and landed at Hoquiam for medical treatment. The next day Seaman Lane was washed overboard from the Hanson and never seen again.
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