The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, August 10, 1896, Page 1

' VOLUME LXXX.—NO. 71. SAN FRANCISCO, MONDAY MORNING, AUGUST 10, 1896. AST ON A SUBMERGED REEF. | ; The Steamer St. Paul Goes Ashore Near Point Pinos. GUIDED TO DESTRUCTION DURING A FOG. Passengers Safely Removed in| Small Boats to the Beach. SMALL HOPE OF SAVING THE STRANDED VESSEL. Water Fills the Hold and the Cargo Is a Loss—The Colombia Dis- aster Repeated MONTEREY, CaL., Aug. 9.—The Pacific Coast Steamship St. Paul lies on the rocks | just south of Point Pinos, full of water and a total loss. The Pacific Mail Steam- ship Colombia lies on the rocks just south of Pigeon Point, full of water and ‘a total loss. The two luckless vessels—sisters in misfortune—are about fifty miles apart. The causes of their destruction are so identical as to be remarkable. Both were feeling their way to San Francisco; both became bewildered in a dense fog, and both went ashore. The Paul struck her fatal reef at ten ninutes past eleven o’clock last evening. e deck was in charge of First Officer 'w Hall, with Captain J. C. Downing the bridge, personally directing the ovements of the vessel. The night was and the thick foz made it impossible ee & feet ahead of the bow. The amer was run fore her stem touched the rocks the white veil ahead lifted a little and ockout on the bow saw the foam of a reaker, he engire-room bell sonnded to stop and back full speed, but o the rocks, and several succeeding swells lifted her higher up. In the meantime the engines had. been reversed and the propeller was churning the water astern into foam in its efforts to free the vessel:—TFhe-attempt was useless and the St. Paul settied down on her bed, ju s did the Colombia four weeks ago. sharp rocks pierced ber bottom in several places and the water began to come in to the amidships compartment, g the fire and engine rooms. No the order was given by Captain Down- o clear away sll the boats. The shock of her striking and the quickly eeding grinding and bumping awak- the passengers, as well as the nd crew in their bunks below. e were sixteen women and four chil- dren on board, and among these there was 2t first considerable confusion. They were, however, quickly given to under- tand that there was no danger, and they were soon dressed and ready to leave the steamer. z As the boats were swung over the side into the sea and manned the passengers were taken aboard, the women first. There was no confusion nor any mishap, as the water was smooth and only a light wind Captain Downing directed the officers in charge to make their way to Monterey, which port be believed was close by. Nothingcould be seen nor heard and even the breakers close aboard were at times hidden by the fog. The five boats put off 1n the darkness, cautiously feeling their way. The mignt was cold and the paszengers, especially the women, being lightly clad, were soon chilled. The boat commanded by Second Officer Phiip Ward made a landing near Pacific Grove, and seven of the passengers started overland for Monterey, reaching this place about 4 o'clock this morning and bringing the first news of the wreck. The other boats got into the harbor a few hours later and all the passengers were then safely domiciled at the Pacific Ocean House. The St. Paul lies as she struck, heading due east, within about 100 yards of the shore, something like three miles south of Point Pinos light. That three miles was the extent of Captain Downing’s error. He was just that distance off his course and away from the position in which he should have been. Like Captain Clark, who made the fatal mistake of believing that the Colombia had rounded Pigeon Point light, Downing headed his ship east- ward. Insteaa of steaming safely into Monterey he piunged the St. Paul squarely on the beach. The coast all along this locality is a bed of kelp which extends for miles out into ses. This indicates shallow water, m one to four fathoms deep. i:teen feet of water, must have been plow- gz her way under a slow bell through s bank of luxuriant marine vegetation r hours. The question naturally arises, 1f the captain, his bearine gone in the blinding fog, did not knmow that the deadly reefs were at times only a few feet below his keel, why did he not use his | Moreover, those waters are charted and the shoals and currents planly indicated. Avout a mile west of Pomt Pinosis a whistiing buoy, markiog the outer verge of adangerous reef: Itsounds its warn- ing pipe unceasingly, and can often be heard in Monterey, four miles away. The officers stated yesterday that they could not hear it from the locality of the vessel. Through the dense fog no ray could come from the lighthouse. The 8t. Paul was heavily laden, having among her cargo 5000 sacks of grain be- sides a great quantity of butter and cieese. There is also on board over 100 head of calves, shipped by Captain W. F. Tayior of San Simeon. They wiil be transferred to snother vessel to-morrow and for- warded to their destination. £ under & slow bell and | He quickly gave the alarm and | before the | med ship could be checked she ground | T attempt to get her off was made | Conse- | ntly the St Paul, drawing twelve to | As there is six feet of water in the for- ward hold and & much greater depth aft much of the cargo, especially the grain, is undoubtedly a ioss. The vessel lies off Mcss Beach, about | balf way between a point known as Seal Rocks and Point Pinos. Her bow is some- what elevated and the stern low 1n the water, and, as she is tightly wedged ina | sort of cradle between two ledzes of rock | she is steady. excepting for a slight swing | and roll when a sea rolls in against her. There is a heavy fog coming in, but the ocean is still and but little wind blowing. Captain Minor Goodall came in from | the wreck late this evening, having ar- rived on the Santa Rosa. He believes there is a possibility that the vessel can be | saved, but can not state positively until an examination is made by divers to- morrow. “The rocks have pierced through the iron plates of the bull about amidships,’” | said ke to a CALL correspondent. *‘All of | the compartments are flooded with water. | | The fire and enginegrooms are awash and | the machinery is tseless for any work. | All of the cargo, especially the wheat and wool, in the holds is ruined, entailinga heavy loss. The freight steamer Santa Cruz will come down from San Francisco in the morning and the livestock and | what can be recovered will be taken off. | | Captain Downing thought he was round- | ing Point Pinos, and, changing his course to the eastward, went on the rocks. The fog was so ihick that nothing could be seen, and neither breakers nor buoy could be neard. Consequently he was not aware that he was near the shore until he felt | his vessel strike. I was only aboard of the | St. Paul this evening & few minutes and cannot tell much of what occurred priorto the time she went ashore. If she can pos- | sibly be saved no effort will be spared to | rescue her. 1f the sea remains smooth we | can do much toward lightening our loss, E even if we don’t get her on the dry dock.” | However hopeful Captain Goodall is, the | rocks are sharp all around her and every | roli and fall on the reef starts a plate and | the St. Paul will probably keep the Colom- bia company on their hard rocky beds until the seas batter them out of shape. | When the shipwrecked passengers were seen sitting on the veranda of the hotel this afternoon they were waiting patiently for the train that was to carry them city- wards. Mrs. George Swain of Berkeley ‘was one of the ladies lowered into the last boat. After being setiled in the small | craft tossing alongside the bumping | | steamer, she saw that her husband was still on deck and resolutely crawled back onto the deck. | “There was nothing of s heroic nature | in my action,’” said she. “I simply thought | if my husband could stay there I could | keep him company.” | Captain Taylor, one of the passengers { who landed at Pacific Grove and footed it into town, states that his party soon after | getting ashore knocked at the door of | Keeper Hitcheock, who has charge of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company’s | track, known as the Seventeen Mile drive, | and asked for assistance. He was requested to send & messenger | to Monterey for help, but he refused and | was indignant that he should be aroused | from his bed at3 o'clock in the morning | even to assist shipwrecked people. He re- sumed his slumbers and they trudged on | through the fog and darkness. | There is a belief among the passengers | that the light on Point Pinos wasnot burning. Soon after the vessel struck rockets were sent up, and they say that until this time no gleam came from the | point. Then the light shone out. | Captan Downing was the first officer of | the St. Paul when she was purchased by | the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, and | | he was promoted to her command qul month. He has the reputation of being a | careful, zealous and faithful officer, and being so well acquainted with these waters one would worder at him running ashore, and why his ship out yonder, within a bis- | cuit’s throw of the beach, is grinding off | her plates to-night. According to the accountsof some of the | passengers and several of the crew, there ; | was considerable confusion just after the | vessel struck. Men and women for a few | moments rushed out of their rooms half | dressed around the boats. Some of the | employes of the ship lost their heads, put | on life preservers and crowded around the | boats. They were forced by the officers to take off the belts and go below by threats | of summary punishment. It is also said | that the colored ligats of Point Sur wera | tance we found Moss Beach. The Scene of the Disast The North American Navigation Company’'s Steamer St. [Sketched by a “Call™ artist yesterday.] Paul on the Rocks Near Point Pinos. seen and thought to be the red and green lights on the whart at Monterey. Out of all these vague and half whis- pered reports it is apparent that ‘‘some- body blundered.” George Norton, one of the crew, isin- clined to speak of the disaster. He was on the Colima when she went down on the Mexican coast and is no nowice in shipwrecks. “We were going at the rate of eleven knots an hour,” he said, “when we struck. We hit hard. The were reversed and we backed nearly fifty feet, then stayed there. I was in my room at the time and one of the rocks is now in the middle of it. “The shock threw me out of my bunk and the place began filling with water, and I immediately went on deck and found women running about in their nightclothes. They were all ic- stricken, and although I told them there was no immediate danger they would not return to their cabins to dress. One woman I actually carried to her stateroom and locked her in until she dressed. The saloon was flooded quickly and the cattle in the hold scented the danger and began bellowine. This made the scene all the more appall- | ing. Then a boat was let down to find out about the shore line, and where to land the passengers. I was in this boat, and after rowing around.for quite a dis- We could not see the light at Point Pinos, and Ido not think it was burning atall. Neither could we hear the Point Pinos bellbuoy."” ‘*After finding a place suitable to land our passengers we repaired ,again to oyr boat. The first boat to leave the ship con- tained nineteen persons, mostly women and children. The next boat had twenty- three people. The last boat carried the steward and one man. They were all safely landed at 3 . M. Thecrew all went back, and we were so exhausted we could bardly do anything.” Michael Noon, the wharfinger at Mon- terey. was seen and he saia: “I wason board the St. Paul twice to-day. She is awful solid on the rocks. I think when CROWDS VIEW they clear her cargo they can raise her, but Idon’t think she will ever float. There is ten feet of water in her hold now and she has three rocks jammed into her, one for- ward and two aft.”’ Captain Goodall ordered the crew ashore to-night and they are now camped on the beach. " The officers of the 8t. Paul were: Csp- tain J. C. Downing;. Officer, Andrew ; Becond Officer, Philip D. Ward; Third Officer, J, J. Coleman; Chiei En- gineer, Henry Lux; Becond Assistant, ‘William Downing; Purser, William Chris- man. The passengers were: Marie Vinson, Pomona; Earl Van Gordon, Cambria; E. P. Cashin, San Bimeon; C. F. Stone and | wife, Coursville, Ky.; Amy A. Reene, St. Panl, Minn.; Lulu Arend, Mrs. 8. E. Con- nell, 8. Anderson, San Francisco; Bessie M. Cox, Los Angeles; Ed Nelson, Harry Yates, John Winston, W. B. Craig, Miss J. C. Woener, Mrs. W. M. Urquhart, Miss M. Urqubart, Mrs. W. 8. Moolseed and two children, Ralph Halloran and wife, C. C. Greaeber, L. Greaeber, George Swain and wife of Berkeley, Fannie Dunn, Henry A. Harris, R. Walsand, Margaret Long, R. R. Evans, George Evans, J. C. Corey, Wiiliam Smith, F. 8. Lanning, Dr. Byron ¥. Dawson, 8. B. Cannell, Vittori Rinoli, William Keliey, Otto Brentz, A. J. Wil- son, James Wilson, J. C. Johnson, V. Johnson, M. F. Taylor, A. L. Hall, C. J. Evans, W. Snow, W. W. Blanchard, Baker Blanchard. The St. Paul is an iron steamship, built at Philadelphia in 1875 for the Alaska Commercial Company. Sheis of 960 tons burthen, 197 feet long, and her breadth of beam is 31 feet. Martin Buliger of this City superintended her construction. After her arrival on this coast she was put in the trade between San Francisco and the Alaskan ports. She made one or two trips to Pansma loaded with furs, which were forwarded by the Alaska Commer- cial Company via the isthmus to London, and she was several timea chartered by the - Pacific Mail Company to run on their line to Panama and Central American poris. In 1879, when General Grant vis- ; ED THE WRECKED ST PAOL er to the Steamship Was Visited by Hundreds of People Vesterday. in All Sorts of Yehicles, and Many From Long Distances. ited San Francisco on his way home from his journey around the world, the St. Paul was placed at his disposal for a jour- ney to Portland, Or. Bhe was fitted up especially for the occasion, and, accom- panied by Benator John F. Miller, who was president of the Alaska Company, the general and Mrs. Grant, together with Colonel Fred and Ulysses Grant Jr., made | the voyage in a very enjoyable manner. At the expiration of the fur seal privi- laid up in Oakland Creek. On the organi- zation of the North. American Navigation Company the St. Paul was chartered and made the pioneer voyage between this port and Panama. On the collapse of that organization the vessel was purchased by the Pacific Coast Steamship Company, and after bein: overhauled and refitted, a pro- cess which detracted greatly from her ap- perance to the nautical eye,she was placed in service between San Francicco and Re- cGondo, touching at way ports. Captain Downing, the commander of the St. Paul, is a resident of Oskland and bas been engaged 1n service on this coast for a number of years. He was formerly first officer of the Willamette Valley and was promoted to the command of the Bonita. From the latter vessel he was transferred fo the St. Paul, a‘'much larger and finer vessel. - ~ Captain Freeman, the well-known pilot, returned from the scene of the wreck last evening. He reported. that the St. Paul was lying easily and apparently making no water. He gave it’'as his opinion that if the cargo is lightered they will be able to get the vessel off. ; p e F. 5. LANNING’S STUEY. He Tells of Bis Experience on the Ill- Fated Steamer. F. S. Lanning of North Ontario, agent of the Southern California Railway, who was a passenger on the Bt. Paul, arrived in this City lastevening and registered at the Commiercial Hotel. It had been a little rough Saturdsy afternoon and the sea was just rough enough to make people seasick,” said Mr. Lanning, and it continued until 8 o’clock in the evening, when, feeling tired, I re- tired, and it was not long before I was sound asleep. Suddenly I was awakened by a severe bump, then another aod still another, and then was ~ thrown out of my berth, as was also ‘a_young man who occupied the berth me. ‘Guess we’ve got into Mon- terey and the steamer’s run into the wharl,’ he remarked as he straightened up. 1 replied that I thought it was worse ‘than that, and believed that the steamer had been climbing on a lot of rocks. We got out on the decx and saw that the vessel was enveloped in a heavy fog and 1t was impossible to tell where we were, as there was no light from shore that was visible. The steamer thumped several times and then settled, careening so much to port that a man could not walk the deck with- out being very careful. The other passengers came on deck and ‘there was considerable excitement, but very little confusion. The women, with the exception of twoor three who fainted, behaved remarkably well. The master of the vessel and the other officers acted with great coolness and did all they could to quiet the passengers, and gave orders to secure life-preservers and put them on. There were plenty of these, and soon everyone had one or two on his or her body. In the meantime we could hear the breakers rotling on the shore and could hear the water rushing into the hold of tne steamer. » “The master as soon as possible gave orders to lower the boats, five in number, and this was done as Tapialy as the hands—who seemed somewhat rattled— could do so, and as many passengers as could be placed in each were taken in. Each officer in charge of a boat was given orders to make for the nearest point at which a‘landing counld ‘be effected and re- turn with all possible haste. That was no easy task, for the fog was so thick that it was impossible to see a boat’s length Continued on Second Page. . They Came PRICE FIVE CENTS. TAKEN WiTH THEIR LOOT Mexican Officers Capture Ensenada Gold-Bar Thieves. CAUGHT WHILE DIGGING FOR THE METAL, Vault-Raider Garratt and Party Cleverly Trailed to Their Cache. GOVERNOR SANGINES LEADS THE CAPTORS, One of the Prisoners a Man Arrested as a Suspect and Lately Released. SAN DIEGO, Car., Ang. 9.—James E. Garratt and three companions were caught in the act of unearthing the famous En-. senada gold bar valued at $12,000, which was stolen from the office of M. Riveroll at Eosenada on the night of March 30, 1895. The captors of the party were Mexi« cans, headed by no less a personage than Governor Agustin Sangines himself. The Garratt party was just about to dig for the gold when Governor Sangines ordered them to be surrounded and overpowered. The Mexicans quickly carried out the or« der, forcing Garratt and the others to hold up their hands and look down the muzzles of four rifies. Then Governor Sangines demanded from Garratt the exact location of the bar which the wretched fel- low gave and a few moments’ shoveling revealed the bar. The Governor took pos- session of it and ordered the four prisoners jailed. Garratt spent sixteen months in the Ensenada jail under suspicion of having been the robber, but it could not be proved against him and he was released on July 25. Allan Pratt, bookkeeper for Mr. Riy- erol, was arrested at the same time and released with Garratt. Pratt and Garratt were good friends and Pratt had access to the sate where the bar was kept, but be- yohd this there was nothing fo indicate that they were guiity, and nobody in this city would believe they were the thieves. Garratt is a native of Montreal and Pratt is an Englishman. Bothlived at Ensenada some years and became Mexican citizens, which worked much to their disadvantage when they were in prison. As soon as Garratt was released he came to this city, arriving July 26. The next day he took out citizenship papers and said Mexico would never see him again, He hung round town awhile and disap- peared some time last week. It was learned to-day that he hired the junk Pekin, Captain Frank R. Culbert, to convey him and two passengers to Sauzal, a little landing place eight miles north of Enseneda. The two men with Garratt came down on the schooner Dawn from San Pedro ten days ago, and no one here knows their names. They are supposed to be the men captured with Garratt. The fourth man caught was Sam Hayward, a worthless character at Ensenada. The captain and crew of the junk were not caught, and they are supposed to be on their way hither. The junk was sighted off Sauzal Friday - evening from the steamer Pacheco, which wason her way ta this city. The gold-bar robbery was an interesting affair. The bar was owned by the Ibarra Mining Company of San Francisco. The company’s mines are at Calamalli, about 300 miles south of SanDiego. The gold was brought to Ensenada on a schoo- ner and deposited in Riveroll’s shipping office for safe keeping. It Was there a day or two. On the night of March 20, a year ago, it was stolen, the safe being opened by means of the combination. It was this fact which cast suspicion upon Pratt. Riveroll himself, however, was not free from suspicion, and aiter Pratt had been arrested Riveroll was placed behind the bars, but not held long. Riveroll gave up $13,000 worth of property to indemnify the Ibarra Company, but since then has paid $3000 in cash toward the loss, retamning the chance to redeem his property. ‘When Pratt was released two weeks ago he stayed at Ensenada a day or two,where his family remains. Then he came to San Diego and said he had an offer of a good position with D. Duncan, who is or was secretary of a loan and trust company at San Francisco. Pratt proceeded to San Francisco, and is believed to be there now. It was learnea to-day that strenuous efforts will be made to extradite him, as the treaty between this country and Mex- ico provides for the exchange of prisoners held on charges involving more thsn $10,000. Pratt, even if it becomes known that he was implicated in the robbery, is not con- sidered the leader. Garratt is undoubt- edly the ringleader, and many here be- lieve he went to Ensenada determined to get theé bar and get away with it, leaving Pratt with nothing but the memory of sixteen months in prison for his pains. The punishment awaiting Garrast is severe. If heis not sent to the salt mines in the Gulf of California, where a number of prisoners are kept, to work in the awful heat, he may be ordered to Belem prison in Mexico, where several thousand prison- ers are always confined. The penalty for burglary isabout the same as in the United States, but the difference in treatment is to be considerrd. In Mexico the prisoner is allowed only 20 cents (Mexican money) per day for food, and no bedding. Garratt is small and frail and will not live long under such conditioas. He has wealthy relatives in Montreal and Eng- land, but their combined efforts were fruitless to get him out of jail or secure him any concessions during his first ime