The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1876-01-29
BELLEVUE BOssIER PARISH, LOUISIANA.

tance vas ascertained. Steaming up
Barclay sound the first Indian village
hailed, canoe came off containing a
white man, who came aboard and intro
duced himself as the first mate Of the
ship Orpheus; he stated she had been run
into the Thursday previous by q steamer;
was wrecked ON al, island near by: the
captain and crew had got ashore safely,
and were eflcamped further up; proceed
ing in the direction indicated, another
canoe approached, in which was Captain
Sawyer, Of the Orpheus; he gave an &C
count of the disaster Thursday evening
he was approaching the cape, by his reck-
oning about twenty miles off; fresh
southeast wind and steering about north
east the man at the wheel first saw the
steamers headlight off the bow; imme-
diately after, straight head, could see
neither of her side-lights; could not
make out which direction she was COM
ing; put his helm astarboard; the light
came nearer he continued starboard his
helm until his vessel turned around,
with the sails fat aback the steamer by
this time had got very near him; he
blew his whistle in less than half min
ute; after her bow struck his ship
glancing blow just abaft the forechains,
crashing in the rail and breaking the
planking down to near the copper, she
surged alonside her, carrying away all
the starboard braces and rigging on that
side, and also the foretop mast.
Sawyerstates that he hailed the steamer
as she surged past, and called to them to
lay by him and send boat, as he then
supposed his ship to be in sinking con-
dition, but no one answered him, neither
did he see anyone on her deck. She
drifted or steamed away; he was not GER
tain which he afterward saw dash Of
light, which he took for signal; he
thought they had heard mis- hail and
would lay by him: he saw her no more !;
his ship at that time demanded all his
attention ; he lay the remainder of that
night and nearly all day Friday repairing
the rigging; that forenoon he got under
way and made all sail for land soon af.
ter dark he made light he took it for
Cape Flattery, and knowing there was q
light on the coast further north he al
lowed five miles clearance for Duncan
rock, and considered himself safe for en-
tering Straits Fuca, when, at about five
O'Clock Saturday morning his ship scraped
reef and Immediately after struck her
bow on rock, stuck fast and filled. The
light he mistook for Flatterv was the
Cape Beal enterance Of Barclay sound,
thirty miles north Of the former. The
ship will be total loss. Sawyer got all
the valuables, ETC., that he could cut oi
her and encamped on shore with his wife
and crew in tents made of sails. He had
hired canoe Of the Indians and started
the mate to Victoria for help. The
weather was SO bad that the Indians
would not venture on the voyage, and &c
they were found. When the Wolcott
arrived Lieutenant Harwood took them
aboard his vessel, with the most valuable
portion of the goods saved, leaving the
FIRST mate Of the Orpleus in charge o1
| the wreck until the owners could be CON
suited. All were landed safely at Port
Townsend Friday. Nothing was heard
or seen in Barclay sound Of anything re
garding the Pacific. Captain Harwood
and Pilot Peter Thompson went to the
wreck of the Orpheus and examined it
They say the ship was undoubtedly strucl
by the steamer just abaft the further
rigging. The Orpheus registered ont
thousand and sixty-seven tons, and wa
owned by G. T. Taylor & CO., Of thii
city. At the time Of the collision will
the Pacific she was in ballast on her way
to Departure bay for q cargo Of coal
having sailed from here no the ninth in