Seattle daily post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, W.T. [Wash.]) 1881-1888, 1883-11-04

An Old Sea Captafn's Ueose Buiit Oo'
Of sh1pwFecks.
ISauta Barbara Independent, Oct. D.
There Is a queer little nook down
On the coast below Santa Barbara
into which q wandering reporter
found his way few days ago. IL
is the wreck OF q vessel perched high
among the sandhills upon the Palos
Verdes ranch upon the shores OF the
San Pedro bay. It Is the home OF Q
yivscicus, eccentric individual, an
old salt named Captain ]. F. Janes,
who boasts of having met and van
auished single. handed the representa-
tives of the m ost powerful monopoly
on the Pacific coast. "Come and
see my museum" said james TO the
reporter, who was weather-bound
on SEN Pedro wharf with the mer-
curry steadily crawling up above the
teeth degree. 1t is a queer pisce,
but / amt ashamed of 1t, and It's
cooler down here; besides, ! want to
show you nay lawsuits. l have
twenty-eight OF them, all Of them
nsiied upon the wall. and each one
represents money"
The queer place was found in a
dry arroyo, or sandy gulch, upon the
north side of San Pedro harbor. 1t
is handsome, square house, with a
piazza extending all around II and q
flagstaff surmounting the whole. At
. distance it presents the appearance
of q tasty little hotel and over the top
can be seen painted upon the stern
Of some wrecked ship the words
"Ocean Villa" It IS only When one
enters the neat little enclosure about
the house that its true character Is
observable. The house and It's whole
surroundings are made up OF por-
lions of wrecks. The garden fence.
the plants. the ornaments an around
bear signs of the sea. The house 10
8 combination Of bulwarks. bulk
heads, lockers, and cabins The
principal room Is the cabin OF some
frstclass ship; the room shove 1t 10
the cabin of q bark. The kitchen IL
the galley of Q wrecked merchant
man, and each and al OF the many
appointments are either cabins.
wheelhouses, or cooking ga1leys
transferred from some d:smautled
craft wrecked upon the bay. No
two rooms are alike, and oil are con-
structed 80 Is to preserve their origi-
nal appearance upon the ship they
were built upon. Some ere finished
in natural woods and some are coiled
with wood of the most expensive
character
It is in fact a house made Mp Of
wrecks gathered together BY Captain
James a. Q waterman on the south
coast during ten years. The Prin-
cipal portions Of the house are made
out Of the wreck of the Adelaide
Cooper, which was cast ashore
during q southeaster about three
years ago. The interior walls are
covered with marine curiosities
gathered by sailors in oil portions Of
the world. The collection Of hand
work made by sailors is pcrhaps the
best upon this coast. The models
Of ships and quaint carvings are
splendid. The most remarkable
curi1 Of all is large ship formed
out o. legal documents from the
Courts and Shoriff's Office and nailed
upon the walls. "Those papers"
said Captain James, In explanation,
"are my law suits. keep them on
exhibition like an Injun- does his
scalps. Those are suits l have had
brought against me by the Southern
Rscihc and by General Phineas Ban
ming to drive me away from this
spot. have tiefied them all and
have whipped 'cm. / am here yet
and there's my boats. those three
little sloops anchored IL front OF my
house. / own this lsud and the
water front, an6 all / have about me
is paid for. When me and my wife
came here we had NOT q dollar and
We lived Ii a tent made OF an old
sail. Now / am independent and
next month shall start newspaper.
the San Pedro Shipping Gazette. ]
am no scholar, never went to school
am sailor, but l have made up
my mind to grow rich with San
Pedro"
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