New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-12-18
TWENTY-NINE LIVES LOST
DISASTERS NEAR THE GOLDEN GATE.

AN UNsEAwoRTHY VESSEL SHATTERED AND MOST
OF THE CREW DRowNED.-A wHALER BURNED
SAN FRANCISCO Dec. II (SpeciaD This was
fatal Friday for seafarng at San Francisco as no
less than three disasters occurred The whaling bark
Atlantic was wrecked th. morning in a thick fog oh
the Cliff House and tweuty-nine out OF crew oil
thirty eight lost The steam whaling bark Mary
and Helen took fire at the Potrero Wharf about noon
and badly burned that the loss on her VIII oe
$50 600 She had been fitted for In the effort
to extnguisb the fire the tug Water Witch went
alongside the bark when lot OF gunpowder stored IN
the hold of the burning vessel exploded. knocking
Captain Miller of the tug into the water and drowning
hm.
The wreck of the Atlantic was one OF the worst III
the annals OF seaiaring this coast as she went
ashore within halt mile OF a hfc-savng station but
because of thick fog the station knew nothing Of
the disaster until the halfdrowped captain and eght
of his men crawled up to the house aud s@vs an sc-
count of the wreck Tine vessel left this harbor yes
terday afternoon and was tOwed outside the Heads.
Then the wind fell and there not enough to htne
sails. so Captain Warren dropped anchor What fol-
lowed may be related best in his words: One
anchor being insufficient 20 hold the vessel, we low
cred another. We stayed there Tor several hors WIZ.
the swell constantly sweeping our decks aud ire
auently dashing up into the rigging. lhe anchors
would not mold and VIC kept dragging south. Shortly
midnight. don't remember the UNI, tne Ves'ci
struck in the sand and from that time she began TO
90 to pieces The fog thick you couldn't see
your hand before your face Two boats wee immeai-
ately lowered The first boat contained hrst mate
Doty. third mate Perry and two three sailors it
had hardly got clear OF the vessel though when !,
swampcd and it's occupants were lost Ihe second
boat contained second matc Ring several sailors ana
myself. We were just pushing OIL when two more
men in... ped in and boat swamped. We clnng 10
the boat and were washed ashore"
Another FRI ght ul experience was that OF Andrew y.
Link the boatgterrer. His account OF what TOOK
place between the time of leaving the tug ansstnsing
the beach agrees with that OF Captain Warren A1er
the first boat had been lowered and was swamped,
said Look the vessel began pitching ami tossing anu
10 avoid terrible breakers we all climbed up INTO the
rigging We tried TO get several small boats OIL, out
they were all swamped. Finally an immense wase
struck us Just the vessel heelng over one sde'
| was washed off the rigging. | caught hold oil
block Of wood about feet in diameter and hung on
for dear lite IL seemed as though was IN the wafer
q month. You can inague my feelings when wouil
be thrown the shore and before had Iine 10 get
away would be CAUGHT up and dashed back into the
,oaming wafer. Finally became exhausted ana was
Just about give up. when was cast upon the shore
again. | Law there waiting TO be tossed back again,
when ] realized that somebody had hold oi me ana
was being dragged the sand ont OF reach OF the
waves | then became unconscious and do not know
what happened alter that
The lfesayi,p service threw rocket over the vessel
but nobody lett on board. Soon after she went 10
pieces ike an eggshell. THIS morning it was found
that only nine of the had been saved. Only one
BODY OF those lost was recovered Among the losI
were the second mate H. II. Doty fourth mare,
Antoine Perry asss AM engineer, W. Longheld en-
gneer Jonn I. Nye. The beach this morning w's
stiewn with wreclage The Iimbers washed ashore
were rotten and furnished conclusive proo that tho
vessel was unseaworthy: She was owned pere ana IN
New.Bediord by j. & w. X. Wing One of the local
owners claimed to-day that she stanch vessel,
bui the tact that not single insurance comnsny hero
would take line of insurance on her dspfoves this.
She was insured in New bedford ior 5000 although
worth with her 0atnt $25. 600. More than hall the
men bad never been whaler before and dldn
know bo. to handle the boats. The captain ne "
to this port also and ignorant of the strong ebb TIDE
outside the Heads II he had tacHed after passing
through the Golden Gate, he would have cleared INC
breakers The fatality among the crew is explained
by the fact that the men drunk and helpless.
The regular captain ef tn" vessel who had run on her
for five gears going to Honolulu to JOIN ihc vesseI
there Thousands of people went out to the beach TO
see the ck, but by there was nothing vsloe
save tinbers along the shore. No wreck near
the Golden Gate since the founderng Of the Escam0la
has been attended with such loss of life as this.