The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1888-03-09
FATE OF THE TONQUIN.
By HU MAXWELL.

For the Ihlp that never returned"
Last summer while cruising along thai
chain Of islands stretching from the coast
Of Alaska seuthwsrd to the Strait Of Amer
ica, we anchored one evening in quieI
bay under the promontory Of one of the
islanda. While l was admiring the splen'
did scenery Of the shores and the reefs
and the unrullled ocean, the Captain said
/ to me: 1--WE are now riding at anchor over
the wreck Of the Tonquin, which liss In
the bottom Of the sea beneath us,"
twas revelation TO me. had thought
nothing OF thst ill-iated ship since l had
read the STORY years ago; but recalled
the circumstances OF the catastrophe, and
| it had now an intense interest for me,
more than it had ever had before. In.
deed, there are no portions OF this desc.
late coast and silent islands that are not
associated In my memory with events
long past, and OF which l read when q
school. boy, 1t 40 happened that series
oil books on travel fell in my hands, all Of
which read with an interest deeper than
any echool.girl reads the latest novels.
Among them were the voyages Of Capt.
Cook; and from them gained my first
definite ideas OF these island reefs among
which waa now sailing, and which then
hardly expected ever TO see. Then the
travels Of Capt Gray along the same coast
told OF further wondera and stranger mys.
teries. And l read OF Mackenzie, him
who had penetrated and explored British
America, even to the Arctic ocean, and
had came down this shore. And OF Van.
couver, the explorer from whom the island
OF Vancouver takes its name. And OF
BaranhofI, that rugged Russian who named
and mapped so many OF the islands and
rivers. All these and others l had read
years ago; and was thinking OF them,
and how little the scene has changed since
they were here, when my attention was
called TO the fact that the ruins OF that
splendid ship, the Tonquin, lay in the
bottom Of the ocean beneath US.
The story Of that lost ship is not gen.
orally known, and | have thought it
might be OF interest to speak OF 1t. am
certain II would be II could clothe it
with an interest 10 others as IL has for me.
But this l cannot hope to do, since my
being on the spot where the tragedy was
enacted has deepened my feelings on the
subject. ThSt little bay Is the las. place
| in the world where one would suspect that
such catastrophe had taken place. It Is
MET and calm; the islands are uninhAb-
tied and desola.e, with their tall forests
Of pines, looming up, as 1t were, from the
water; and the dull blue mists hang over
all, as they ever do on the waters and the
shores OF the Pacific. The evening that
was there not breeze came on the air,
and the bay was smooth as glass, except
when a disturbing wave would roll in
from the wide ocean beyond the harbor.
Yet this was where that iated ship went
down.
The Tonquin was lost in 1911. It be.
lonRed 10 John Jacob Astor, OF New York,
and had been sent round Cape Horn, to
tho Russian posts in Alaska to arrange an
understanding with that nations agents
in regard to the fur trade, in which Mr..
Astor expected to engage, with headqusr-
tors at the mouth OF Columbia river, In
Oregon. The ship was Of two hundred
and ninsty tons burthen, and was we'll
armed, for it was expected that there
would be need Of force In its dealinHs with
the Indians on the American coast, and
with the natives OF the Sandwich Islands,
where the vessel was expected 10 touch.
Fearing that in come Of these inter
views trouble might arise, Mr.. Astor had
given strict orders that not more than Eve
or ak eavaSes should be admitted on
board the ship at one time, Had these
orders been obeyed, the calamity had not
happened.
ii 10 needless to follow the voyage OF the
vessel. further than to state that, after
stopping at the Sandwich Islands and
touching on the coast of Oregon, It pro-
ceeded on its way toward Alaska, and
stopped at the leland, OF which l have
spoken, and from which II never depart
ed. The purpose In stopping here was To
trade with the natives and buy seal skins.
No sooner had the vessel come to an.
Choir than number OF Indians came on
board with peltries for trading, but il
being late, the bartering was postponed
till next morning, With the return oil
day the saYGges came back. But thoy re-
fused to sell their wAres for any reRsona.
bic price, always asking double what they
were offered,
The Captain wRu an irritable man and
lost hia patience, and quit trying to buy
the fare, and commenced pacing the deck,
Tho chief Of the Indians followed him,
and at every Turn held out an otter skin,
and wanted 10 sell 1t. At length the Gap.
tain lanatched the FUR, Tdhbsd It In the
Chiefs face, and after giving him kick
ing, ordered him to leave the ship. He
did 80, with all his men, and made for the
shore in terrible rage.
II the Tonquin had weighed anchor
then and sailed away all had ended well ;
but the obslinscy Of the captain doomed
it to destruction, He refused TO sail off;
and when they represented to him the
danger from the hundreds Of sAvAges that
now lined the shores and filed ths air
with their Whoops and yells, he sullenly
pointed TO his cannon, Of which the ship
carried ten, and said that these would be
defense enough against unarmed eavaRes
Indeed they would have been had due
caution been takeni but such was not to
be the case,
The day passed with no occurrence Of
Importance, and the captain, through
etubbornness, refused to depart. They
could observe that Indiana were coming
in from every direction, and deep in the
forest Of the leland might be heard the
low, o.ainoIs beating Of Indian dTVme
which should have been proof enough
had all o!hsr been wanting, that thC
savages meant an attack.
No extra guards were Get for the night
and only the usual precaution taken. BH
the night passed away without an attack
However, Just OF daybTeak canoe with I
few Indians In It put Of from the shore
snd came up Slongside the ship, and sale
, they wanted to sell their iurg, and mad
pretense OF being friendly. There beinI
no orders to the contrary, the guard I'D
mitted thpm on board. Others now cam
from the shore, and were admitted like
wise, and soon the whole ship wa
crowded with Indians, who, however
seNmed to be unRTmed.
!, The whole number OF men on the shil
that L., the crew Of the Bhip-WRs tWen
ty.iour, one Of whom was an Indian intel