Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-05-17
She Sinks Beneath the Waves In a Storm
YestardaY.


PORTLAND (Or), May 16th.-The steam
ship Columbia, which has Just arrived at
Astoria, bound from San Francisco to Port
land, brings reports of the loss of the Ore
gon Railway & Navigation Compapy's
magnificent sidewheel iron steamer Alas
kan.
This vessel is reported to have foundered
at sea off Cape Blanco, on Monday, Nav
18th, while on the way from Portland to
San Francisco. Only meager particulars
of the disaster have been received as yet.
The Alaskan left Portland on Saturday,
May 11th, bound for San Francisco, where
she was to go on the dry dock for some re-
pairs, preparatory to being placed on the
Puget sound route. 1t is supposed that she
must have encountered severe gale while
on the way down the coast The steamer
fortunately carried no passengers, having
on board only the officers and crew when
she went down.
Cape Blanco is some 400 miles south of
the mouth of the Columbia river.
The steamship Columbia, which was
coming up the coast, picked up the cap
tain, mate and eleven of the crew and
brought them to Astoria. Five men are
reported to be drowned. Two boats, con-
tanning the remainder of the crew, have
not vet been heard from.
PARTICULARS OF THE WRECK.
ASTORIA (Or.), May l6th.-At noon the
steamer Columbia arrived from San Fran
cisco with eight survivors of the wreck of
the steel side-wheel steamer Alaskan,
which became total wreck last Monday
morning between 2 and O'clock The
vessel struck heavy weather when she left
Columbia bar at noon on Saturday, and
labored through a hurricane and heavy
seas till ten miles off Cape Blanco, when a
large leak was sprung just forward of the
rudder. The upper works lifted, the water
rushing in. ALI efforts to stop the leak
were unsuccessful.
AT 2:30 the vessel broke in two in the
middle and then Strengthened out.
Three life boats and a life.raft were
launched and twelve rockets sent up to ar
rest the attention of the tug Vigilant
which was towing a dredger to Tacoma.
The Vigilant could not abandon the
dredger, as it had six men aboard but SUBJ
sequently ranged alongside one of the life
boats.
The crew, officers and three stowaways-
forty-three in number-took to the boats,
Engineer Swins and Steward Al Rails
were drowned.
Quartermaster J. w. Brown, lust off the
steamer Columbia, tells the Daily Astoriqn
it was reported that the ship had split in
two in bowling gale, at 2:30 Monday
morning. l clambered up into the pilot
house and saw the engineer and steward
drown. / saw the second mate. Weeks, and
a sailor go into the forecaslle. i believe
they were drowned. l staid by till o'clock
Tuesday morning. I was then taken off by
the tug Vigilant. l was saved with seven
others. was transferred from the tug to
the steamer Columbia, bound for Astoria.
THE SAVED AND MISSING.
OFF COLUMBIA RIVER BAR, May 16th.-
10 A. M.-Captain Howes was on a float lust
picked up. Pilot George Woods and five
sailors-Walfred Johnson, Barney Bert
rand, James Foley, G. Graham. and the
oiler-have been picked up in fife-boats.
These, with Quartermaster Brown, are all
that were saved of the foriy-three men, as
far as known. Two life-boats and the life
raft, with thirty six men, are still unheard
from.
PARALYZED WITH FEAR.
A great panic prevailed aboard. When
the vessel broke in two the men had to be
brought up from the hold at the point of
pistol and made take to the boats, SO par
alyzed were they with fear.
Howes and Woods were greatly injured
from exposure. The ether FIVE were un-
injured.
IN BAD CONDITION.
The Alaskan was owned by the Oregon
Railway and Navigation Company and was
built in 1888 at cost of $500, 900. She was
going to San Francisco to go on the dry
dock, thence to ply on the sound this
summer. She was partially insured.
Experienced steamboat men say she was
in no condition to make the trip to San
Francisco, except under the most favorable
circumstances.
The lost steamer was built in 1888 by
Roach, at Chester, Pa, at cost of about
$3.50, 600, especially for the Oregon Railway
and Navigation Company. She was su-
perbly equipped and furnished, and was
considered one of the finest steamers on
this coast, and superior tn most of the
Atlantic coast steamers. She was large,
fiat, side-wheel steamer of LILY gross ton
mage, 2753 feet long, 40 feet breadth and 13
feet depth, and designed for passenger serv-
ice between Portland and the Sound ports
1t was found that she was very expensive
boat to operate, and for some time she has
been tied up at Portland. 1t was desired
to have her hull cleaned, and as there are
no docks north suitable, she was ordered
to San Francisco to go on the Merchants
Dry Dock. Captain Howe, for many years
OF the steamer Oregon. was in charge. 1t
is understood that no passengers were
aboard