The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1889-04-27
THE STEAMER ALLIANCE.
Run Down by The Steamer Danub
Sunk Near sauvis's Island Monday Night.

tC1udg uOIulAS h4bA tAO RoooCh6SAO
Of the steamer Alliance, and bringing
the startling news that that steamer
had been run into by the Danube at
nine o'clock the previous evening near
Postoffice bar.
Following is from yesterdays Ore
go1lian:
The steamer Alliance, owned by
the Portland & Coast Steamship
company, is high and dry on
the south end of Sauvie's Isl
and. There is a hole eight feet
long, four feet wide and six feet deep
in her starboard bow, the result of a
collision with the steamer DGnUb e,
en- route from Victoria, which oc-
CURED quarter of a mile from the
breakwater of Willamette slough,
about 9 o'clock Monday night. The
Alliance immediately began to fill
and sink, and was beached just in
time. The Danube was slightly dam
aged.
The Alliance, Captain Peterson in
command, sailed for Gray's harbor
with twenty-one passengers and car
go of freight at eight o'clock that
evening.
At the time the collision occurred
the Danube, the Alliance, and the
river steamers r. K. Thompson and
LuTline were all within a radius of
about 400 feet. The Thompson had
just whistled and passed the Alliance,
and the Lurlif1e was near by. Cap
tain Petersen was on the bridge of
the Alliance. Captain L. A. Bailey,
who was on board, says:
after the Thompson had passed us
1 heard two whistles which 1 thought
were blown by her, so left my room
abaft the pilot house, and reaching the
deck, walked over to the starboard
side to ascertain the cause.
Il saw the red light of the Danube
not 100 feet ahead. The Alliance
was pursuing northerly course In
bunch at one time"
the channel and the Danube was COM
ing toward her at an angle of about
forty-fve degrees. I do not know
whether the Alliance and Danube ex-
changed signals.
when it was seen that collision
was inevitable the officers in charge of
the vessels gave orders to back, and
the steamers were backing when they
struck. 1 think the collision was
caused by q misunderstanding Of the
signals, so many vessels being in q
Pilot Granville Reed who had
charge of the Danube at the time of
the collision said he would rather sub
NIT his report to the inspectors of
bulls and boilers before saying any,
thing on the subject, but afterward
made the following statement:
"The collision occurred about 8;55
o'clock, just as we were crossing what
is known to river captains as Post
Office bar, in the Willamette river.
We were on our way up the river at
the time mentioned, when suddenly l
saw several boats ahead. One boat,
the nearest, showed q red light. I
was getting ready to blow my whistle,
when the steamer, showing the red
light, blew one whistle; that I immed-
lately answered with one whistle, at
the same time giving an order to port
our wheel"
"We ran along on our selected
courses for space of time covering
probably two minutes, when the river
steamer K. r. Thompson, which
was one of the boats approaching,
blew two whistles, when the Alliance
also blew two whistles. I did not an
swer either Of these whistles, for l
did not know but what the Thompson
was signalling to pass the Alliance
and the Alliance answering the
IhonpSon'S whistles. The Alliance,
on blowing the last whistles immedi-
ately showed me her green light, but
too late for me to starboard my helm.
1 gave orders to stop, and commenced
to back at full speed, when the col
ision occurred.
"We struck the Alliance abreast of
her foremast, cutting a deep hole in
her. She would have sunk if she had
kept in the stream, but she was
beached Immediately. l backed right
away from her and lowered my boats,
which sent alongside of the Alliance
to take off her passengers, but the
Lurline, which it seems was coming
down the river behind the Thompson,
arrived about the same time and took
off all the passengers, with the ex-
ception of captain Bailey and three
others, and proceeded on her way to
Astoria. Captain Bailey and the
three other gentlemen came aboard
the Danube, and we brought them up
to this city with us.
"If the Alliance had kept on the
course she first selected, the accident
would not have happened Fortu-
nately, no one was hurt, and the
Danube escaped with but one of her
bow plates broken"
Captain John Hill, of the steamer
Danube, who overheard the story
told by pilot Reed, was asked to give
bis version of how the accident oc-
CURED. He said:
"You have Mr.. Reeds story. He
has told you just how the accident
occurred and mine would only be a
repetition of his: I corroborate him
in every particular
The Alliance was built in this city
about five years ago, being origi-
nally known as the Emma Hume,
and costing between $4,000 and
$500 She will be raised and
repaired at once.
G. P. Upshur, the agent in this city,
got q telegram from F. r. Strong