The morning call., 1892-11-18
DREDGERS NEEDED
Big Mud Banks Along the
City Front.
TWO TORE WHALERS IN PORT.
Funeral of Captain McWilliams.
A Boarding-House Master in
Tight Place.

dredgers, by which the wharves along the
city front from Powell street to the Mail
dock are rendered accessible TO vessels.
For all present purposes these dredgers
might as well be hauled up high and dry or
lying at the bottom of the bay. If they are
at work anywhere il is certainly not where
they are needed.
Only two days ago the Mail steamer City
of New York stuck in the mud at the wharf
and had TO wait nearly six hours for the
tide to float her off.
Yesterday, while the tide had still two
hours TO ebb. pretty nearly every ship with
draught exceeding twelve feet was hard
aground.
1t is no sort of exaggeration to say that
from Lombard street to the Oceanic wharf
no large ship can be locked except at GER
tain hours Of the day when the tide is high
enough to permit it. One or two of the
wharves are not so bad as the others. but
those that are bad are very bad.
Not only this, but the deposits of sewage
matter from the great sewers under Wash
lngton and Broadway wharVes send up at
low tide reeklng stenehes, which are not
only menace to passers-by but danger to
health. Even the chief wharfinger's office
itself is not pleasant place to be in at low
tide.
There Is work for three or four dredgers
Tor several weeks right now. In the basin
where the red-stack towbOats are moored
there were not more than ten feet yester-
day, whereas there should be minimum
depth of twenty feet at least all along the
city front wharves.
One cause Of the rapid filing up of the
space between the wharyes is that the
sewers. in stead of being carried out to the
enc OF the wharyeS so as 10 discharge the
contents fully into the tideway, are merely
brought out few feet beyond the seawall.
The piles OF the wharves effectually cut off
tbs tide current and all the alluvium in the
bay waters. together wi h the sewage de-
posts, inevitably falls to the bottom be-
tween the wharyes, producing mudbanks
with a rapldity which could hardly be
credited.
1t is only few months since the two
dredgers were at work all along the portion
referred to, but the work will have to be
done over again. aud that soon.
Below the Pacific Mall dock and in the
vicinity OF Fourth-street long bridge the fill
Ing up OF the bay has gone on even more
rapidly. There are many banks of mud in
the neighborhood of the bridge, with only
fathom or so of water over them, where
there was depth of fifteen to twenty feet
only four years ago.
The whaling barks Jesse A. Freeman
and " lillian Baylles arrived from the Fox
Islands yesterday, reducing the number of
vessels now out 10 five. The Freeman has
500 barrels of oil and 5000 pounds OF bone;
the Baylies 300 barrels OF oil and 400 pounds
of bone.
The New Bedford captains, mates, boat
steerers and other officers of the Eastern
whaling fleet went East last night on a spe-
clal ear over the Burlington road. There
were AZ IN the party. Some of the officers
did pretty we'll, but there are loud com
plants about the prices paid for oil and
bone, and one man who had figured out his
share at over $1,000 had il sealed down TO
$500 for ten months work. He said he
could begin to sympathiZe with the poor
fellows who are paid off with dollar
A well-knOwn detective stated to CALL
reporter yesterday that there is very
wrong Impression prevailing about shang-
mailing men on whaleTs. So far from there
being any necessity for kidnapping men or
snlpplng them against their will, there are
ten men ready TO ship for every vacancy.
Quite number of men who ship on wqalers
have excellent reasons Of their own for get
ting out of the State, and the city lie cheaply
rid Of a number of dangerous characters
when the whaling fleet sails
captain w. a. Clark has succeeded Can
tain Fits In command of the Pacific Mail
steamer Acapulco, which sails for Panama
and way ports to-day.
John X. Savory, boarding house mas
ter. has been indicted by the United States
Grand Jury on charge OF paying advance
wages TO seamen. He was released on $3.50
bail. The specific charge is that he paid r.
ID. Graham S1l advance wages. to be turned
over TO John Erickson for shipping on the
bark TheObald. This Is the first indictment
under the new law.
The remains Of Captain McWillIams of the
British ship Gosford were laid to rest in
Laurel Hill Cemetery on Wednesday after
noon. There were numerous floral tributes.
and the following acted as pall-bearers:
Captain PLACE of the British shin Water
loo, Captain McLaren of the bark Belmore,
Captain Thomas of the Talisman, Captain
Rome OF the Clan Mcpherson, Captain
Lewis of the Anglesey and j. Patterson of
r. Smith & Co.
The City of Puebla will make her next
trip to Victoria and Puget Sound on the
18th inst. She will be taken off the route
during the winter months. During Decem-
Der the Walla Walla and Umatila will sail
alternately on Fridays, giving a weekly trip
to the north. The City Of Topeka, which
runs between Port Townsend and Stka,
Alaska, left yesterday for Port Townsend
TO take the place of the Al-Ki.
The steam whaler Jesse II. Freeman.
which arrived yesterday. brought down c.
Nelson, one OF the survivors of the Helen
Mar. He states that CAPTAIN Thaxter of
the Mar lost bis balance and fell over the
diDgey from sheer exhaustion within Sight of
the Freeman, which was coming to the res
cue.
1t is stated that the whaleback Wetmore.
which has been set down as a total loss
may possibly be raised In the spring, as she
Is not materially injured and is too strong
TO be broken up on the sandy bottom Oh
which she is lying.
The moves yesterday included the ship
Oriental from Powell to sea and the bark
Alice TO Folsom 2. To-day the schooner
Blakeley will tow to Oakland Creek, the
ship Waterloo from BeaIe to Eppin-
gers, the bark Sea Breeze from the oil
works To Main and thu harlanfina On;ot-