The morning call., 1892-06-04
ALONG SEA And SHORE.
Litigation May Spring Out OF the
ROmulus Salvage.
Sailor Boarding House Keepers In a Very
Tight Place-Arrival of the Survivors
Of the st. Charles.

which narrowly escaped going to pieces in
the blight north of Point Reyes, arrived at
o'clock yesterday morning, having been
In tow for eight hours. The whole OF the
news connected with the steamers rescue
was given in yesterdays CALL and it only
remains to add some details which are Of In
terest because a heavy salvage suit and
costly litigation may arise out OF the mat
ter. The ROmulus left this port on Wednes-
day for Nanamo and had bad weather
from the start. North of Point Reyes, the
sea being very rough with a strong head
wind and the steamer pitching heavily, the
propeller-shaft broke and the danger i'm
mediately became very great The Remu-
lus was in blight with the wind blowing
directly on shore not two miles away. Each
wave swept her nearer and nearer the
beach, and though two anchors were let go
they barely held her. At this time the
steam schooner Point Iona came up and
got an eight-iueh hawSer aboard the R0mu-
lus, which then heaved up her anchors and
was t0wed slowly out One of the interest
ing questions to be settled is whether the
Point Iona could have saved the big
steamer, for the wind. which was blowing
ga miles an hour al the start, increased to
full gale Just before dark. 1t was at this
time that the tugs Relief, Wizard and
Active came up from San Francisco,
pl0ughing their way through seas that swept
clear over their pil0t-houses and smoke
stacks. The Relief joined the Point Iona
In tagging on the 8-inch hawser and 1T
seemed time and time again that they must
break away. but when the Wizard got her
11-inch hawser on the port bow of the
ROmulus and went to work in the teeth of
the gale the balance of power inclined
against the elements and the Romulus was
safe. 1t took an hour and half to pull her
out Of the blight, and even then, with the
wind fair. the heavy sea made the towing
very slow. The Active returned as soon as
it was found that the ROmulus was no
longer in peril. and reached this city two
hours ahead of the others.
The Romulus is supposed to be worth at
least 100000 aud is owned in Hamburg,
Germany The tug people claim that the
services rendered her are much more meri-
tOrious that those for which $1,000 was
awarded in the JeSSOmene case. It's limited
that $4,000 Is the likely figure, but there is
a sphinxike silence on all sides as to the
bargain said to have been made between
the captains of the ROmuus and the Point
Iona. L. is stated that whatever arrange
mentS may have been made, the tugs Wiz
ard and Relief are not bound by them; that
the Point Iona could not have tOwed the
ROmuluS out OF the blight alone, and that
the ROmulus was bona fde a vessel In dis
treSs and not riding securely at anchor
Very little doubt is entertained that the
Romulus will be libeled independently In
the interests OF the owners of the Point
Iona, the Wizard and the Relief. The
ROmulus is now being docked at the Union
Iron Works.
SAILOR BOARDING-HOUSE MASTERS.
The grass is getting terribly short with
the sailor clearinghouse keepers, who are
discussing the adysability of getting to-
gether and finding way out OF the very
tight place they are In. One of them put
his own case 10 reporter yesterday in
very emphatic way. Il am losing $50 a
week at the present time" said be, land |
have been losing $50 a month for the last
four months. Why, just think Of It, |
have bad TO dispose of my little property
and even pawn my Jewelry 10 supply
rations 10 the sailors who have been board
all these men are old customers. and if |
turn them away 1t is II dead loss Of every
thing have spent on their account. Now,
when these men get a ship and their aIlOt-
ment money is paid they are charged $40, or
two months advance, when the snip arrives
at its destination But Of this sum only S25
is actually paid over. and they are soIidly
cheated out OF the Sl5 How it's done |
don't know, but | suppose there is
secret arrangement between the
captains and the shipDing-masIer. The
result Is, anyhow, that the sailor gets moth
ing at all; the bOarding-master gets S25, out
of which he has had 10 keep the sailor for
two months, supply him with tobacco, beer
and spending money, and buy him clothes,
oilskins. boots, etc. OF course when sailors
are in demand, ana man is only in town
for week, there is show for the board
ing-master 10 make a few dollars, but now
1t is all the other way. You cannot board
a sailor for less than So 30 a week out of
pocket. and this for two months will eat up
the So by itself. What We contend is that
If Jack is to have $40 deducted from his
wages, as an alleged advance. he should re-
ceive all the money or In some way get the
benefit of the S15 now held from him. AS
things are at present there is not boarding
master in the city who is not losing $50 a
month for every sailor In his house, and
there's no remedy in sight either"
The tugs were pretty busy yesterday for
a slack season Among the removes were
the schooner Tampa from Union to sea, the
bark Palmyra from Folsom to sea, the ship
Empire from rolling mills to Oakland Greek,
the schooner Ivy from stream 10 section l
OF the seawall, the steamer Australia from
the refinery to Folsom, the bark Professor
johnson from the stream to the refinery,
the ship E. b. Sutton from Harrison to the
stream, the ship X. ID. Rice to Mission Bay,
the ship Big Bonanza from Alameda to Ere
mont. the bark Monitor from sea to stream,
the steamer Yaquina from the Merchants
dTydock to Broadway, the Alex Dunn from
Broadway to the Merchants drydoek. the
ship Euphrosyne from Oakland to Green
To-day the bark Alden Bessie viii tow from
Folsom to sea aud tho snip Cyrus Wakefield
from Beale to Port Costa.
CATTLE OVERHEARD.
When the stern heeler Caroline arrived
from Leafs Landing, Marin County, and
locked at Sackson-street pier yesterday
morning she had on board mum Der of fat
cattle destined for Butchertown. Three of
the cattle took the idea into their heads
that drowning would be more pleasant
death than having their throats cut for the
satisfaction of others. On this idea they
jumped overheard, and for half an hour
they had great time. Two swan out TO
the pierhead, and then started in a go-as-
yOu-please race to Broadway wharf. The
third crawled under the piles and found a
temporary shelter on the rocks forming the
face of the seawall. Eventually ropes were
obtained and the three kckers" were
hoisted by derrick and sent to Butcher
town with the rest of the band.
DR.. T. w. Woods. the newly appointed
medical inspector at Mare Island, was in
town yesterday. He attended King Kala-
kaua in his fatal illness. being surgeon of
the Charleston at the time.
Captain Watson, Mt present deputy COM
Handant at the Mare Island Navy-yard,
has been appointed TO the command of the