The morning call., 1893-03-29
A WONDERFUL RUN
Search of the Fearless for
a DereIict.
A MONTH IN BIG GALES.
Six Thousand Miles Without RecoaI-
ng-0bservations From a Desert
Mountain in the Pacific.

run, without rec0aling. ever made by any
tugboat in the world.
She left San Francisco February 81 and
has steamed nearly COCO miles between
here and the equator. returning last night
in a weather-beate condition, after tenn
pestuous voyage of thirty days.
Captain d. II. Haskell, commander OF The
Fearless, said last night that ne never be-
fore. in all his experience at sen, had such
a knocking about.
The object of the cruise was to make a
systematic sea- CHI for tie derelict HonresfeId,
a wreck that has been seen and reported by
ships passing through southern latitudes of
the Pacific Ocean. 1t is supposed to be still
drifting about, constant menace and
danger TO passing vessels.
1t was first seen directly in the path of
southern. bound vessels, which usually, on
their way southwark to round Cape Horn,
keep far 10 the westward. Later it was
sighted farther eastward, nearer land and
approaching the usual track of northern
bound deep-wa ter vessels.
The gene raj currents set toward the land
10 the position where the dereliet was last
seen, and therefore a plan was devised
whereby it was hoped that the Fearless
could 60 down and intercept the stray and
dangerous monster, ascertain what 1t was
and deal with it according to Captain
Haske!Ps best judgment.
More than one ship Is missing. The fact
of positively identifying the wreck would
be Of especial importance to the commercial
world, and in case it could be lowed ashore
there were great possibilities of saving
valuable property. in any case, to remove
the castaway from a position where it con-
stantly stood In the night as an unseen OBJ
would be a work OF the highest Importance
TO the shipping Interests Of the Pacific
Coast.
j. d. Spreckels & Co. offered the services
OF the Fearless TO undertake the job. She
steamed away month ago on her mission,
and although an uninterrupted season of
violent storms made 1t impossible for the
tug to find the object of her search, she has
made gallant night for 1t and com pIeted
the most emarkab BILE tug record ever known.
The Fearless is 1j6 feet long, has % feet
beam and 10 feet of bold. her displacement
IS 400 tons and she has power enough to
easily walk away dragging an ocean grey
hound in Gale Of wind. She was built of
steel at the Union Iron Works. and is prob
ably the largest tugbOat IN American waters
Her officers are: Captain, D. II. Haskell !;
first officer. w. ). Tnaxter; second officer.
Joseph TTewren; engineer, Karl Lehners :;
second engineer, John English; FIST assist
ant engineer. Michael WEIGH.
A more fAtigued and WORKOUT set Of men
than they we're last night when they got
home could not be imagined.
The tug itself bore ample evidence OF the
tempeSts it had nObiy breasted and The
strain 10 which 1t had been put. Although
no material damage had been done. as the
upper works are particularly strong and
taut, she was " bite all over 10 the top of
the smokestsck with the salt the inces-
sanity pounding seas had left, and there is
ada asalN font If inf Inf I'll,
stern.
II is supposed that the machinery has re-
ceiyed no injury, but 1t viii be thoroughly
0veThauied, Us tie strain of sieamng about
in an almost continuous hurricane for four
weeks has been enormous.
They had one good days weather (yester-
day on their way up from San Diego, and
the tired men were enabled to put the inte-
TiOr of tile cabin, galley, etc, partially to
rights and get The boat in some sort of ship
shape order, but even after this attempt at
Sticking M, which was done before they got
in last night, the general condition of things
was that of Il heterogeneous lot of objects
after having b en- shaken up in a bag.
GU should have seen US some of those
mornings when we we're knocking around
down south. This is absolute order in COM
pariSon," said Captain Haskell last night.
after he had washed u2 and donEed a suit
of store clothes.
Il thank God 1 shall rest in a bed to-
nfsht." he continued.
ION, yes, we are all well, but we have had
terrible hard run"
NO damage done except to The captains
legs" put in First Officer Thaxter.
II has been Captain HaskeIl'S duty, as he
conceived II. 10 stand watch so much OF the
time while they were az sea that his legs
have become seriously swollen and are
very painful The gales were so violent
that the safety of his vessel almost con-
stantly required the captains personal
attention.
Speaking of the incidents Of the trip, the
CAPTAIN said
We steamed well out to sea at first and
then made our course almost due south for
upward Of 1000 miles.
From the time we left up TO the time we
made San Diego last Sunday morning we
did not see single sail or vessel of any de-
seriptton- IL was one succession of gales
and the heaviest kind Of weather The tug
pitched as you know only tug can, and 10
get ones meals was task requiring agility.
To stay two minutes In bunk W thnut
passing bars across the body 10 keep you in
was impossible. and to catch an hours
sleep unless you were completely exhausted
and nature absolutely gave out was out OF
the question.
1T "; much worse.than the motion OLA
larger vessel, but of course we made the
best Of our hardshiDs and pressed on
toward the south. The superstition was
that in the region just TO the north of the
equator called the tdOldrums,' where the
winds are usually variable, alternating
with Gains, we would find clear weather
and get fair chance to hunt for our stray
ship.
But we caught ALT the hurricanes that hit
You up n orth here first and then proceeded
down to where we were. The iarthest point
south we went where ! could get an obser-
vaton was degrees north latitude and 124
degrees west longitude. This is the dol
drum district and the general current is
usually setting 10 the eastward.
we made ZigZag course day after day,
but the hurricanes continued, and it was
not every day by any means that could
determine our position. We had wild
time down there, can tell You. Oftentimes
we could not see half a mile away from us
in any direction. and the hope Of discover
ing the whereabouts of our quest grew slim
If the weather did not moderate.
Zone day, and one only, on the whole
southern voyage it was clear and we had
fine weather. 1 found myself near Carton
Island as l had IL down ON the chart. |
turned our course toward the island, as ii
was about 400 miles from the spot where
the crew Is supposed 10 have abandoned
tie ship. William Cami bell and thought
that perhaps there was a likelihood Of
finding the shipwTeeked men ON the island.
Soon we sighted the island and made
landing. The island is a desolate waste in
the middle OF the Pacific, thousands of miles
from civilization, and uninhaDited save by
boobies Mother Carey's chickens an
occasional aIbatross and the usual birds of
the southern seas.
I'VE found no signs of men or wrecks.
and L climbed to The top of the mountain
that sets back from the shore. IL was
long ascent of several hundred feet, and
nothing could be more glorinus than the
view from the summit of that bleak prom-
Dntory.
Il could see with glass for a long dis
lance, and for an hour | scanned the hori-
zon for fifty miles around with the hope of
making out the derelict that we were after.
The sight was beautiful; the broad expanse
of clear day, the shining sun and the
boundless ocean were inspiIiting and wei
come after all the gloom and turbulent
weather we had passed through. 1t was
refreshing, Notwithstanding MY disappoint-
nent in not sighting the lost ship.
But the very next day the lowering
clouds and screaming winds began TO get in
their work again. and l saw il was useless
TO stay down there any longer. 1t was
right in the eQuinGctial gales and s0uaiIs