The herald., 1893-10-30
THE TWO WRECKED STEAMERS.

1t is doubtful ii the steamship City OF
New York will ever be got off the rocks
near Point Bonito, just outside the
heads of Golden Gate harbor. 1t is
stated by the San Francisco papers that
there are good reasons to believe that
her back is broken, and if that is the
case the noble steamer will never again
plow the waters of the ocean. There ia
go much similarity between the wreck
ing of this steamship and that of the
Newbern near Point Firmin that we can
not refrain from alluding to the coinci-
dent facts. The New York had just
steamed out of the Golden Gate on her
way to China amidst dense fog, when
she suddenly struck on the reef off
Point Bonito. Johnson, the pilot,
who was in charge, undoubtedly had
his bearings when he got as far as the
heads, and having these it is inconceiv-
able that his vessel could have been
carried out of her course by the current
in 60 short space OF time
as to land him on the we'll
known reef at direct right angles
from his course. Even if the fog was as
thick as glue, he had his point of direc-
tion or he could not have got outside the
heads; and in order to reach the place
where he stranded the steamer he must
have dismetrcally changed his course.
He was within hearing distance OF the
fog station at Point Bonito, and it is
hardly to be supposed that the fog horn
was not in operation during weather go
dense that the pilot could not see his
way. The pilot went ashore in the first
boat that left the ship, and secreted
himself. The question remains, what
object could Johnson have had in delib-
erately running the steamer ashore, as
appears to bs the fact from all the cir
cumstances?
In the case OF the Newbern, she was
making her way up the coast by the
channel inside of Catalina island. 1t is
about 25 miles from ehore to shore at
that point in the channel where she was
stranded. She should have been at
least ten miles west OF Firmin when she
passed that point. What wss she doing
80 close to the mainland? Even
if she had struck dense a fog,
had she been on her right course
she could hardly have gone 30 far to the
eastward as to strike where che did
from the time she had clear weather
till it thicksned, unless, indeed, her
course had been deliberately changed.
She struck about three O'Clock in the
morning, and must have passed the
Firman light about half an hour before.
Ii she had been in her right course in
mid-channel she could not have per-
haps observed the light. But if she
was hugging the mainland so close as to
strike where she did, the light must
have gi ven signs to the watch on the
ship. In this case, as in that of the
City of New York, it is impossible to
escape the conclusion that the Newbern
was deliberately run ashore; and we
may as K the same question about the
wrecking of the Newbern that
we have above about that of
the New York, what motive
could the officer in watch have had in
running her ashore? The most charita-
BILE conclusion we can come to in regard
to both these disasters is that they we're
the result OF the criminal carelessness OF
the men who had the vessels in charge.
They resemble some of the late railroad
disasters as far as the responsibility for
their occurrence is concerned, and show
that people who travel by sea or by land
may be safe enough from the ordinary
disasters which human foresight can
guard against, but that they are never
safe from danger through the careless
ness or negligence OF the men who either
steer the vessels or control the throttles
of the conyeyances to which they have
entrusted their lives.
Skerritt Detached.