The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-02-13
40H Parallel

impart information about the San Juan's
adventures during her weeks search.
Agent A leXander Center and SupeTintend-
ent Engineer HawkhuTSt were on the wharf
when the gangplank was run aboard, and
this may have tended to render the officials
of the ship wary about giving the thing
away to ''those darned reporters"
If such was the plan of campaign it con-
clusively failed. a the sequel will show.
The San Juan started out at o'clock on
the afternoon of Sunday, February 8, and
steered northwesteTlv course. BY bear
ing just point or two too far north she
missed the Pek ing, which was on the same
night within sight of the FaralloneS' light.
After that every succeeding hour widened
the angle between the track OF the San
Juan aud that of the Pekiug. and in fact
once outside of the Farallones there was
only one point in which the two tracks in
tersected. so that it was 100 10 ] that if the
San Juan missed the Peking on the start
from San Francisco she would miss her
altogether.
The path of the San Juan resembles a
triangle, with San Francisco as the apex.
The base covered nearly 4 degrees of lati-
tude. namely, from the thirty-sixth to the
fortieth parallel, and the Peking came
along between the thirty seventh and thirty
eighth. The San Juan went out distance
of h bout 600 miles, but the distance steamed
was. of course, much greater.
Rockets were sent up at half-hourly in
tervals each night. and blue lights were
burned on the bridge. but nothing was seen
of the Peking. or any other steamer. though
several barks and coasters were sighted.
There was probably a time on Sunday
afternoon or evening when the two steam
ers were within fifty or sixty miles of each
other but after that the distance rapidly
increased to 100 miles.
The San Juan went through the hardest
kind OF weather during five of the seven
days she was cut. During two of these days
immense masses of spray were dashed over
the upper deck, and the quarters of the
officers were Uttered with crockery and
small articles dashed from their places
The waves at times broke against the ships
boats in a manner 10 threaten 10 tear them
away from the laShings. All on board
agreed, however, that the San Juan is a
splendid sea boat. and that she is safe to go
anywhere in any weather after such test.
The British ship Matterborn. Captain
Williams, arrived yesterday, 19S days from
Hamburg via Newcastle, England, with
merchandise to Meyer. Wilson & Co. On
November 26, in latitude so deg south
and longitude Ga 90 west, Max Schluttig, an
apprentice, and native OF Berlin, aged 10,
fell from the upper f0re-topSail yard while
furlng the topsail. He fell clear of the
ship and was drowned. The lifeboat was
lowered and a two hours search made for
the body, but the lad never rose to the sur
face after the fall.
The collision between the Oakland ferry
steamer Piedmont. the tug Fearless and the
sealing schooner Unga on Saturday after
noon was not attended with any serious
consequences to any of the vessels. The
Piedmont had block torn out, the Fearless
had plate bent ana the door of her engine
room stove in on the port side, while the
UDga had her bowsprit cut clear off. How
so tritilng damages ensued from so big risk
passes comprehension. Had the Piedmont
struck the little schooner fair and square.
the latter would have gone down then and
there. SO. too. when the Piedmont came
surging down on TO the head of the Oceanic
dock she caromed off the counter of the
Fearless and thus escaped crashing into the
stern of the big steamer Australia. Had
the latter event happened the upper works
of the Piedmont would nave been torn out
and a number OF the passengers killed.
The Piedmont resumed her trips yester-
day morning and the Fearless and Unga can
both be repaired for a trifling sum.
The schooner E. X. Ward arrived yester-
day evening after very fast passage OF
twenty-seven days from Kobe.
The whaling schooner Blakeley, formerly
a tug, is being altered into brig at How
ard 3.