The Clarksburg telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1874-1926, 1894-12-14
TERROR oF TIE PACIFIC.
Ten ThcuFand Logs threatening
tho ocm;rore Of the Coast
a riz NHn Goes to Pieces pnrIps n Gale
aHa - |eas - II Arc Anoat on
The nalows Along the caiifor-
MA teast.

Towing ~ rafts OF timber in
turbulent spa Is no easy task. SO
Capt fhonpson. Of the tug Mon
arch and Plot Wheeler, told the
other captaIos and pilots along the
water trout aud at the merchants
exchange saws the san Francisco
Examiner
The Monarch started from Astoria
on October . 2 % tow q raft OF piles
to this port The Monarch arrived,
but the raft IS niloat in sections of
the Pacific ocean II may be that
every oaetl thetcn Thousand piles
Of which ire raft was originally COM
posed is scettered driftwood on the
high seas %, perhaps, a few hun
dred Of these great logs are still
dashed ying sidelong or endlong
at the cnpsice q every billow, and at
every plunge threatening collision
with passing commerce. Some UNI
fortunate ship may encounter one or
more Of these rowing timbers, and q
| few holes may be stove in the sides
Of upsuspe''iing vessels.
The raft was valued at fifty thou
sand dollais. but IL landed safely
here IL would have been worth four
times as much. Besides there was
eighteen thousand dollars insurance
on the raft and its loss will repre-
sent totQI loss to the enterprising
men who sought tohave IL towed in-
to San Francisco bay.
The trip eli the Monarch was a
rough one from the start. Every
precautlQn had been taken. The
logs wer4 RATED IN a cigar shape,
previous Experience with tows of
that Kind having taught Capt.
Thompson many a lesson in methods
Of lashine.lbut the southeastern COLE
which ha BE so much damage 70
the sb IN the north recently
vas fa.nthe logniing exne-
dTtioii. an7 -Tlied The a 2oc b a.
as Hecta lighthouse, about $50
a. m, on Tuesday, October i6, after
Ihaving battled with the elements
four days and four nights, they de-
cided to abandon what was left of
their tow. II was mot much, for
most of 1t had abandoned itself long
before. The big raft commenced to
lose piles three days before portwas
reached, and the heavy chains which
held them together had long since
been nothing but drag anchors. :.
The wind was 50 heavy that the
Monarch could NOT possibly make
any Roadway and the first night out
she had to lie in the trough OF the
sea. Heavy seas and the gales con-
tinued all the time. There was no
possibility to continue the voyage
with the dragging OF chains and logs
as handicap, and that is why the
two captains decided to abandon
their tows and cast the logs adrift
on the pillows Of the turbulent ocean
TO bang against ships wherever they
meet Them, to drive big holes in
their sides and perhaps tosinls them.
Much Indignation was expressed
among the men who go to sea, and
the men WHO bave shippinginterests.
They said that the attempt totow
big RATS during stormy times is
criminal, because every man &c
quainted with the coast knows that
itcannot be accomplished. Mary a
time IL has been tried, but never has
anybody succeeded in bringing
raft Of large dimensions into this
port from the. north, except where
the winds were calm and the seas
were undisturbcd. 1t may be done
at this season, said some of the old
sea dogs, il the open sea is avoided
and the trip is made by dodgipg
along ihe coast, and by travelling
through bays and CULTS only, but on
the wide, open ocean, during stormy
seasons; no Oregon timbers will ever
be made to float into the waters OF
San Francisco bay.
GETTING EVEN.