The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-06-16

large passenger list and well loaded with
cargo. Among those who went down to
the Hawaiian Islands were G. A. Spreckels,
Rev. Joseph Cook, the eminent divine, and
Irving NJ. Scott Jr.
The Pacific Mail steamship Belgic sailed
for China and Japan with large cargo
and P full passenger list, among whom
was Hon. Stephen Bousal of the American
legation at Toxic.
The United States cruiser Philadelphia
arrived from Honolulu yesterday and pro-
ceeded to Mare Island, where she will go
on the drydock and receive repairs, of
which she is in great need.
The Pacific Coast steamship Mexico came
in yesterday from Sound ports, and among
her steerage passengers were six Japanese,
who were refused landing by the Immigra-
ton Commissioner. Their case will be
considered tomorrow.
The whaleback steamer City of Everett,
now at Nanaimo after a cargo of coal, will
leave this port for Panama June o. She
is chartered by the Johnson Locke Mer
camille Company to run on that route as a
freight and passenger boat. Over 1000 tons
OF merchandise are awaiting her on the
wharves of the Panama Railway Company.
There is some speculation as to- how the
off the Mexican coast and perChance find
gale like the storm that overwhelmed the
Colima.
The ship Big Bonanza, which sailed for
San Francisco from Baltimore, returned
May Z to that place, dismasted and badly
disabled by hurricane.
The following description of the storm
and its effect is taken from letter from
Captain Bergman, her commander, re-
ceived here:
We struck hurricane in latitude 81 deg. IS
min. north, longitude so deg. west, which
robbed US of our principal spars and broke our
new iron foremost below the deck and strained
the ship very considerably; SO much so that
we pumped by steam with both pumps from
P. N. OF the 28th till IL A. NJ. OF the 18th of
March before it showed the first sign that we
gained on the water in the hold. The hurri-
cane occurred four days after the tug let go of
us OFF Cape Henry, and it took me thirty-nine
days to get back to Cape Henry, but we had to
make large detour in order to meet favorable
winds to return with.
The gale lasted a little over two days, while
the cyclonic disturbance of the center which
dismasted Us only lasted about three or four
hours, and, adding to the unpleasantness of the
whole affair, it was so pitch dark that could
not recognize q person standing alongside of
mRsts that were left, though not being able TO
make out the spars on account of darkness, we
could see the St. Elmo fires on the eXtremities.
When our bowsprit and foremost were carried
away was standing on top of my afterhouse,
alongside the forward skyhght, and though l
heard the terrible crash and knew something
uncommon had happened could not see what
1t was that caused the noise until a big fash Of
lightning revealed to my gaze stckening
spectacle There was the iron mast lying
across the lee rail- the rigging still holding it,
and having smashed both lifeboats on top OF
the forward house as it fell across them, the
water pouring into the hole left by the mast,
for 1t broke underneath the deck, and heavy
seas sweeping over the whole ship without in
terruption.
The broken end of the foremost working up
and down just above the hole it had left made
1t dangerous for any one to attempt to work
underneath 1t, therefore before we could think
OF mailing up the hole we had to get rid of the
mast, which was no easy matter under the cir
cumstances before described, but when the gale
moderated the ship leaked but very little. We
pumped only about twenty minutes in twenty
four hours. We lost bowsprit and jibboom, en-
tire foremost from truck to keelson, main top
gsllant-mast and miZzen topgallant-mast, with
yards and sails attached to all the spars. and
the monkey gaff
1t is announced from England that the
Admiralty has decided to recommission
all the vessels belonging to the China
squadron whose period of service expires
during the year, without requiring them
to return to England. The list, according
to service journal, consists of the FIRST
class gunboats Pigmy, Plover and Ledpole,
all comparatively new vessels; the sloop
Daphne, first commissioned in 1889: the
dispatch vessel Alacrity and the third class
gunboat Esk. Relief crews will be sent
out from England, probably in one of the
new first-ciass cruisers which will bring
back the time-expired men. The Lords of
the Admiralty propose to set apart a sum
of f10,O 900 for making good the defects and
rehtting these six vessels and the work will
be intrusted to the yard at Hongkong.
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