The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-08-27

long, 43 feet beam and % feet in depth, and
her registered tonnage is 1887 tons. Her
cargo of 1920 tons of coal puts her down in
the water % feet. She is commanded by
Captain E. D. P. Nickels.
The May Flint was formerly the Persian
Monarch, one of Wilson's Atlantic liners,
and was built at Dumbarton, Scotland, in
1881. In consequence of the low steam
generating power of her engines she was
found to be too slow for a passenger or
fast freight racer, consequently she was
pat in the cattle trade. Her great size of
deck room made her especially useful for
this business, as hundreds of head OF stock
could be taken on board.
Last year she got ashore on the Long
island coast and the stranded steamer was
purchased by Flint & Co. of New York.
s he was stripped of her engines, her upper
deck and its houses taken off and her rig
changed to four-master, square on the
three forward masts. She carries three
double topsail yards, but having lost
yard from the main and mizzen mast in
Cape Horn gale she appears as single
top sail yarder, except at the fore. The
captain's handsome quarters are in the
The walls and bulkheads are iron, but
artistically painted and decorated in imi-
tation of wood.
The place is fitted more like hotel suite
of rooms, the stationary washstands and
shorelike fittings of the apartments not
bearing out the idea of a ship. The skip
per's large stateroom is provided with the
ordinary wide bed instead of the usual
boarded-in bunk, and Captain Nickels
states that so steady is the big ship that in
all her hard weather off the Horn he was
not pitched once from his old homestead
couch.
On the roof of the deckhouse is a small
iron structure which is the captain s office
as well as his lookout station. 1t is pro-
vided with headlights on all sides.
When the vessel went under the Ameri
can flag she was named after the wife of
w. B. Flint, the junior member Of the
firm.
The ship encountered head winds, and
the usual rough weather near Cape Horn,
and lost her miZZen topmast and three top
gallant masts. Three of the topsail yards
ratified down on deck, and number Of
sails blew away.
Her passage from the equator up was I'M
eventful until she arrived off this port.
The wind failing she drlfted north, and
day before yesterday she was close into
Bodega Heads. Captain Nickels tried to
work his ship around the point into Be-
dega Bay, but was unable to manage the
big becalmed vessel. and the starboard an
Choir was let 60 about one-half mile from
the beach.
1t was bad holding ground, as they could
feel in the sixty fathoms of chain drag
ging over the powders on the bottom.
However, the wind being so light the
anchor held her, though there was only
nine fathoms of water under the stern.
~ &o IL, vi oil
and, seeing the great ship in dangerous
position, generously offered to tow her out
for the modest sum of S12 900, finally fall
ing to $1,000. Captain Nickels offered $160,
and the steamer saluted by blowing her
whistle and passed on.
The first mate with two men in boat
went ashore to telegraph for tug. and
to slip and buoy her cable and get into
safe water, when she was found by the
Alert and towed into this harbor.
The wreckage of the ship James Town
send, which recently went ashore near
Point Arena, has been sold to John Shep-
pard, farmer living close to the place
where the vessel was lost. He paid 5000
for the lumber. $50 for one of the boats and
SIS for the hull of the ship.
The cargo of the bark w. n. Never,
wrecked near Port Clarence, was sold to
Captain Townsend of the bark J. D.
Peters for 5000. The latest news state that
all hands got ashore in safety and that the
crew are on board of revenue cutter.
The strict ruling of Quarantine Officer
Chalmers regarding the stoppage of all
foreign port vessels on the quarantine
grounds until after his visit is working a
great and unnecessary inconvenience to
vessels entering this port. A heavily
laden ship being towed in with the tide
cannot stop below Alcatraz except by
turning completely around, mourning an
expenditure of time, extra labor and extra
towing expense.
The officer being notified by the Mer-
chants Exchange reporter from Point
Lobos of the arrival of vessel has ample
time to board her in the bay; but the
duties or pleasures of DR.. Chalmers detain-
ing him elsewhere, vessels are constantly
being put to the delay of awaiting his ap-
pearance.
When the ship Sierra Nevada was re-
Gently towing up the bay the captain of
the tug ran under slow bell, waiting for
the quarantine boat. That vessel did not
appear and the ship prepared to anchor,
the tug casting off and steaming away.
Then the doctor appeared and ordered the
ship back to the quarantine station. She
was without tug, but making sail tried
RI WORK hacK and came near poinp