The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-11-23

overheard and drowned. No other lives
were lost, the crew, nine in number and
one passenger being rescued by the life
saving crew.
The Bandorille left Portland.a month ago
for San Francisco and way ports heavily
laden, and was due to arrive back
about December 10. From its be-
ing wrecked at Umpqua it is evil
dent that Captain Winant had
been offered considerable way freight, and
was steaming back and forth between
Yaquina. Umpqua and Coos Bay. The
steamer passed over the Umpqua bar on
Tuesday and tied up at Gardiner, town
seven miles above the mouth of the river
the same day. On Wednesday afternoon
Captain Winant started for sea, but find
ing the bar breaking heavily abandoned
the attempt ana returned to the dock at
Gardiner. Yesterday morning, the weather
having moderated somewhat another at
tempt was made to put the Bandorille
over the bar, although tremendous sea
was running.
No bar pilot on the Pacific Coast was
better fitted for the undertaking than Cap
tain Winant, and he had perfect confidence
in the stanchness of his vessel, for twice
he had struck on the bars of the North
west coast with the Bandorille and got
over without the steamer showing a sign
OF strain or taking in a drop of water
With this confidence in his ship and in his
own ability, Captain Winant yesterday
morning headed the Bandorille into the
tum bling seas of the Umpqua bar.
oT4a
steamer rode in safety, and the sailors
were congratulating themselves that few
moments more would carry them into the
safety of the open ocean, when suddenly
the wheel was wrenched from the hands
of the quarterm aster steering and before
the man could recover the spokes had
spun hard over to port, allowing the
steamer to fall off into the trough of the
sea. The starboard rudder-chain had
parted, leaving the Bandorille helplessly
rolling in the awful muck of breaking
bar. Sea after sea broke over the doomed
steamer as it drifted toward the line of
breakers on the south shore, but Captain
Winant held to his post on the bridge, and
it was this devotion to duty that cost him
his life.
Taking every advantage of the steamers
drift Captain Wjnant kept the engines
going ahead or astern in vain effort to
get into deep water. After half hour of
terrible pounding from the seas, during
which Captain Winant was submerged
time and again, the Bandorille struck the
beach half mile south of the entrance to
the river. Numbed by cold and exhausted
from his efforts in clinging to the bridge
Captain Winant descended to the deck to
look after the safety of his crew and pas
senger. The breakers were piling over the
steamer in great masses OF water, and
he ordered all hands to the lee side
of the cabin, where they would at least be
safe from being washed overheard. Cap
fain Winant then attempted to make his
way forward, that he might see what
progress the life-saving crew, which he
knew had by that time started to the
rescue, was making. Reaching the bend
of the pilot-house the gallant seaman was
forced to let go his hold of the lee bull
warks and leap across the gangway to
grasp the rail fastened to the cabin. In
attempting this he slipped on the careened
and sea-washed deck.
Towering over the ship was a foam
crested mountain of water, in an instant
to pour its fearful force on the wreck
That instant was too short for Captain
Winant to recover himself. and in the
surging food of that breaking sea he was
carried overheard.
Rescue was impossible. The lifeboat
was a mile to leeward, coming, it is true
but before the heroic crew could reach the
wreck the captain of the Bandorille was
making his peace with the Pilot above.
In the terrific sea running-the result Of
the gale that has prevailed on the coast
during the past week-it was found impos-
sible for the life-saving crew to reach the
Banoorille. An attempt was then made
to fire lifeline over the steamer from the
shore, and after two hours hard work this
was accomplished, the single passenger
and the crew being brought safely ashore
in the breeches buoy.
The steamer will prove total loss, the
last telegram from Empire City, twenty
one miles from the wreck, stating that the
vessel was fast going to pieces under the
pounding it was receiving, the cabin hav-
ing been torn adrift and the bulwarks car