The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1896-11-23
On Her Way From Tacoma to
San Francisco.
SEVERAL OF THE CREW DROWNED
The vessel Broken In Two Pieces ON
sand Bar on Pei.s Ar~a.-Thtr-
teen Men Reseued-0sh~rs SIM on
she Wreck. which Cannot BE Ap-
proached Owing to the Heavy
Seas-A sailor Washed ov~rhcard
saved-Another Who started With
Life Preserver aaa LINE
Drowned-The Roster Of the Crew.

Point Arena. Cal. Nov. - -yrAn seSa n,er
san Benito, from Tacoma 10 sa3 Fran
cisco. went ashore seven miles north OF
Point Arena this morning. The steamer
struck on sand bar and brok. in two
The San Bsnito carried fonrty-four men,
ana during the severe storm last night
must have lost her bearings. The wind
blew terrific and a heavy sea WAS run
ming The vessel struck about / O'Clock
In the morning. and an hour iater broke
Just aft OF the smokestack. Boats were
lowered. but one capsixed Immediately
with five men In II, four of whom were
drowned Another boat with four of the
crew eapsized nine times. losing two men,
The other two men. by heroic means.
reached shore
Daylight found the rest OF the crew
clingiug TO the rigging. Such a heavy
sea was running that IL was impossible to
render assistance. The drowned are:
John sherman. messboy.
w. f. Condor. second assistant en-
gfneer. married.
o w Scott. first assistant engineer
married.
Michael Pendergast. coal passer.
The other two are not known.
The steamer Point Arena reached the
scene at II o'clock this morning. sent OUT
boat. and by great bravery and skilled
ing second trip the boat was almost
swamped and was compelled TO abandon
all efforts on account of the great break
ers washing over the wreck. A sailor was
washed overheard and reached shore al
most dead He was revived by a doctor
on the beach.
At 4 o'clock this afternoon a sailor
jumped overheard and attempted to swim
ashore with a line. The shoulder straps
of his 20 ny hrnEa M a
went down.
Lighthouse Keeper Brown and Indian
Lazarus. William Caumprey and Al. Cum
ningham manned a boat and made two
heroic efforts TO connect the wreck with
the shore by line, but were unauccess-
ful.
The steamers Point Arena and Alcaxar
are at the wreck, but can render no as
sistance until the sea Gains. A passing
steamer landed gun at Point Arena this
afternoon and the line will be shot to the
wreck tonight. Both parts of the ship are
fast in the sand fifty feet apart.
In all thirteen men have been rescued.
Roster Of the Crew.
San Francisco. Nov 2e-The names OF
the crew on board of the San Benito at the
time OF the wreck are not positively
known. as sailors and firemen change so
frequently just before a vessel sails. 1t
is supposed. however. that the crew that
was on the steamer the last trip went out
again on the present trip and were on
board at the time the vessel struck. The
records OF the Pacific Improvement Com
pany show the list OF officers and crew 10
be as follows: Captain, William Smith.
first officer r. Zoling: second officer. J.
Swan: third officer. C. Vile chief engineer.
Irving W. Ward: first assistant engineer,
q. w. Scott; second assistant engineer, c.
Condon third assistant engineer, T.
Cleary: carpenter. @. F. Nelson. water
tenders. W. II. Jeffs. j. McKeon. ]. Ward;
storekeeper. W. Sloan: fremen. J. Nc
Dare II. Fahey. E. Fahey, NJ Pendergast,
@. Christopher. j. Reilly. ii. Jackson and
J. Walsh: coal passers. c. Brown, n.
Levya. w. Sheehan. ". Fitzgerald, NJ.
Fernandez and NJ. Kelly; sailors, A.
White, g. Johnson, C. Bianberg, G. jan
sen. j. Perry, J. Benson. ]. A. Barclay. y.
Semens, y. Yison, II. Fehm and F. Il. Fos-
ter: chief cook. j. w. Wilson: second cook.
J. ]. Wilson: walters, ]. Sheehan. c. Mey-
ers and f. Dean.
The wrecker Whitelaw left for The scene
Of the wreck at $50 o'clock tonight. Late
Information from the sunken steamer
Seemed 10 indicate that there is stil
chance of saving something. capt. White
law went prepared to do Big job. with
good fortune he expected 10 reach the
wreck by daybreak.
San Francisco. Nov. z2.Anofher dis
patch from Point Arena says that the San
Benifo is ashore two miles north OF Point
Arena and az the mouth of Brush creek
She Is on the rocks about an eighth OF
mile from shore. Chief Engineer Woods
and five men are on the steamer Point
Arena and twenty-eight men are still on
hoard the wreck The life saving station
has sent It's line gun and lifeboat TO the
. srfsrN
be Of service. as the ship lies too TAR out
The san Benito was commanded by Capt
Smith and carried crew of forty men.
When She Left Tacoma.
Tacoma, Nov. -. The steamer San Ben
ito left here Wednesday at p m, with
sss0 tons of Carbon Hin coal. This was
e@ tons short OF her usual winter cargo
She arrived Monday al n. m. AND loaded
ALI the coal in her hInkers. The Northern
Pacific branch 10 Carbon Hill mines being
interrupted by wsshonts, capt smitn
wired the situation 10 san Francisco, and
was Instructed 10 sail with a light cargo
Thursday coal began coming In. and he
ccuid have gotten away Friday morning
with a full cargo Capt Moantford. the
Southern Pacinc's agent here, thinks a
light cargo should have been in the steam
ers favor.
The San Benito has been plying between
S&n Francisco and Tacoma since the
stes mer San Pedro was wrecked near Vic
foria in lSl. For year previous she had
been running 10 Comox. II. G. The south
ern Pacific brought her around from New
port News iH Ixo She made the round
trip between here and San Francisco every
eleven DAYS. and In the summer season
csrrici s sna tons per trip
TIE San Benito was four-rnasted iron
steamer vessel. OF 1851 tons She WAS 10
feet long. and was built in Glasgow In iss4
Fer years she has been used as a collier
by the Southern Pacific 20 carry coal from
Tacoma TO San Francisco.