The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-05-25
PILOTS PLAYING
IN HARD LUCK,
Three of Their Number Are
Now on the Sick
List.
ONE NEARLY KILLED.
The Bark c. D. Bryant Had a
Merry Race With the
Pilot.boats.
TRIED TO ESCAPE THE DUES.
George A. Knights Gallant Rescue
of Three Maids Adrift in a
Beat
TRIED TO ESCAPE THE DUES.


year. The run down only occupied ten
days. and, although fifteen days elapsed
before she came to an anchor in the bay
on the return trip, still she was off the
heads last Friday night. This is Captain
John Lees first voyage in the vessel and
he has made record he is proud of.
On the run to Honolulu the vessel was
kept under full sail nearly all the way,
and when within a mile of the reef the
pilot boarded her. Captain Lee had been
on watch for thirty-six hours, and when
the pilot took control he went below to
take bath. An hour later he was on
deck again, but, instead of the Bryant
being inside the reef, she was seven miles
to windward and we'll on her wav to
Molokai. 1t was a hard beat back to port,
but under the captains skillful manage
ment good time was made.
When off the Golden Gate on the return
trip the Bryant had a merry brush with
the pllot-b boats Oracle S and America. II
vessel can make port without being
spoken by pilot, then no pilotage can be
charged. If she is spoken and no pilot is
taken, then quarter rates are charged.
The bark came along with strong breeze
behind her. All her light sails were
furled, but, nevertheless, she was logging
twelve knots an hour. The Oracle was
in the otfing, with her mainsails reefed
and headed for the flying packet. Captain
Jordan saw he was being left behind, so he
at once let out the reefs and, later, hoisted
his staysail and flying jib. The Bryant
still drew away and, as night was falling,
the crew OF the Oracle S began signaling
to the America, which was on the inside
station. Just when Captain Lee thought
he was safe the America shot odt of fog
bank and hailed him. The hail was
answered and the bark held on her course,
but the skipper cursed his luck in choice
Kanaka. The Bryant will have to pay
quarter rates.
The Pacific Coast Steamship Company's
P mona arrived from Eureka minus one
OF the steerage passengers yesterday. On
the I'D inst. at 3:15 P. NJ, J. jacobson
walked up from the steerage and went
directly to the bow OF the ship. No atten-
ton was paid to him until he began TO
climb upon the bulwarks. Captain Doren
was on the bridge and he yelled to the
man 10 get down. jacobson turned half
way around, looked at the captain a
m oment, his lips were seen to move, but
no sound could be heard, he then waved
his hand and the next moment jumped
feet foremost into the ocean. The Pomona
was stopped at once and the signal full
speed astern" rung up. A boat was low
cred and for over an hour the search was
kept up, but no trace of the suicide could
be found. Captain Doren thinks the man
was crazy and that he weighted himself
with some old iron before jumping over
board.
The pilots have been playing in very
hard luck of late. No less than three of
them are on the sick list, but all are now
convalescing. Captain Pete OFT, the
genial old soul who is favorite with every
shtpmaster that enters the Golden Gate,
hac hon faly I
He is all right again and before the 1st of
next month will be plotting ships into
port again. Captain Freeman had mar
row escape when bringing the John A.
Briggs into port. In order to save q tow
he sailed the ship in and thus nearly lost
his life. While making a short tack he
sprang to one of the ropes to help the sail
ors. The rope parted and Captain Free
man was thrown from the poop to the
main deck. He was back at his post in
minute and had the snip on her course
before anybody knew anything had hap
pened.
He brought the Briggs to an anchor and
then attempted to get into small boat to
go ashore. He found that his right side
was terribly bruised and his right leg
swollen and useless. He had to be sent
home in hack. An examination showed
that the tendons of the ankle were strained
and the small bones in the leg broken.
He will be laid up for several weeks to
come.
Captain Erskine met with his accident
on the Oracle S. The pilot-boat was going
about IN heavy head sea and the captain
gave pull on one of the ropes. The rope
suddenly slackened up and then went
taut again. In doing so it curled around
the third finger of Erskine's right hand
and nearly tore the first joint off. When
the pilot-boat came to an anchor the pilot
went ashore and had the stump ampu-
tated. That makes the tops OF three fin
gers that Captain Erskine has lost in al
most precisely the same manner.
The water front was crowded and the
ferry-boats did large business yesterday.
From morning till night crowds thronged
East street and every car that landed at
the ferries was crowded. The Travellers
picnic was the, first to get away. They
went thousand strong to Glen Ellen, and
merrier crowd never crossed the bay.
An hour later the Verein Eintracht went
to SchuetZen Park and shortly after that
the rush for Ell Campo began. Several
times during the day the gates at both the
broad and narrow gauge ferries to Tiburon
and Sausalito mad to be closed, owing to
the crowded condition of the steamers.
The rush to Oakland and Alameda was, if
anything, greater than on the other
routes, and the Southern Pacific had to
put on extra boats 10 accom- odate the
throngs at bought tickets.
1t was the Queens birthday, but strange
to say, very few of the British ships in port
were decorated. On last Fourth of July
all the English vessels were resplendent
with bunting, while the American vessels
commended themselves with flying the
stars and stripes. Yesterday, from Broad
way to Folsom street. there were only two
decorated ships. One was the American
bark Z. G. Funk. and the other was the
British steamer Monowai.
The various boat clubs are in active
practice for the forthcoming regatta of the
South Ends at Sausalito. Crews from the
Ariels. South Ends, Pioneers, Dolphins
and Tritons were out yesterday and good
time was made. Single scull, pair-oar and
tour-oar boats were out, and they helped
10 enliven the scene on the bay.
During the afternoon a couple OF Young