The San Francisco call., 1896-11-01

ceased an immense steamer came rushing
out of the gloom and a disastrous col
lision seemed inevitable. The Lancing's IS
helm was put hard over, and 1t seemed an
eternity before the ship fell off. We just
cleared the steamers browsprit and cat
head while our forebrace fouled his bridge.
81 could almost have jumped aboard as
she passed our stern and rushed out OF
sight into the fog. The whole affair only
took up minute of time and nothing
could have saved either vessel ii they had
cometogether.
Captain "AIec" Swanson brought the
Lanclng into port. She came in under
sail and at the time. the bar was breaking.
81 never handled finer vessel in my
life. and she is the 'dryest' ship | ever SET
foot on" was the pilots comment.
Captain Hatfield was lost in thought for
moment and then he said: Captain
Swanson, the ship can take care of herself
for few moments; let's go and splice the
main nbr ace."
mo, sir, +" was the answer. "When /
meet you ashore We'll have drink to-
gether, but not at sea. What 1 meant by
dry ship is that. in spite of her beam, !
have never crossed the bar when it was
breaking in a vessel that takes as little
water ABOARD as this one"
The accompanying sketch is drawn
from picture furnished Mr.. Coulter by
Captain Hatfield.
The steam whaler Orca got in from the
Arctic yesterday. Although only away
eight months, Captain McGregor has
made the best catch of the season. The
Orca brings back 14,000 pounds of bone,
450 barrels of oil and many fox and bear
skins. There were several desertions at
Point Hope; but the men came back, and
Captain McGregor put them back on the
payroll and said nothing. Some of them
managed to reach Forty-mile Camp, an d
are now living on the bounty of those
who have little TO spare in that isolated
spot.
1.-The buffaloes and the whales are going
out together" said Captain McGregor yes
terday. ''It is only here and there in the
Arctic that you will find whale. and it
Is only here and there on the plains that
you will find a buffalo. Sonnet times you
will run across a herd, like we did, and
then you will do we'll. but more frequently
you will get nothing. Whaling in the
Arctic is played out and / think that
ext year many practical men will have a
try at the Antarctic.
The British tramp Gamer Undaupted,
which left here with cargo of wheat
some months ago, arrived at st. Vincent,
Cape de Verde Islands. on the 25th inst.
She was ordered to Leith, ana Will there
receive her final orders.
w. FRANKS, one OF the sailors on the
cruiser Philadelphia, overstayed mis- ave
and was punished. For several DAYS he
was In solitary confinement, and no lik-
ing bis quarters sought the first opportu-
nifty to escape. He crept through the coal
port and swan ashore. For two hours he
was in the water and had regular fgh,
for his life. Henry Peterson picked him
up just on Folsom-street wharf, but the
poor 1ellow was no sooner on dry land
than he was put under arrest and taken
again aboard the battleship.
The Pacific Trading Com pany's whaler
Alexander got in from the Arctic yester-
day, with 4500 pounds of bone, 100 fox and
20 beaver skins and 120 pounds OF ivory.
Captain Green reports very poor season,
and says that hardly any of the vessels
will pay expenses.
The schooner Barbara Hernster returned
to port in ballast yesterday. She left here
to load at Devilniss Landing, but owing to
the heavy weather she could not get along.
side, and consequently had to come back
to San Francisco.