The Portland daily press., 1896-04-15
DRIFTED 1000 MILES.
The Long Voyage of a Railroad Barge ON
the Pacific Ocean.

(From the San E rancisco Chronicle
On one of the coral reefs off the Mar
shall group, far away in the South Pacific
there rests large railway transfer barge
which was carried by winds and currents
from some point on the California coast
to Its present resting place. Its owner
ship, home port. and the date of it's loss
are unknown, but there it is, end it drift
ted from some point on the California
coast. John Crowley, mate of the mis-
sionary brig Morning Star, who arrived
here from Honolulu on the Australia on
vacation trip, saw the barge, and gives
the proofs of it's identity as far as 1t can
be traced. Speaking about the barge
yesterday Crowley said:
"We ran into the Marshall group in
September last In the course of our
regular tour through the islands on the
Morning Star, and our attention was at
tracted to this huge barge resting on a
reef, where the sea had cast it. Its very
presence WAS unusual in that far away
cline, and our curiosity was aroused
at once. 1 made q careful examination
Of it, but the only marks of Identification
on it were the word Transfer and the
abbreyiation CAL The rest of the name
and the port had been obliterated, but
enough remained to show that the barge
came from California.
"There were narrow gauge tracks on it.
and a couple Of big cranes still intact and
very we'll preserved. The barge it self
was pretty badly weather beaten, a nd
showed the marks of many storm, but
it was still in very good condition. 1t
was about 150 feet long, built Of heavy
was able to resist the power of the sea in
it's long drift. The bottom had been cop
per covered, but the natives stripped that
off. They had made an attempt to break
the craft up, too, but that was beyond
their power, as they lacked all appliances
to accomplish their object.
The experiences of that barge would
be hard to conjecture. 1t may have drift
ed the 4, GOO odd miles which divide our
coast and the Marshals in very short
space of time, or it might have taken a
remarkably long period. The thing has
interested me greatly. and T have tried
since ] came home to trace the ownership
of the barge, but have not been success
full. | do not believe that it was lost from
impossible for such craft to get out OF
the bay and straits 9undeteoted. I am
inclined to the opinion that it was car
ried from some where on the lower coast,
perhaps from San Pedro or San Diego.
and am in hopes that the publication Of
its discovery may lead to Its identified
tion." q
Inquiry among shipping men as to the
identity OF the strange Draft by the crew
of the Morning Star failed Ito throw any
light upon the subject. There is no
record Of the loss of any such barge from
this port, and the general impression
among those spoken to about it was that
it was probably swept away from one of
the lower coast ports by storm, and car
ried out to sea, to be guided by wind
ana sea to the Marshalls. The opinion
was expressed that possibly at the time il
was lost the owners believed that it had
been broken up.
The trip of the barge Is interesting in
another direction besides arousing simple
curiosity. The currents OF the Pacific are
being made the subject Of scientific study
and the, drifting barge adds fresh data to
that already known.