Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-03-06
The PIECES OF WRECKS
Barclay Sound Favori.e Repos-
itoy Of the Tides.
ON LONELY TATOosH ISLAND
Treacherous Cape Flattery and Some OF
Her VictimS.-The Greatest
Rainfall.

Uncle Sans extreme northwest lands
end, jutting out into the dreary waste |
of the North Pacific ocean, excepting, |
of course, the territory of Alaska. Is at
once one of the most noted and least |
known bits of the American coast. Ev-
cry schoolboy knows of 1t as Cape Fiat
terry, but how little of the real and |
rugged character of the place Is con-
yeyed to him by the mere name. 1t has
remained for them that go down TO
the sea in ships" to gather from its
bleak and barren surroundings, Its for
bidding environment In times OF storm,
the true significance of it's name, says the
San Francisco Chronicle. To the sea-
man 1t means at all times careful ana
cautious navigation, and Outlines in
stress of weather danger, disaster and
death.
A visit to this bit of coast in Siwash
canoe or small fishing boat on sum-
mer's day, when the ocean is in Its
calmer and more peaceful moods, Is one
of the most delightful excursions mag
Unable. The many little estuaries and
narrow inlets stretching into the land
are smooth and calm and picturesque,
and the ragged rocks and headlands
| give no evidence of the terrors In which
they clothe themselves when the ele-
ments are troubled. .
Barclay sound, with its many ramih-
| cations, seems to be favored repository
| of the tides for wreclsage and relics OF
| the destructive power of the storms that
rage in the vicinity. Many dismantled
hulks and pieces of wrecks, some of
| them capable of identification, others
with naught to tell the story of whence
| they came, are fastened among Its rocks
| and sands. where the tireless breakers
are gradually grinding them into I'M
recognizable fragments.
| Among the disasters with which this
| region is credited are many OF which
no evidence exists upon the shores, and
of which no authentic information has
| ever been obtainable. OF these the loss
of the Ivanhoe, the Montserrat and Ke-
weenaw are among the most tragic. The
| Ivanhoe, wooden sailing vessel, left
Seattle for San Francisco in October of
| 1894 with cargo of coal and having on
board Frederic j. Grant, editor of the
Seattle Post-Intelligencer, and party
of friends. After leaving the cape moth
ing was ever heard of her, and after
weary months of waiting the relatives
| anu Vi lllOSC WIN oeNiAS0 va NASA
were compelled to admit the inevitable
and mourn them as lost.
In December Of the same year the
Montserrat and Keweenaw, sister
steam golfers, left Nanaimo and CO.
max, B. c., for San Francisco, and their
precise fate is at yet unrecorded They
put to sea past Cape Flattery in the
teeth of one of the worst storms ever
known on the coast, and, it is presumed,
were swamped and carried to the bot
tom with their valuable cargoes and
half hundred human lives.
The topography of Cape Flattery is
interesting 1t is best viewed in pass
, ing out of the Straits of Fuca. On near
) ing the cape the rugged and snow-coy-
, cred peaks of the Olympic peninsula
? slope off into a low, timber-clad prom
ontory ending abruptly in frowning
. rocky bluff Broken off and separated
, from the mainland by three-quarters
, | of a mile of sea Is Tatoosh island--the
: real Cape Flattery. Tatoosh is an oval
grass-covered island standing 80 feet
above the tide and comprising about
=. seven acres.
, 1t Is one solid piece of adamant, anf
= needs must be to Withstand the eterna
battering of old ocean. Its sides arr
/ precipitous, save one bit of protected
beach on the inner rim, where landings
b may be made in smooth weather. 1t il
S reserved by the government, whicl
y maintains upon 1t a first-class light,
weather observatory and telegraph
e station. The employees, who, with thei
3 families, make the place their home
It are supplied with mail and the neces
d saries of life once week by canoe from
Neah bay, eight miles distant. In tn
summer months the island may be az
preached in small boats with safety
but in winter its isolated inhabitant
are ofttimes shut off from communities
ton with the outside world for week
at time. The terrible seas that swee
in from the south and west thunde
at it's base in majestic monotony, an
not infrequently make 1t trembl
throughout with their titanic powe
The light stands $50 feet above tn
water and can be seen 10 miles at Sc;
1t is safe to say its rays are anon
the most watched for and welcome
of all its kind by the toilers of the sci
The station is equipped with gigant
fog whistle, which, when the weatht
is thick, awakens the dismalest OF e.
hoes for many miles around. All vesse
| passing IN OF out at the cape SlB III
their name and number to the operate
in the tower, and are reported by tel
graph to their owners or agents milan
At Neah bay, a few miles inside Il
cape is a snug little harbor which is
rendezvous for tugboats. Here they
in wait, now and then cruising abo
for hours outside for incoming vesse
. bound up the strait. When the wind
of fair sailing vessels ofttlmes scorn Z
90 assistance of tugs and sail up the strs
he to their destination unattended VIII
ta- a sail Is sighted in the distance there
It'll often pretty race between two or me
of of the tugboats to see which shall {
Nv. cure the prize. The one first upon t
,od scene usually secures the contra
on while the others turn tail disconsolatC
m. and make off In search of other game
During the winter months 1t raj
great guns at the cape. According
the records kept by the weather bure
the precipitation there is the great
rho rated anywhere In the United Stat
for The greatest annual rainfall record
two IS 100 inches, which record was ma
was some few years ago. The annual ra
ack fail averages somewhere between
ene and 100 inches This means a hes