The San Francisco call., 1896-10-21
ANGRY MINERS
HELD IN Al ASKA
They Have Reached Sitka,
but Cannot Get Any
Further.
The Governor Would Not Allow
the Excelsior to Bring
Them On.
NO BOATS TILL NEXT SPRING.
Narrow Escape of the Lansing and
Progreso From Collision
NO BOATS TILL NEXT SPRING

There are 900 angry miners in Sitka,
Alaska, and when they air their grievances
in San Francisco there will be some tall
talking. The following dispatch from Cap
tain Higgins of the steam-schooner Ex-
celsior was received yesterday:
NANA1Mo, B. c., Oct 20, 1896.
We arrived at Sitka on the 18th with 22O
passengers and much treasure aboard. There
tions, and as the Excelsior would not be al
lowed TO take the passengers on there is great
indignation. A petition to the Governor was
got up but he refused to interfere.
Cooks Inlet is freezing up and all the miners
save few who will go down on the Dora are
out. The Marion sailed September 2S with
sixty passengers. We have had nothing but
heavy gales for the past fortnight. Will load
coal at Nanaimo for home.
The story is almost all told in the above.
Some months ago the steam schooner Ex-
ceIsior was chartered TO go to Cooks Inlet
and bring a large party of miners to the
Sound if possible, If not to Sitka. On ar
irving at the latter port the miners found
that the City of Topeka and the Queen had
been taken off the route for the winter
and that unless they could get away on
the Excelsior they would have to remain
in Alaska for several months longer. 1t
was then that they petitioned the Gov
ernor for permission to leave on the Ex-
celsior, but for some reason he refused.
The only chance for a few of them Will be
to get down on either the Dora or the rev.
epue cutter Bear. Those who fail Will
have to remain in Sitka unless special
boat is sent up to bring them down. The
talk on the water front was to that effect
yesterday. but the chances are that moth
ing will be done until Captain Higgins gets
hrir fr7i
tieulars.
Captain Hatfield of the British ship
Lansing and Captain Storrs of the
Progreso are congratulating themselves
that they are still alive and that their
vessels are af1eat. Early yesterday morn
ing they almost collided in dense fog,
and had it not been for the presence OF
mind OF the master of the sailing ship
another disaster would have TO be re-
corded.
sit was 12:15 A. NJ. yesterday when the
two vessels graZed each other" said Cap
tain Hatfield. Il was making port and
the Progrese was bound north. Suddenly
the steamer ioomed up out of the fog and
all [ could do was to order the helm hard
a-starboard. l swung clear, but my main
yard Taked the Progreso and did some
damage. When we brought up the YES
sells were almost stern to stern and l
could easily converse with Captain Storrs.
1t was the narrowest escape l ever had in
my life, as, had we struck, both vessels
would most assuredly have gone to the
bottom"
The Lansing brought a cargo of coal
from Cardiff and will load wheat for
Europe after discharging.
Another boat had narrow escape yes
terday. The tug Rescue was taking out
the bark Oakland when the hawser parted.
The bark began to drift down on the ferry
De- Int
got the lower topsails set in very short
space of time and managed to she ear off
inst in time 10 escape collision. Another
tug was sent out and she picked up the
Oakland and towed her to sea.
The ship Centennial, which was pur-
chased by the Alaska Packing Association
q few days ago, will start for Karluk the
latter part of this week to load salmon for
one of the foreign ports. In this way
double handling of the goods will be
avoided.
The French ship General MeIlinet ar
rived from Swansea yesterday. Captain
Jolivet was very sick man during the
trip, and the first mate brought the ship
in. The captain was laid up with a
bronchial affection, and for fifty days was
confined to his bed. He expects the SUM-
shine of California to make him a whole
man again ana will go out on his ship
when she sails next month.
The Oceanic steamship Australia sailed
for Honolulu yesterday with the following
passengers:
Miss Mary Alexander, Father Adalbert, Miss
L Bachelor, Hon. II. 2. Baldwin and two
children, Miss NJ. Berg, Mrs. George Beckley,
two children and maid; Mrs. W. n. Brown,
Mrs. c. A. Brown, two children and nurse A.
]. Campbell, Miss A. Carroll P. G. Camarinos,
Mrs. NJ. Crane, Miss Crane, Miss 6. Dowsett,
Miss d. Dowsett. Father Emmeran, o. P.
Emerson and wife, A. Fernandez, G. J.
Falk, M Grossman, Mrs. f.. Harrison and
three children, DR.. George Herbert, wife
and child; A. H. jackson, r. /. Lille and
wife, Z. C. Macfarlane, F. w. Macfarlane and
wife, Mrs. ?. K. Makee, Miss Makee, Mrs. Mauer
and child. L. L. McCandless. Mrs. T. Z. Nc
Combe, Mrs. Mcclure Miss A. Mcclure, Cap
tain C. Mckinney, Ellis Mills, United States
Mrs. Mills A. Moore. Mrs.
Hugh Morrison, Mrs. D. Noonan, Mrs. Paxton,
NJ. S. Perreira and wife, Dr. H. G. Pochen, Mrs.
NJ. D. Pritchsrd, G. F. Renton, Mrs. z. NJ. Rice
and child, Miss Riordan, S. Roth, ]. C. Scott
and wife, Mrs. G. A. Schuman and two chill
dren, Miss E. G. Smith, E. D. Tenny, wife, two
children and nurse; C. B. Wells, wife and
child; Miss Wilder, Miss A. NJ. Williams, II. F.
and /. WitkowskL
The Hawaiian band was down to see the
vessel away, as two or three of their num-
Der were passengers. For over an hour
they serenaded those on the mail boat,
and as she cast off her lines they played
''Auld Lang Syne." The passenger list
by the Australia was the largest in many
he