The San Francisco call., 1896-03-17

Steamship Company's Alameda left five
hours later. The Bennington has TIVE nty-
three of the crew of the wrecked sealing
schooner Matte T. Dyer aboard, and the
men thought they would at least reach
San Francisco as quickly as the mailboat.
They were disappointed, however. Five
days out the port engine roke down, and
during the night the air pump struck
work. For three. hours the man-of-war
was at the mercy of the wind and waves,
but the engineers were equal 20 the coca
sion, and it was not long before she was
again plowing her way toward San Fran
cisco.
The long stay in southern waters has not
improved the Bennington's hull, and in
consequence she will have to go on the dry
dock at Mare Island. She will steam up
there this morning and will be put out of
commission during the day. The officers
say that her long trip was due more to her
FOUL bottom than to any accident to the
machinery. A heavy head sea was en-
countered during the run, but the gunboat
rode through it without trouble, and proved
herself TO be thorough seaboat.
The Bennington has been unfortunate
almost ever since she was launched. Time
and again her machinery has broken down.
and when she was on the Asiatic station
she was the laughing stock of the navies of
the world. The chances are that it will be
many q month before she goes into COM
mission again.
Two more sealing schooners are added
to the list of lost and missing. The Wan
derer. owned by the Victoria Sealing and
Trading Company, went ashore in ST.
Josephs Bay and all hands were saved by
the revenue cutter Corwin. She became a
total wreck. The May Belle left Victoria,
B. c., early in January for Ucluelete in
Alaska to pick up an Indian crew. There
were seven white men aboard and neither
vessel nor crew has been heard from since.
The May Belle was in the heavy gales of
January 26 and 81 and a private letter
received in this City yesterday it stated
that her owners have given her up as lost.
Ross &g Hewlett have the sealing schoon-
ers Lilly L and Emma and Louisa lying at
anchor in Sausalito Bay. They do not
know whether to sell them or fit them out
for another cruise. The temptation to sell
is very great, as at least dozen men are
after the vessels to fit them out for a voyage
to Cooks Inlet. Both schooners have
accommodations for over thirty men, and
it would be no trouble to fit up hunks for
twenty more. Now that the Alaskan min
ing craze is on the would-be purchasers
think they would have no trouble in get
ting enough miners who are anxious to
reach the new Ell Dorado TO fill the passen-
ger list The owners are not at all anxious
to sell, however, and the chances are that
Captain Charley Mockler may yet go out
on sealing cruise in the Lilly L..
The Harbo Commissioners are getting
worried over the delay in starting work on
the new ferry depot. The Supreme Court
is taking it's own time in rendering de-
cision in the Bateman Brothers case, and
i'll the mean time the State is paying $24, 900
year interest on its bonds, and the con-
tractors are out and injured. All of them
specified time, and they are making the
lives of Messrs. Colnon, Cole and Chad
bourne miserable by their importuning.
Some action in the matter will be taken at
the meeting of the board to be held to-day.