The San Francisco call., 1896-04-22

was pulled off by the steamer Whites boro,
and afterward the South Coast picked her
up and finally landed her in San Fran.
CISCO.
The Point Arena was on her beam ends,
her engines having apparently shifted,
but otherwise she was in good condition.
The crew and owners of the South Coast
will make considerable money out of the
salvage.
The Point Arena left San Francisco on
the 10th inst. and reached her destination
last Saturday. The passengers and cargo
were landed and then a start was made
for other ports. In passing out the Point
Arena s wheel caught in the mooring line
of the steam schooner Whltesboro and she
became disabled. The latter vessel swung
around with the tide, but having steam up
was able to 60 10 the assistance of the
Point Arena when she drifted on the rocks
The rope in her wheel disabled the Point
Arena, ard the captain and crew could do
nothing but stand idly by and watch her
drift ashore. Some sail was set, but it had
no effect, and the vessel struck on the
north shoal.
The Whitesboro then went to her assist
ance and took off the crew and what pas
sengers that were aboard. Later the South
coast toWed the steamer off and the crew
returned to her. At that time it was
thought that she could be towed to San
Francisco with the crew aboard, but later
1t was found that the project was imprac-
ticable.
When few miles off shore she turned
over on her side, and the men had narrow
escape for their lives. 4.
As 1t was some of them lost their cloth
ing and others only secured what things
were thrown out the stateroomS in which
they had stored them before the steamer
went on her beam ends.
With the masts in the water and the en-
gines shifted the Point Arena was a heavy
drag and, in consequence, the progress
was very slow.
Three knots an hour was the average
and when off Point Lobos the steam
schooner and her tow were not making
two knots. The tug Fearless was sent out,
but Captain Hansen refused assistance
Five OF the crew, however, of the Point
back to the City. The South Coast was
then making for the south channel and
she finally succeeded in getting into port
this morning.
Among those who came on the Alert
were P. z. Page and Robert Porter. Page
was the steward on the ill-fated steamer,
but he is also somewhat of an artist.
The sketches in to-day's CALL are from
drawings made by him when he was on
the South Coast and on his way to San
Francisco.
When the Point Arena went on her side
Page was IN one of the staterooms and he
barely escaped with his life. The crew
eighteen all told-got into the TWO life
boats and succeeded IN reaching the South
Coast.
Some of US had narrow escape" said
Steward Page yesterday. "The steamer
was apparently buoyant when we started
Tor San Francisco, and when she went
over on her beam ends we were all more or
less surprised. OF course, we knew that
the vessel was damaged when she struck
on the rocks, but still we thought her in a
safe enough condition to tow to San Fran
cisco. Captain Johnson was of that opin-
ion, and tier sailor never stepped in
shoe leather. so we took his word for it.
The Point Arena must have been hurt
worse than we calculated on, or else she
would never have turned over on her side
the way she did,"
Robert Porter is the man who came near
losing his clothes in the accident. "The
Point Arena kept listing more and more"
said he, "but when she went over on her
side we were all taken unawares. Nv
clothes were in heap and were scattered
into the water. | managed to recover
them after we got into the lifeboat, and
that is how | happen to have more than
the rest OF my shipmates.
Captain Hansen of the South Coast
hung onto the Point Arena, but he had
man at the hawser all the time, ready to