The San Francisco call., 1896-10-22

l1eVeS JnaC JDe plllnS VI Lhc Jetby "0H'
through the steamers bottom. After
striking and settling her bow swung
around with the swell until she was
headed in shore, and that is the position
she is now in, lying IN about twenty-eight
feet of water.
The first sea that struck the steamer
after she had settled upon the jetty car
ried away all of her houses, sweeping her
deck clear.
Captain Reed says that First Officer
Warmers boat, containing Chief Engineer
Brown and six others, was lost through
the neglect of the first officer. 1t appears
that after Warmers boat had capsized and
been righted twice Warner deserted and
swan to the second officers boat, which
was then close by. The captain says that
had Warner remained with his boat the
lives of seven persons would have un-
doubtedly been saved.
To give an idea of the size of the swell
that carried the ilI-tate6 steamer on to the
jetty the distance it washed upon the shore
was measured by A. w. Reed OF Gardiner,
who found it just seventy feet higher than
any swell that rolled in afterward, and
the tide ran in for three and half hours
after. Captain Reed says there is not a
possibility of a doubt but that this i'm
mense swell was the one that lifted tie
Arago and threw her with such terrific
force upon the submerged rocks of the
jetty.
The Coos Bay life-saving crew deserves
great credit for their services. They had
a four mile pull against very strong food
tide, and had TO cross q very lumpy, rough
bar, and arrived at the wreck after four
men had been washed from the vessel
and one boat-load had been lost, but they
at once went to work to rescue Captain
Reed and his remaining passengers ana
crew.
This was accom- plished by the life crew
giving them line, and one at a time they
tied it to themselves and jumped from the
rigging into the angry sea and were pulled
aboard the lifeboat Captain Reed vas
the last man to leave his ship.
c. E. Getty lives at Rocky Point, just
opposite the Coos Bay bar. In an inter-
view he says he left his home yesterday
at 8 o'clock, accompanied by his wife, in a
small boat for Empire City. They had
proceeded but short distance when they
heard four short whistles from the tug
Columbia in the direction of the bar and
in few minutes four more whistles from
some boat in the direction of Coos Head.
He remarked to his wife that the lifeboat
was needed and something must he
wrong on the bar. Just then the tug
came in and passed up the inside channel
to the Government works, where she
sounded four short whistles.
Mr.. Getty pulled as hard as he could to
catch her, but she came down again and
passed below him and returned to Empire
City, after blowing four more whistles as
she passed the life-saving station. Mr..
Getty was by this time in the channel
above the Government works, when he saw
Morton l.. Tower running down the beach.
They went ashore and Tower told them
that the steamer Arago was lost and that
the life-saving crew had been notified and
were on their way to the scene OF the wreck
against a very strong flood tide. Getty
left his boat and walked down with Tower
to the Government works, and icy got
handcar ready to go to the end of the jetty.
By this time ]. G. Haynes, in charge of
the lite-sav wing crew, had joined them. He
with two others, Getty and Tower, boarded
the car and went out on to the jetty until
the location OF the steamer could be as
certained. Then they returned to the
crew started around the ietty and over
the bar for the scene of the wreck. Getty
and Tower loaded the car with iife-buoys
and lines and returned down the jetty as
far as they could with safety. They could
see the wreck very plainly, and could see
eight men in the rigging and two boats.
one near the stern, with ten or twelve
men in it and apparently free of water.
The other, near the shore and abreast
OF where Getty and Tower were standing
on the jetty, had five men in it and was
nearly IulI of water, but right side up.
After passing through several heavy
seas all right, with one man bailing and
two rowing, the boat was capsized and the
men washed away from her, but all got
back again. Then succession of heavy
seas came and the boat was finally seen
empty.
They looked for the other boat, which
they watched from time to time, and saw
that she was working to the south in line
with the jetty. She was going through
very rough sea and in raising on the top
of wave she seemed to stand straight on
end.
1--WE could see only part of the steer
ing-oar standing straight up In the ali"
he continued. I'VE were sure that every
sea that struck her would engulf her, but
she stood it through one after another.
They were running mountain high and
most of the time we could not see the boat
at all Too much credit cannot be given
Second Officer Banks, who was in charge
of this boat, for his heroic efforts alone
saved the lives of all the occupants"
When satisfied that the boat would
make shore safely Mr.. Getty, unable to do
anything on the jetty, went back on the
car and went on the beach as near to the
wreck as possible in hopes that some of
the first officers boat crew would wash
ashore. The boat came ashore but it was
empty. Two other boats were ashore at
the same place, one of them high up on
the beach. He looked for tracks but found
none. The beach was by this time strewn
with wreckage. Mr.. Getty and Mart Ro-
sell searched the beach north and south
as far as there was any wreckage, but
could not find the bodies. They were the
only ones on the beach until the second