Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1896-01-29

The three masted ship Parthia OF
Bath, Me-, sailed from Liverpool for
San Francisco with cargo OF 3,400
tons of coal on June %.
On her last trip Captain Charles g.
Carter, down east shipmaster, took
charge of the Parthia, sailing with a
cargo of American wheat for Liverpool.
When the ship was about GOO miles
out on the north Atlantic on the voyage
to San Francisco, carrier pigeon, hun
cry and nearly exhausted, flew into the
rigging. The bird was caught and fed
by the sailors The pigeon bore no mes
sage, but around one leg was a silver
ring.
1t was thought by the seamen that
the pigeon would bring good luck to
the Parthia. The crew christened the
bird Mike, and it became fayorite.
The coming Of the pigeon was the
only incident to break the monotony of
the long voyage around the Horn until
the noon of Sept. 81, when a sailor dis
covered smoke coming out of the after
hold, near the mizzenmast. The ship
was then $50 miles west of Chile.
Captain Carter said at once it must
be case of spontaneous combustion in
the coal, the beginning of so many fires
that have destroyed great ships. The
crew couldn't get at the blaze, for II
they opened the matches, the flames
would burst forth and every opening
would be volcano.
Captain Carter called all hands aft
There were 81 men. He told them their
only hope lay in taking to the boats
Three were at once provisioned and
equipped with sails and nautical instru
ments. Plenty Of fresh water was stow
ed aboard. 1t was determined to stand
by the ship as long as possible, and she
was steered toward the land.
The next day the smoke, heat and gas
had become almost overpowering. The
cabins were too hot to stay in. Nothing
could be done inside the ship, and the
water in the butts was so hot that it
had to be cooled before drinking.
A strong gale had sprung out of the
northwest and blew with fury for two
days. On the second day of the storm
the whole ship became so uncomforta
BILE and unsafe that Captain Carter gave
the command for all hands to take to
the boats at p. m. The doomed Par
thia was then 400 miles from the Chill
can coast
Captain Carter and eight men took
the longboat. Chief Mate Nicolson
and eight men had the second, and Sec
ond Mate r. A. Croker and eight sail
ors the third.
All night the crew, loyal to their
ship, stood by to see the last incident
in her brief, awful history. One hour
after quitting the Parthia flames burst
through the decks, the force Of expand
ing gas hurting the matches skyward
with succession of booms.
The pine spars and hempen lines were
food for the flames, which cracked
from shrouds to yards The ocean was
lighted up for miles about, and the heat
was so intense that the three boat crews
had to pull far away.
Circling round and round the blazing
ship all night was Mike. The pigeon
appeared fascinated by the fire, and
tried repeatedly to light on the spars.
Captain Carter believes Mike finally
became victim to the flames. With a
splurge and prolonged hiss the Parthia
sank into the Pacific, leaving only few
sputtering, charred embers tossing on
the waves.
On account of the direction of the
wind Captain Carter deemed it best to
sail with it for Juan Fernandez, Robin
son Crusoe's island, 400 miles to the
northward The gale blew worse than
ever, and the sky was black. Captain
Carter lost sight of the other two boats
between and p. m. next day, and
did not sight them again.
The sailors had constantly to bail the
longboat, and their belongings, except
food, water, clothing and instruments,
were thrown into the sea.
After lull Of days and another storm
Of "a hours, the captains longboat
landed at Juan Fernandez Oct 8, after
eight days Of exposure. The boat with
the first mate and eight more sailors ar
rived at the island the day after.
Alfred de Rod, a man of German par
entage, represents the Chilean govern
ment ON Robinson Crusoe's island He
has the title of governor, and lords over
the 40 or 40 persons now on the island.
Captain Carter speaks gratefully of
the governors treatment of the Parthia's
distressed seamen. Governor de Rod,
Captain Carter says, has for years be-
friended from 80 to 35 shipwrecked
American seamen season, and has new
or received the slightest recognition
from the government of the United
States. On Oct. 10 a Chilean man-of-
war put in from Valparaiso to inquire
after Captain Carter and the men, The
commander brought tale of suffering
from Second Mate Crocker's boatload
of sailors more thrilling than that of
the others. Mate Croker had become
scared during the first blow after leav-
ing the Parthia, and had steered due
east for the Chilean coast. The water
in the oask got low, and his men were
put on short allowance. There was