The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-01-09
WHEAT AND SHIPS
IN PORT GALORE
Prices Are Low and Conse-
quently There Is No
Business.
Over Sixty Ships Are Now in
Port Awaiting Char.
terS.
Antoine Nord and Robbed Few Min
utes Before the Sailing of the
San Bias.

Wheat is the great topic of conversation
on the water front Just now. All the
masters of deep-water ships il port are
interested to large extent in the rise and
fall of the market, as a rise means char
ter for his ship, while fall means re-
manning here until next August.
Many of the owners do not anticipate a
rise and. in consequence, one vessel at
least has gone to Australia in ballast to
load coal for this port, another has sailed
with a general cargo for Sydney, two are
loading redwood in the stream for Eng
land and two are going to Hawaii to load
sugar for New York.
In spite of these departures there are
still sixty-one disengaged deep-water YES
sells in port and many of the captains
have made up their minds 10 long wait
At the present time there are fourteen
vessels tied up in Richardson Bay, four in
Mission Bay, eight in Oakland Creek, four
at Martinez and thirty-one at the wharves
and in the stream. These aggregate nearly
los, 900 tons, while on the same date last
year the diseagaged tonnage was only 81
27S tons. The Port Crawford got in from
Port Los Angeles vest rday and helped to
swell the fleet, and at least dozen more
are daily expected from various ports of
the world.
Should there be an advance in the price
of wheat every one of these vessels will be
chartered at good figure, as at the pres
ent time there is over BOO, 600 tons OF grain
on hand and in sight. Then, wheat is
coming here from Idaho and Utah, SO
that, should the demand come, there
would be no difficulty in supplying it, as
I'VE have the ships, we have the men and
we have the cereal, too"
The Port Crawford, that got in from
Port Los Angeles yesterday, came here in
ballast. On the 7th inst she spoke
the sealing schooner Luisa D. with 100
skins aboard. The captain asked 10 be re-
ported ''all WE'LL"
Two rejuvenated steamers went to sea
last night and this morning. The Zea-
landia, after years of retirement, sailed for
Australia late at night in place of the
Mariposa that has been laid up for re-
pairs. She took away over fifty cabin pas
sengers and an unusually large cargo.
Under the supervision of Chief Officer
Rennie the stout ship was made to look as
good as new vessel. Every part of The
hull and machinery was overhauled and
Captain Hayward is confident that he will
arrive in Sydney on time. The u ALAMEDA
should have sailed at 2 P. NJ last Thursday,
but was delayed until 10 O'Clock last night
on account of the non-arrival of the Eng
lish mail.
The other steamer was the Pacific Coast
Steamship Company's Umatilia. After
she was hauled off the rocks in Puget
Sound she was brought to San Francisco
and put on the Union Iron Works dry-
dock. While there she was practically
made into a new vessel, and rolling checks
were put on her bilges. She was refur-
nished from stem to stern, and when she
sailed this morning the Umatilla was as
we'll found vessel as ever sailed from this
port.
The old time schooner Orient thst for
years ran between this port and Coos Bay
has been condemned. An attemp t was
made to repair her, but not plank that
would hold fastener could be found. Size
is now in Oakland Creek being stripped
OF everything that is valuable on board.
Another steamer that has been thor.
oughly overhauled is the Queen. She
came off the ways yesterday, and will
have a trial of her new engines TODAY.
Her owners expect that she will easily
average seventeen knots, and Captain
Bennett thinks that she may even make
nineteen knots.
The wIecker Whitelaw came near 10
making a wreck of the new Folsom street
wharf. yesterday. While attempting to