The San Francisco call., 1897-10-27
DISASTER,
DISCRETION
AND DEATH
News From the Whaling
Fleet Is Anything but
Encouraging.
MANY VESSELS ARE FROZEN IN.
The Jeanie Has Been Caught
in the Ice With the Rest
of Them.
Is IN DANGER OF BEING KIPPED.
List of Those Lost on the Navarch
Brought Down by One of the
Survivors.

The news from the whaling feet is any
thing out encouraging. Nearly all the
vessels have been caught in the ice, and
some of them may not last through the
winter. Not since the winter OF 1889, when
the feet was caught in the ice off Herald
Island, has such wholesale disaster threat.
ened. Fourteen steamers, barks and
schooners are known to be in the pack,
and only five OF them are supposed to
have more than two months supplies
aboard.
A special dispatch received by the Mer-
chants Exchange yesterday says: "The
whaling steamers Orca and Belvedere, the
whaling steamer Rosario and the steam
tender Jeanie are frozen in 10 the west of
Point Barrow and may be crushed in the
ice.
There is no provisions on the whalers,
but as they are near land the craws may
be able to reach an Esquimaux village.
The whaling steamers Alexander and
hariuk arrived at Unalaska prior to the
sailing OF the British steamer Bristol for
Victoria, B. c.
The steam whaler Thrasher, which ar
rived from the Arctic last Tue sday night,
BRINGS confirmation OF the telegram.
Captain Cogan In his report says that he
lett Herschel Island on Septem Der I6. and
at that time all the feet was there The
Ihrasher was headed for the westward,
but II came on to blow hard from the
northwest and the ice was driven hard on
the shore. When the steamers shaft
broke 1t was question of fighting their
way out OF the ice as quickly as possible.
The shore had to be hueged and several
times the crew OF the Thrasher felt her
:craping along the bottom as the stout
craft fought her way 10 the open sea. The
Jeanette was in a similar predicament and
twice she had to be put down by the head
IN order 10 get her over bank.
The vessels which were to have win
tered in the Mackenzie River were the
steam whaIers Beluga, Balena, Grampus.
Narwhal and Mary ID. Hume. The Jeanie
took Up the seasons supplies for them,
but now all of them are frozen up before
anybody expected the winter to set in.
The vessels that were expected 10 reach
San Francisco this winter, but which
were caught in the ice, are the steam
whalers Fearless, Orca, Newport, Jessie
ID, Freeman and Belvedere, the steam
tender Jeanie, the bark Wanderer and
the schooner Rosario. Those of the feet
that had fighting chance to get out
were the steamers Jeanette and William
Baylies and the barks Alice Knowles. John
and Winthrop and Gayhead. When last
seer the young ice was forming around
them fast, and unless storm from the
south came up they also may be frozen
in. All in all the outlook is not very
cheering. There are over 1000 men on
The vessels named, but if Point Barrow
can be reached there will be no lack OF
provisions. Even if that source of supply
failed, the hunters can always get moose
and reindeer, and at the worst the sailors
will only have 10 put up with short allow
ance. That is, of course, if the vessels do
not get nipped by the ice.
The seasons catch, as far as can be
learned, ls very poor one, and those
sailors who manage to reach San Francisco
will have little more than a dollar com ing
TO them as pay for two years work in the
Arctic. Two of the feet were lost during
the season-the bark Cape Horn Pigeon
in Hakodate Pass and the Navarch off
Point Barrow. In the wreck of the latter
fourteen of tie crew lost their lives, and
one Of the rescued men was killed on the
Thrasher on his way to San Francisco.
His name was Harry Holmes, and with
fourteen others he was rescued from
cake of ice off Cape Haket
Antoine Silva, a boatSteerer on the Nav
arch, also came down on the Thrasher
HIS account OF the disaster is the same
as that already published, but he also
brought down a complete list of the lost
and saved. Itis as follows: Drowned
John Sands, chief engineer; NJ. J. Seanlon.
assistant engineer; w. w. Whiting, stew.
ard Charles Thrasher, fireman: Charles
Nampach blacksmith; Radolph Press,
John Smith, John SYLVIA, Marsellino
Osido, John Erickson, Alex Shaw, Fred
Kapell and S. Jackson, seamen, and Ell
Cochran, cabin-boy. To which must be
added Harry Holmes, boatsteerer, the
man killed on the Thrasher.
Saved = Joseph Whlteside. captain;
James G.. Belain, first mate; John H.
Egan, second mate; Enos n, Dias, third
mate (Dias went crazy from exposure anu
was brought to San Francisco on the
re--.nue cutter Corwin. He is now in the
United States Marine Hospita); a. 2
Reade fourth mate; Joseph a. Peters,
boatheader; NJ. Corrle. John Santos c.
NJ. Andros. boatsteerers; P. o. Isaacson,
carpenter and coopar; Chris Sorenson,
sailmaker, and n. w. Johnson, Charles
Stewart Joseph Scott, Alfred Miller.
Theodore Smith and Alfred Walter, sea-
men.
The news OF the rush to the Klondike