The San Francisco call., 1898-03-10

British ship Atacama arrived by the Moana- The vessel left Newcastle, N. 5. w., for San Diego soon after the New Year and foundered January 2sth last. She sprang aleak and after work ing the pumps for three days the crew decided to abandon her. Great difh- culty was found in launching the boats, owing to the heavy sea that was run nlng, and owing to the short time at the mems disposal the boats were very poorly proviSioned.
 Stormy weather came on and the boats got separated. Captain Spruitt's boat got capsized and the five occu- pants were thrown into the water Four got back on her keel, but the fifth, a little lad named Allen on his first trip, was drowned. He had been injured and was lying in the bottom Of the boat wrapped in a blanket and an oilskin. After the capsize he never came to the surface again. Most of the provisions and all the water in the boat were lost and for forty-eight hours the unfortunate men had not drop to drink until picked up by the tug Lev eret.
 The survivors were Captain Spruitt, BoatsWain Figuaro, Seaman Pinto and Steward Skinner. They were all delir- ious when rescued, and the life of the steward was despaired of. The boat swain behaved with great gallantry, | and had it not been for him the captain would have been drowned. Several | times the latter was washed o1f the keel of the boat, and each time f1guaro went after him and brought him back 1 again. Finally the boat was rlghteo and all four men got into 1t.
 There are hopes that the Atacama' missing boats may be picked up by vessels bound to New Zealand. Search steamers were sent out from Newcastle the day the Monowai sailed and 1t was hoped that they might get some trace of the missing twelve men.
 A remarkable statement verified by other members of the family was made | by Captain Spruitt's daughter the day | the Monowai sailed. She dreamed that | she saw her fathers vessel sink, de- | scribed the men taking to the boats, told of them getting separated in the storm and when the boat in which her father was capsized she awoke with scream. The time of her dream cor responded with the actual sinking or the Atacama.
 The Moana brought up very val uable cargo, among which was sixty boxes of specie, valued at S1,500, 900. This represents the cash balance Of trade between Australia and the United | States, and brings the total which has come H0Te Dy lIlS leoI iicNlA NO-NA- steamers up to over $15,000,00O
 The steamer Zealandia, which arrived | from Honolulu early yesterday morn ing, had a very rough passage. On the 5th inst. she ran into a strong westerly gale, accompanied by a very heavy sea. The waves constantly broke aboard, and one of the dead lights was smashed in and part of a railing was | carried away. On the 7th inst. the weather moderated. and from that time until port was reached it was very foggy.
 The barkentine Archer. which arrived in Honolulu from San Francisco on February 26, reported having passed a large vessel bottom up in latitude 21 | north, longitude 154 west. Captain Rodgers of the interisland steamer Maui reports that on his way down from San Francisco when off the coast of Molokai he passed huge tree trunk with two big prongs sticking up. Cap | tain Dowdell of the Zealandia thinks that the tree trunk sighted by the cap tain of the Maui and the large vessel bottom up sighted by the captain of the barkentine Archer are one and the same 1 thing.