The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-05-12
Schooner Nellie Coleman Loses
Two Members of Her Crew.
A BIG STORM OFF CAPE HORN.


The trim little schooner Nellie Coleman.
Capt. William A. Ross. arrived in por.
yesterday morning. ItS days cut OF Boston.
She IS the first of the flee; of small suiiing
vessels that left Atlantic coast ports in
November and December for Seattle and
Alaska TO arrive. Several others have
reached San Francisco. but the Coleman
is several weeks ahead OF them In reaching
Seattle
The little sehooner's trip was very exelt-
and Hjalmar l.. Olsen. found watery graves
in the ocean ninety miles south OF Cape
Horn. They We're washed on the bowsprit
during n terrible storm on January ~ The
storm IN which the two men lost their lives
was only one of series OF terrible gales
that busfeted the little craft around from
Christmas day until February 10. The Cole
man stopped two days a; San Francisco.
leaving there April %. The run up the
coast was made in very good time and was
unevenfful
On the morning OF January % terrible
southwest gale was blowing and Capt. Ross
decided To shorten SAIL The Coleman had
four men before the mast, and they had
their hands fun Two of them were or
dered out on the howsprit to furl the fly
ing iib. /: was very dangerous work. as
almost every wave was breaking over the
bow of the little schooner. and washing the
decks. VIII. every plunge the bowsprit
dipped into tire icy sea. The sailors ordered
to furl the jib were Myhre and Olsen.
young Norwegians who had been sailing
since mere boys. They did not hesitate.
and managed 10 reach their places on the
bowsprit. They unfas.ened the lib. but
were unable TO hold 1t. The next time the
schooner plunged both were washed off.
Capt. Ross rnmediately put the ship
about and ordered Mate Edward keogh
and the two remaining sailors into boat.
The TWO Norwegians could be seen strug-
Cling in the water. Both were strong
swimmers. bat were encountered with
heavy oilsklns ana rubber boots. II took
about FIVE minutes 10 get the boat over
board. and by that time the men were out
OF sight. The men in the small boat
sighted the pair of unfor;uHates once af-
ter leaving the ship. When the boat again
came up on the crest of wave neither
could be seen.
The storm was increasing In violence all
the time. and II looked as though the small
boat would not he able to get back to the
schooner. Capt. Ross and the one passen-
ger aboard could hardly manage the
schooner. but finally got her in the neigh
borhood of the dory. The boat was picked
un and the voyage continued shor; handed
Myhre was 2 years OF age and Olsen 20
Both men were from Norway and were
shipped at Boston.
First Officer keogh gave n post-Intci.i-
geneer reporter the following account of
the trip Yesterday:
I'VE left Boston on November . Nnd had
a good run 10 Staten island. near Cape
Horn. 1t was on Christmas day that we
ran into our first severe gale. We beat our
way slowly southwark keeping we'll away
from Cape Horn and the rocky islands I'm
that vicinity. The gales continued I'm force
until We'll UP the coast of Patagonia. On
February 10 we ran out OF the storm belt
and had good weather to San Francisco.
where We arrived on April o. The trip
from San Francisco 10 Seattle was une-
veutfu We were towed down from Port
Townsend this morning"
The Nellie Coleman was engaged in the
fruit trade I'm the Atlantic. She operated
between Charlestown 8 c. and Jamaica
She is owned by A. y. C!afflin She has
ninety tons OF coal in her hold. which will
be nnloaded here.
Three other schooners CT the Alaskan feet
have arrived AT San Francisco. some OF
them made better time thsD the Coleman,
and zone had az many difficulties The
Ahbie VI. Deering and the Hattie J Phil
lips arrived at San Francisco a bout the
middle OF April and will soon leave that
port for Seattle. The schooner Charles
Levi Woodbury. arrived on May 4 having
left Gloucester on February o. she will
arrfva hers. in severas .ns.ts