The Portland daily press., 1898-12-01

for IS to 80 miles, from Race Point, at
the extreme end of Cape God, to Chatham
and beyond. This long beach is
CAREFULLY PATROLLED
night and day by the life saving crews,
assisted by volunteers from the citizens
DR.. Davis the medical examiner for this
district, must see every body as soon as
it is found and he is in a position to be
informed of all that are cast up by the
sea along this stretch of coast.
What effect yesterdays story will have
upon the recovery of the bodies of those
on the lost Portland it is hard to say.
The storm ragged with great severity along
the Cape and was accompanied by
binding fall of snow. The gale will IN
doubtedly hinder the work of
RECOVERING THE BODIES.
but the heavy sea may aid in casting
them on the Shore
The current along the back side of the
Cane carries the bodies down towards
Chatham and wreckage from the Port
land as well as these bodies is coming
ashore further and further towards the
south every day. The first wreckage
came ashore at the Pleasant Hill bar life
saving station, and the next day the
fiotsam and bodies were picked up still
further towards tbs south. The debris
il not coming ashore at Peaked Hill bar
station as rapidly now as it was at first,
and this shows that the ourrentsis taking
everything down the shore. 1t is now
the general belief of everyone that the
STEAMER PORTLAND FOUNDERED
somewhere to the north and east end of
Race Point The wreckage which came
ashore on the back side of Cape Cod, so
the life savers believe, is brought around
there by the current and tides which set
very strongly around the Cape. The fact
that only the gingerbread work of the
Portlands deck houses, and state rooms
and saloons has came ashore on the Cape,
while the heavier articles of freight and
the big timbers of the hull itself have
not been found along this shore shows
that the steamer went down some dis.
tance off shore and did not strike upon
the
PEAKED HILL BARS
as was inst reported. Then, too, the
time when the steamer fourdered
O'Clock Sunday morning and the wreck
age did not commence TO come upon the
beach at Race Point and Peaked Hill Bar
station until midnight on Sunday. With
the sea that was running on Sunday the
Portland must have broken up very
quickly, and it seems singular indeed
that If she had struck anywhere on the
bars outside the cape, that her wreckage
did not begin to come ashore until late
Sunday night. Then too had the Portland
got in as near shore as this she would
certainly have been heard by the wide.
awake life savers along the beach. The
Portland certainly went down some dis
tance north of the rape and her hull lies
in the deep water quite distance north
of Race Point.
Captain Sam Fisher is the captain of
the life saving station at Race Point.
This station is on the extreme end of
Cape Cod. He told the PRESS reporter
on Tuesday that about three O'Clock
Saturday night he
HEARD A STEAMER BLOWING
three short and one long blast on her
whistle as signal of distress somewhere
north of him. 1t was blowing and snow
| ing as it never has been known to blow
and snow before along this stormy coast
Captain Fisher, who is acknowledged to
be one of the bravesc men in the life
saving service, mustered his Grew and
they listened for further whistles, but
none came. Tt was the opinion of few
people when this story of Captain Fishers
the whistles of distress was the Portland,
| but under the circumstances this theory
docs not seem tenahle. At eleven O'Clock
Saturday night the fishing schooner Maud
S. OF Gloucester, as she was scudding be-
fore the gale which was then just assum-
| ing it's terrible proportions saw the steam
or Portland half way between Thatcher S
island and Eastern Point. The steamer
was then making very hard weather of it
and the fishermen thought that she was
trying to get under the lee of some land
or trying to make Gloucester. While it is
possible that the Portland may have been
forced to run before the hurricane towards
Race Point ami there may have sounded
her whistle, for Captain Fisher and his
men to hear, it is not at all probable that
this was the case. The Portland un-
doubtedly was off Thatcher's island at
eleven O'Clock. but it is extremely doubt
full If she got down as far as Race Point
as early as three O'Clock Sunday morning.
just what Captain blanchard did after
leaving Boston will never be known. He
left his wharf in Boston in the teeth OF a
threatened gale and snow storm at seven
o'clock. At eight O'Clock that night when
he was running out of Boston harbor he
passed the steamer Kennebec of the Ken
nebec Steamboat company's line running
back into Boston for shelter. He also
nassad n Rost;oIl tow boat which was get