The San Francisco call., 1898-06-27
FIRST CRUISE
 IS THEIR LAST Two Alaska Steamships
 Wrecked. DISABLED BY ROUGH WATER GAMECoCK AND STAGHoUND
 VOWED BACK. Yukon-Bound Passengers Panic Stricken When the Light Craft
 Began to Fill With
 Water.
GAMECOCK AND STAGHOUNI
 TONED BACK.
Special Dispatch to The Call.


 SEATTLE, June 26.-Two more steamships intended for the Yukon River trade have been almost totally disabled. They are the Staghound and the Gamecock, which left Portland on Friday for the north, in tow of the steamer Elihu Thompson. When eight hours out at sea both small steamships foundered and became waterlogged, with two feet of water on their main decks and the upper works badly bat tered by the action of the waves These steamships are now practically worth less.
 On the decks of the vessels were loads of cordwood and Oregon fir. These acted as life buoy, keeping the water logged steamships from sinking to the bottom There was also on the ves- sells S1O,00O worth of merchandise and stores, which are almost a total loss.
 On board were seventy-five persons, members of the crews and employees of the Yukon Transportation and Con- mercial Company, which owend the craft No lives were lost, as the men were all transferred to the Thompson and taken to Astoria
 The steamships had just been com pleted at Portland, costing about $45, 900 each, and when laden drew about B inches of water. They were splendidly equipped and had a capacity of six teen knots an hour. William A. Rich ardson of San Francisco, general man. ager of the company, of which E. E. Shotwell is president, says the Game cock and Staghound were insured for $50 900. The vessels were to have been operated on the Yukon in connection with the ocean steamship Humboldt, which is booked to sail from Seattle tomorrow for St. Michael.
 ASTORIA, June 26-The wrecking of the Staghound and the Gamecock is thus described by Chief Engineer Kelly of the Elihu Thompson:
 "We left the Columbia on Friday evening with fair weather and fair sea. At 10 o'clock Friday night the Gamecock displayed red light, as also did the Staghound, which was the pre- concerted signal of danger. The Thompson slowed down and waited for daylight At break of day they awakened me- and Captain Garlick told me to take the small boats and see what was the trouble. With the sec ond mate and three men of our crew I put out for the Gamecock. On ap- preaching her l saw she was in bad condition, the oakum streaming out from her seams I asked Captain Fisher what was the trouble. and was informed that when they struck the first swell off the Columbia the paSsen- gers were frightened beyond reason and the boat commenced to work badly.
 q went. on to the Staghound and found the condition of affairs worse. The passengers and some of the crew were imploring me to take them off. I told them to keep quiet, as there was no immediate danger. The passengers were running about the decks like de- mented persons, with their life-pre- servers on and their possessions piled up in promiscuous heaps. l went back to the Thompson, and, securing more boats, returned to the wrecks.
 "At this time we were about thirty miles at sea. Reaching the Gamecock, we commenced transferring passengers and crew. Captain Fisher and two or three men refused to leave their boat. He had a crew of thirty men and four teen passengers. The Staghound, in charge of Captain Lane, had about the same number of people aboard, and few of her men stood by him, refusing to leave the boat. The others behaved well, but the passengers on both boats were like crazy people.
 About this time the pilot schooner San Jose came up and took the Game cock in tow, while I took care of the other boat. All who wanted to be transferred were safely taken care of and a few of their personal effects were taken aboard the Thompson. The tow line and chains remained intact, and attribute the fact of the breaking up of the boats to their extreme length, which was 175 feet"
 Captain Fisher of the Gamecock had 8 trying experience on Friday night. Even before he signaled us many of the passengers, most of them from Mis- souri and Kansas, who had never be- fore seen the ocean, came to him with revolvers and threatened to shoot him if he did not put back to port. Fisher kept his head and coolly told them to go to bed and he would take them to safety, but many Of them bothered him all night.