The San Francisco call., 1898-02-18
The British Bark Alta came Left to Her Fate
 in Midocean.
Four of the Men Reach Sydney. but Twelve Are Still
 Missing.
Trial Trip of the New Steamer Samoa for the Klondike Trade
 Success.

The British bark Atacame has been abandoned 2 sea while on her way from Newcastle, N. s. w., to San Di- ego. A brief cablegram to the Mer- chants Exchange states that the cap tain and three of the crew reached Sydney, N. S. w., in an open boat, but that twelve men were missing. They also took to the boats, but have not been seen since.
 The dispatch does not state what was the matter with the Atacame. but the chances are that her coal cargo caught fire. The bark was built in 1890, and was owned by s. Wakeham & Co. of Liverpool, Eng, and was chartered to load wheat at this port for Europe. She was 1113 tons net burden, PA feet long, 34 feet 5 inches broad and 20 feet deep
 The four apprentice boys who made their escape from the United States steamer Mohican have been recaptured and are now in the warship's brig re- penting on bread and water. They made their escape in the captains gig, and it was recovered at Vallejo.
 The Oceanic Steamship Company's Zealandia sailed for Honolulu yester- l see her away, but she did not take many passengers for this time of the year. Those who went away in the cabin were:
 H. S. s. Aimes, Mrs. T. F. Colcord, Mrs. A. L. Gibbs, J. Hallenbeck, Miss L. C.. Holmes. w. J. Howard and wife, Mrs. M. E. Kingsley, M. M. Kohn, H. Krebs Jr., Mckay. Mrs. E. J. Oliver, G. w. Page, Charles l.. Rhodes, Jacob Rich and wife, Dennin Searles, F. S. Southwick, F. M; Tucker, Frank Unger, Thomas H. B. Var ney, wife and two children, Master Var ney, Dr. M. Wachs, Mrs F. Wetmore.
 The steamer William Baylies, the first of the Arctic whaling fleet, is at Howard street wharf fitting out for a cruise. Captain Devall will command the whaler, and she will be followed by the Karluk, Captain McGregor; Jea- | nette, Captain Newth, and Alexander, Captain Hilton. This will be about all the vessels that will leave this year, | whereas at this time last year over a score of steamers and wind hammers were getting ready.
 The old whaler Northern Light is a good example of the kind of vessel they used to build in this country forty years ago. Her timbers are now as sound and she is as stanch bark as she was when she left the Eastern ship
 
 years ago. She is copper fastened throughout, and when it came to talk ing out her trying-in works in order to build her up for passenger boat a derrick had to be used. During her life the timbers have never worked, and that is something that can be said of but very few vessels on this coast. Cap tain E. c. Remington, who was boat steerer on the Northern Light during her first cruise after whales, is going to Kotzebue Sound on her as passenger next spring to hunt for gold.
 Hanify & Co.'S new steamer Samoa had her trial trip on the bay yesterday and proved herself to be first-class craft, answering fully the expectations of her builders. She has been chartered by the California and Northwestern Trading and Mining Company, and will leave here on May 25 next to connect with that concerns river boats for Mi nook, Circle City, Forty Mile and Daw- son City.
 She managed to get away about 5 o'clock.
 The steamer Whitelaw did not get away yesterday morning at the expect ed time. Captain Whitelaw, her owner. locked horns with the chartererS and would not allow them to put any more horses aboard. The Society for the Pre- yention of Cruelty to Animals also stepped in and made the charterers Of the craft put in feeding bins for the animals.
 The schooner Bowhead sailed for Copper River yesterday with party of twenty-one prospectors. The miners have purchased the vessel and will keep her in Alaska until they are ready to bring the bark back to San Fran cisco.