The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-06
Chilkat Went
Quickly Down
Survivors Tell of the Terri
bic Catastrophe of the
Humboldt Bar.

T. c. Bohall and Howard Smith, pas
senger. Not one of them is anything
the worse for his terrible experience"
Chief. Engineer Packwood was in the
engine-room when the Chilkat went
over on her beam ends. My escape
was a marvellous one" said he Il was
attending to the engines with my hand
on the lever when 1 heard the four
whistles blow. I had not the faintest
idea what was the matter and got no
signal from the pilot-house, so the en-
gines were still turning over at full
speed when I was washed out of the
engine-room.
when the Chilkat went over on her
beam ends 1 was caught like a rat in
trap. Bundles of shingles were
washed into the room and one of these
grasped hold of. When the third
roller struck the steamer the deckhouse
opened up from the hull and 1 f1oated
out into the ocean on my bundle of
shingles. 1 was barely clear Of the
vessel when the opening closed up
again like trap, but thank Cod I was
clear. The boys in the ships boat saw
me come out of the hull and picked me
up more dead than alive"
when the Chilkat went over on her
beam ends if anybody had offered me
10 cents for my life I would have said
pass over the 10 cents, was the way
Fireman William Griep spoke of his
narrow escape "The steamer was
thrown over to port and 1 went over
with her I thought my last hour had
come and can remember nothing more
until 1 was sitting in the ships boat
with the other boys"
T. G. Bohall, the steward, was on the
bridge with Captain Anderson when the
Chilkat broached to. He says the wheel
was not disabled, but refuses to state
what caused the disaster save that the
waves were too heavy for the Chilkat
and she went down before them
Captain Anderson was not trying to
take short cut across the end of the
south jetty," said Bohau 'We were
very nearly in the wake of the North
Fork. but making much heavier
weather of it than that vessel. A big
roller broke aboard and it passed
through my mind that it was the be-
ginning of the end. knew that How
ard Smith, one of the passengers, was
in his stateroom and the door fastened,
so I hurried aft to let him out. When
I reached his room he had got a life
belt on and was crawling out through
the window. BY this time the Chilkat
was heeled right over and her upper
deck was within three feet of the water,
while the port boat was floating. Will
liam Black, one of the sailors, was
standing and he and Smith and I got
into the boat. Clyde Lightner the as
sistant engineer came along a moment
later and he got in also. Then we cut
the falls and pushed away from the
sinking ship. Griep, the fireman, came
up alongside of us and a few seconds
later the deckhouse lifted up from the
hull and Chief Engineer Packwood
floated out on bundle of shingles.
Just as he floated clear the hole closed
up again, just for all the world as
though a door had been opened to let
a man out and closed to after him. 1t
was the most wonderful escape I have
ever heard of.
"Once clear of the wreck we stood
out over the bar One of the North
Forks boats came along and as ours
was overloaded Griep and Smith got
into it. Both boats then made their
way out over the bar to the North Fork
and mighty glad we were to get aboard
her. The last saw of Captain Ander-
son he was standing on the top of the