The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1899-12-29
THE WILLIAM CARSON WAS A
MENACE.
She Cannot be Brought Into Harbor
Because of the Danger of Sinking in
the Channel

There is still hope that the barken.
tine William Carson may be saved If
| the wind does not continue to rise. The
tug Eleu had a hard pull all morning
keeping her off the reef, the Lehua hav-
/ ing let go and come into the harbor.
AT noon the Lehua went out again and
at this writing both steamers have the
wreck well in hand.
The latest plan to save the Carson is
by mooring her at some point on the
beach and getting the coal out of her
hold. If this can be done she will float
and can be brought into the harbor for
repairs. 1t will be necessary to cut off
the masts and turn her keel up. If she
should turn the other way she will GER
tainly sink. AT two o'clock this after
noon, the wreck was near the bell buoy
Those who were brought ashore from
the barkentine William Carson yester-
day morning after her collision with
the Claudine were not far wrong when
they reported that she had gone
straight to the bottom. The sailing ves-
sci sunk so far that her hull was COM
pletely hidden from view. Four yards
sticking out of the water, and the
roughness of the waves as they passed
above the hull were all that could be
seen when the tug Eleu found her. In
this condition it would have been i'm
possible to bring her in the channel
She was drawing probably forty feet Of
water and was in constant danger of
going down.
That the William Carson did not sink
at once is considered most remarkable
by all mariners. The natural eXpecta-
ton was that a cargo of thirteen hun
dred tons of coal would carry her to the
bottom like lead. The hole in her bow
went under the water when the Car
son turned over, however, and this left
quantity of air imprisoned. The Car
son HOa atiDP q hOIt like This was q hIpbIV
dangerous derelict and it is fortunate
that she was found. Three vessels were
off the harbor this morning and any
one of them might have met disaster by
colliding with the invisible hulk.
The Lehua and Eleu tugged all night
on the Carson. This morning they had
her between the bell buoy and Waikiki.
At about eight o'clock the Lehua left,
with her coal supply all gone. Captain
Spiltz returned on her. He had little
| hope of saving the vessel at that time.
The Eleu continued to work, but could
make no progress toward the harbor.
Had she been able to get the Carson 10
| the channel it would have been of no
avail, as Captain Fuller would not have
allowed any attempt to bring her in.
The risk of sinking the Carson in the
channel and thus blockading all navi-
cation till she was blown up and her
cargo dredged out was too great.
At nine o'clock this morning the
wreck was drifting in towards the
beach this side of Waikiki, in spite Of
all the Eleu could do A strong south
east wind was blowing and the sea was
quite rough. The Eleu was constantly
changing her course in the effort 70
keep the Carson off and finally headed
out again toward Waikiki away from
the harbor. The bark r, p. Rithet and
the ship Jabez Howes, waiting for =
tug, were standing close by watching
the work of the Eleu.
The only thing that could be done
with a wreck like the Carson in the
opinion of those trying to save her
would be to beach her and then right
her and make necessary repairs. BY
cutting the masts she might have been
righted at sea, but this would have eX-
posed the hole in her bow and she would
have sunk Immediately. BY beachins
her near the Myrtle and Healani boat
houses, the cargo and vessel could be
saved.
The U. S. tug Iroquos went out to the
Carson yesterday afternoon, but could
not get hold of her The Tleu captain
had had two hours work before SUI
ceeding in getting a hawser through a
chock on the CarsOn's port quarter. The
Lehua fastened a line to the Eleu and
the Iroquois did the same, but the
strain was too much for the Eleu TO
stand. The IrOquos returned to the
harbor. This was at about six thirty
and the Carson had then been moved
about six miles in five hours. Through
the night the two Juggling vessels mov-
ed the wreck less than a mile an hour