The San Francisco call., 1899-04-23
The Charles Nelson
to Be Purchased.
FOR USE AMONG THE ISLANDS
CLEVELAND WILL ALSO CHANGE
HANDS AT MANILA.
River Boat T. c. Walker in Trouble.
A Sea Cook Nearly Asphyxiated.
Maxim and Vine in
Collision.

Inc transports CnarleS NelSOH anu
Cleveland, now on their way to Manila,
may never come back to San Francisco.
The chances are that Admiral Dewey will
keep the Nelson, as she is just the class
of vessel he wants for an interisland
transport, and some merchants of Manila
are after the Cleveland. Friday last Cap
tain Charles Nelson received a cable from
the Philippines asking if the Nelson was
for sale, and the answer sent back was
No"
IF the Government wants the Charles
Nelson" said James Tyson, manager for
Charles Nelson, yesterday, Il suppose ii
Will take her. She is under charter to
Uncle Sam and there is no limit to the
time he may keep her in the islands. She
is a splendid vessel, almost brand new,
very big carrier for her size and draws
very little water. She was built especially
for the coast trade, and it was seen to,
when she was being planned, that there
would be no trouble in her crossing shat
low bars and getting alongside the mills
where there is very little water She is
just the boat for an interisland transport,
but just'the same l hope the Government
won't take her, as we want her here as
soon as we can get her"
1t is stated authoritatively on the front
that the Nelson will so on the ways at
Cavite, after discharging, where she will
be sheathed and coppered. She will then
be put into service between the islands.
She has accommodation for 80 troops,
and can carry 900 tons Of freight. With
these she can go hundreds of miles up
the rivers in the Philippines and would
thus prove TO be an invaluable boat 20 the
army. The Nelson was built at Alameda
in 1898, and is 4O1 tons net burden. She IS
l6S feet long, 35 feet 5 inches beam and IA
feet deep. The Cleveland was also to be
used in the interisland trade, but as a
NOR Fn1f +rF4gl rnf OK oFnGTN
All the transports now in port will get
away this week. The Morgan City will
be ready Monday night and VIII sail
Tuesday morning. She was moved to the
Government wharf yesterday and Will
take aboard prior to sailing 549 recruits
and IS officers and civilians. The Ohio and
Senator Will probably get away Wednes-
day afternoon. The former comes down
from Hunters Point to-day and will dock
at Folsom street The Senator is loading
IT broadway. These two vessels VIII take
the Thirteenth Infantry, now on its way
here from New York. and a number of
recruits. The work of getting the Leela-
nav ready has been delayed owing TO the
strike among the shipWrights. She will
be ready the latter part Of the week and
will take the field pieces Of the light artil-
lery that sailed on the Newport for Ma
Mia and number of mules for the com
missaI1at transport corps. The British
ship Bidston Hill, laden with supplies for
the troops, will be towed to sea to-day.
The auxiliary cruiser Badger has been
overhauled at the Union Iron Works, and
will begin taking stores on board to-mor-
row. She Will sail for Samoa as soon as
the commissioners arrive from the East.
The United States steamer Nero sailed
for Honolulu last night She will go direct
to the islands and Will begin surveying
the route for a cable between Guam,
Hawaii and San Francisco.
Martin Samuels, cook on the schooner
Reliance, had a close call last Friday
night. He took a room in the lodging
house at 1914 Stockton street and came
tn 70 nv
Martin went to a wedding on Wednesday
evening and had a good time. Thursday
he did not go back to work, but Friday
he was on deck as usual. Friday night
he went into a saloon at North Beach,
kept by a Portuguese, and after taking
several drinks of gin he remembers moth
ing more until he woke up in the hos
pital yesterday afternoon. The landlord
of the lOdging-hOuSe says that SamuelS
engaged a room on Friday afternoon and
some time during the night came home
the gas on without lighting it, for the
place was full of the poison when the
landlord found him. Samues was hur-
ried to the Harbor Hospital, where DR..
Himmesbach worked over him for an
hour before he was out of danger
G. McNulty, mate of the Stockton
steamer T. G. Walker, was badly injured
at Washington-street wharf yesterday
morning The vessel had just tied up
after her trip down the river, and Nc
Nulty was lowering the apron to allow
the passengers to go ashore. The apron
is one Of those affairs that Is hauled up
and lowered by pulleys. One pulley rope
was broken and as McNulty began to
lower the apron the second rope broke
and the apron fell on the mate.
McNulty's S-year-old son was standing
on the upper deck of the steamer, and
when he saw his father under the apron
he fell TO the deck in a faint. McNulty
was got from under the apron and taken
to the Harbor Hospital, where DR.. Won
der Leith found he was suffering from a
dislocation of the left knee. a number Of
contusions on the side and back and a
lacerated wound of the scalp. In the
evening McNulty was sent back to his
home in Stockton on the steamer.
The Walker was unfortunate yesterday.
While returning to her berth at Washing
ton wharf late in the afternoon she ran
into the end of Clay street wharf and
ripped up nearly twenty feet of that
structure The davits used by the Harbor
Commissioners were carried away and
some of the fender piles were broken into
splinters. The vessel was heading into the
slip when the tide caught her and carried