The San Francisco call., 1899-12-26
MINISTER, IN
DISTRESS, BACK
IN PORT AGAIN
The Transport Broke
Down on the Bar.

The transport Westminster was COM
PEELED 10 put back into port yesterday.
She sailed from here with 400 horses and
mules and a cargo OF fodder Sunday
afternoon, but got no farther than the
l!ghtship. While on the bar a small stop
cock blew out and the steam escaping
into the furnaces blew a cloud of ashes
and cinders into the bilges. The engineers
saw at a glance that in few minutes the
Bulge pumps would be choked and at once
notified the bridge. The captain brought
the transport 10 an anchor and there she
remained all Sunday night and nearly
all of Christmas day keeping the light
ship company.
II. Wade, third assistant engineer and
/. Hansen, an oilcr. were slightly burned
by the escaping steam. Hansen was in
a dangerous position. having lost his way
in the dense volume Of escaping Vapor.
One of the Chinese fremen found and
led him 10 the gangway. He was burned
about the hands. Wade escaped with a
few slight burns and the fireman was not
injured.
About noon yesterday Captains Batch
elder and Barneson of the transport
service went out 10 the disabled vessel
on the tug Relief. They found that IL
was almost an impossibility 10 clear the
bilges while the vessel was pitching and
back into port. The work OF fixing the
Westminster UP again did not take very
long, and she will be ready for sea again
this morning. The damage was slight
but neither captain nor engineers would
take any chances by going off shore with
the bilge pumps liable TO choke up at any
moment. The crew as a whole was Sc
cretly glad that the accident happened
as II gave nearly all of them a chance
TO eat their Christmas dinner ashore.
The Westminster came back under her
own steam.
The transport Valencia docked at Har-
rison-street wharf yesterday. She will be
turned over 70 her owners during the
week and will then be got ready for the
vessel is TO be thoroughly overhauled and
the Union iron Works will put her boilers
in first-class shape When completed the
Valencia will be in as good condition
again as when she went into the trans
port service.
The Pacific Steam Whaling Company
intends running quite q number of its
vessels 10 the gold fields this year Be
sides the Valencia IL Will send north in
the spring the Jeanie. Thrasher. Ex-
celsior and Mary ID. Hume. The latter
vessel was the pioneer of the steam whaI-
ing fleet to winter in the frozen north
In all she spent nearly nine years in the
Arctic. and when coming home this year
was nearly wrecked. Her stem was car
ried away and the vessel leaked so badly
that she nearly went down with all
hands. She has now been rebuilt and
turned into as smart a little steam
schooner as there Is on the coast by Hay
* Wright. She will run between ST
Michael and Nome in connection with the
Steam Whaling Companys fleet
The Thrasher has spent several winters
in the frozen north and the Jeanie was
one OF the vessels succored by The Cali :
relief expedition in 1897. She had a mar
been practically rebuilt since then and Is
now as fine a four-masted steam
schooner as there is afioat
The Excelsior was the pioneer steamer
Of the Klondike feet three years ago.
She left here with every inch OF sleeping
room on her taken. and she bids fair 10
go out again similarly crowded In the