The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-06


arrived from Eureka yesterday
IS afternoon with six survivors
Il from the wrecked Chilkat
aboard. The consensus of opin-
ion was that "the rollers were too heavy
for the little Chilkat and she went to
pieces before them"
The Chilkat sailed from Eureka for
San Francisco on the 4th inst. with
six passengers and fourteen of crew
aboard. The bar was rough, but the
rollers were not as heavy as on many
an occasion when the steamer had
crossed out in safety. At 1880 a. m.
the Chilkat was in distress and Cap
tain Anderson blew four long blasts on
the whistle to notify the North Fork,
about a quarter of a mile ahead, that
his vessel was in danger. Captain Bash
Of the North Fork at once responded,
and bringing his vessel as close to the
wreck as possible lowered two boats.
In the meantime a wave had struck
the Chilkat on the starboard bow and
turned her broadside on. Another roller
broke over her and put her on her
beam ends. Sea after sea struck the
ill-fated craft and in eight minutes
from the time the danger signal was
blown there was nothing left of the
Chilkat but "slivers and shingles as
Captain Bash puts it.
1--WE sailed from Eureka about 10 a.
m. last Monday" said Captain Bash of
the North Fork yesterday. 1--WE were
about quarter of a mile ahead of the
Chilkat and as we were making easy
weather of it I never thought the Chill
kat was in any danger. She was fol-
lowing us out and seemed to be all
right when l looked back after the
danger signal sounded. at once slowed
the North Fork down and got her
around, heading for the Chilkat, at the
same time getting my boats ready for
lowering While doing this 1 saw the
Chilkat broach to- then her deckhouse
started and she went over on her beam
ends.
when I got the North Fork as near
as safety would allow [ lowered two
boats. First Mate McLennan was in
command of one and Second Mate Lar
sen of the other. McLennan went as
close to the wreck as he dared, but
saw no trace of life. He then rowed
to the only boat that had got away
from the Chilkat and took two men
from it and came back to the ship
The Chilkat's boat followed our boat
back and we took the men aboard. A
second boat got away from the wreck,
but a wave struck it and the last 1 saw
of it it was going end over end in the
roller. Three of the men in it, be-
lieve, got ashore at the life saving
station.
1.-TWO minutes after the Chilkat
broached to her deckhouse went. Then
as the North Fork rose on the crest of
a wave I saw a wave strike the un-
fortunate vessel, and when the wave
passed all there was to be seen was
slivers and shingles. Had the boat that
turned end over end been fifty feet
further away it would have rode out
the danger and our crew would have
saved them. But what was to be
happened and the boat was lost
by this time the lifeboat with the
life saving crew and the tug Printer
were on the scene so I got ready to
start on my voyage again. The life
boat came alongside and I gave the
captain list of the men we had saved
and then I stood on my course. The
men I brought down from the wreck
are: Chief Engineer William Pack
wood, Assistant Engineer Clyde Light
ner, Fireman William Griep, Steward