The San Francisco call., 1899-10-16
SURVIVORS OF
LAURADA IN PORT
Brought to Seattle by
the CorWin.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

SEATTLE, Oct. 15-By the United
States revenue cutter Corwin, which
reached here tonight. survivors are
brought Of the steamship Laurada, which
lies a wreck in Zapadine Bay, st. George
Island The Laurada, Captain Frank
White, left Seattle September Y for Cape
Nome with crew of forty-eight officers
and men and twenty passengers.
She encountered rough weather from the
start and just before o'clock on the
morning of September 13 was driven by
wind and current into shoal water in Ac-
tive Pass, but after a brief detention she
resumed her voyage Being loaded deep
the heavy seas broke over her bow again
was reached it had become so serious that
she was forced to turn back and take the
inside passage to New Metlatkatlah,
where the thirty tons of lumber and fifty
tons of coal were put ashore. Thus light
ened she proceeded to Dutch Harpor,
which was reached September %. At
The Laurada left Dutch Harbor Septem-
Der 26, encountering continued stormy
weather.
on September 27 it was discovered that
a leak had been started forward by the
pounding of the seas. This Increased rap
idly and soon it became evident the pumps
would not much longer Keep the vessel
afioat She began to gradually settle by
the head The only hope of safety now
lay in reaching the Pribylof or Seal Is
lands, the southernmost of which St
George, is barely 225 miles from Dutch
Harbor. At 2:30 p. m. September Is, Cap
tain White. after having skirted the east
ern shore of st. George Island and finding
it impossible to make safe landing, ran
the now sinking. Laurada ashore in the
shallow waters of Zapadine Bay. The fire
in the lower CRATE had by this time been
eXtinguished blythe rising sea waters and
the stokers were wading in the hreroom
up to their knees.
on the side of the island are two small
frame salthouses, used for the storage
and curing of sealskins by the North
American Commercial Company, which
has a lease of the islands from the Gov
ernment The smaller of these was va
cant. and the crew and passengers of the
Laur. da moved in. Provisions and other
necessities were taken from the snip. All
the livestock was successfully landed. 1t
was on October 3 that the Corwin, Cap
tain Herring which had left st. Michael
for Seattle and San Francisco on Septem-
Der 80 sighted the signal of distress fly
ing from the mast of the Laurada. Cap
tain Herring consented TO receive the pas
to Dutch Harbor. The third mate of the
Iaurada was left on the island to pro-
tect the ship and cargo from being taken
possession of as a derelict, and six pas
sengers remained to care for outfits they
were unwilling to abandon.
The CorWin'S store of nroViSionS was
replenished from the abandoned vessel,
and the cutter made sail for Dutch Har-
Dor with a total of 135 persons on board,
arriving on the afternoon of October 4.
Here the Laurada's passengers were pro-
vided with blankets and made as COM
Portable as possible. The mail carried by
the Iaurada was also brought back by
the Corwin and will be forwarded by the
next available steamber northbound.
The Laurada was built in Great Britain
and became famous shortly before the
War as a flibuster and successful
blockade runner.