The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1899-12-24
list TRIP Of THE C0LUSA.
Terrible Experiences Of Her Of
Acers and Grew.
roRry.N,NE DAYS OF STORMS.
Drivsn Back whenever TAsy sssgAt
safety On sAere, the DisAeastsn-
"a voyagers T1ms ana Agnsp Be-
lasvea Their Ena HAD Cons-TiA-
!, any ASanaoning Hsr They 1--we
I, S{rAreugh GALES In snsll Boats.

I, SrAreusA Gales In snall Boats.
Tn arrival in port last night Of the
uteamer Cottage City, with the master ana
ssamen Of the bark Colusa. circulated the
news Of the fate OF that ship and the ter
ribie experiences Of her men. After UNI
dersoinG siege lasting fcrty-nins days Of
some OF the worst gales known IN the
Eastern Pacific In years. the bark was
abandoned on the shore Of Baranoff island.
ana with four more days ct sea, this time
ln the frosts and sleet OF open boats. the
captain ana crew finally rot to sitka. some
of them In Z prccarious condition from the
effects OF the exposure They were
BROUGHT from there to Seattle on the Cot
Ags City.
Tho story Of the long. dreary and peril
Gus last voyage Of this bark could be made
20 MI volume Of interesting reading. II
was one Of the most dramatic Nights
against the elements known In nautical his
tory. Time after time the vessel was
within sight Of shore. and. looking up. the
weary seamen saw . safe harbor: but just
~ soon ~ the Colusa was fairly under
fondly hoping that their salvation had
como, . gale would spring up from the
landward and wash them out to sea again.
These same disheartening conditions OBJ
tanned from the time Cape F1attery was
sighted, only fourteen miles off, November
~. until they had drifted and been driven
to Sitka harbcr. for nearly = month
longer. To make the matter worse the
master OF the bark was accompanied by
hiD wife, who was not able to Withstand
the rigors Of the terrible experiences 20
wen ~ the men. though she bore up brave
". and all were afraid Of her being able
to survive.
Ths master Of the Colusa was Can't q.
II Gwart mariner Of experiences and
standing. He and his wife came on tho
Cotta90 City, and were accompanied by
the thirteen members Of the crew. T. Van
DYKE. the mate. remained at sitka. Capt.
NwArt tells the story Of the frightfuI ex-
psfiences Of himself and his companions
~ follows:
TAe Captain's story.
I'VE left Kahului bound for Nanaimo
october q, and had no sooner got well to
go than the worst series Of gales I ever
experienced commenced Southerly ana
southeasterly winds blocked our passage
and troubled rs ut every turn. We finally
sighted Cape Beals, at the end Of Barclay
sound. on Vancouver island, and stood to
south against stiff breeze. After beating
Tor week, and not knowing where wo
were to end, we came In sight OF Cape
Flattery. November 16. The wind was
standing southeast, and we had to stand
on shore. Then we drifted northward close
along the shore Of Vancouver island. and
soon came to within three miles Of the
rocks AL sail was hoisted to keep us
AWAY from what seemed certain destruc-
ton; but In driving into the heavy seas
the ship was strained, and began to take
water. This wet the ballast and turned It
into soup. and we then knew 1t would take
exceedingly careful work and good fortune
to save ourselves.
I'VE shaved along the coast and within
q mile of the promontory at tho northern
end Of the island. November 10 the wind
was blowing hurricane. and sent down
everything above the topsail yards We
were driven by the terrible gales $50 miles
TO the northwest In thirteen hours. We
tried in vain to get in to the northern end
of the island. and then into Dixons en-
trance; but we could not stand up under
the wind and what little ballast there was
in the hold was badly listed. Then wa
tried to square away to Christian sound,
but the wind blew US back again.
I'VE tried Dixon's entrance four times,
and each time thought there was some
likelihood Of our making shore in safety.
as that sound seemed our only hope of SAL
walton, for our ship was straining every
timber, and the big seas would wash over
her decks and pound her down until I
thought many times she was going on her
beam ends. But every time we tried to
get to shore there seemed some fate
against us, for a gale would come from
offshore that would drive us back into the
sea and thus blot out the only chance 1t
seemed we had.
Crew Wanted to Abandon.
1.-THE crew came to me November 20 and
wanted me to abandon the ship, but this
seemed unwise, as there was still hope
that something would come out all right,
and there seemed nothing but certain de-
6truction II we should trust ourselves 70
the small boats.
I'VE were 400 miles to the west Of Dix.
on's entrance December 9, when we sQuar4
ed away for Sitka, hoping to reach that
port, as there was no use In attempting
to get to port to the south. Everything
went as well as could be expected until
the next day. when We made the entrance
to Sitka harbor, and during that night
worked up to within ten miles of Eitka
itself; but then came another of those
offshore gales and forced us back to sea.
We chung as close to the harbor entrance
as we could for thirty hours. firing rock.
cts and hoisting signals. without q thing
to eat during all that time, but could not
make ourselves known, and by that time
the wind had driven US hopelessly away
from sight Of any people who might have
known We were there.
'The night Of the 18th we were out to
sea again. The ship had lost all her ball
last by this time. and could not stand up
under the storm. She began to break I'D,
for the thirty days continuous gales we
had had were too much for her. and there
was nothing ahead by remaining aboard
but the certainty that she would capsize
or 60 to pieces. There were heavy squalls
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