The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1899-02-22
AUG. COlTddt and viii Cor. veil
in the KlOllikN.
SURVIVE TWO SHIPWRECKS
Company Comes TO Crief-Ciaims
Rampant City.

Christian COnradt has received a
letter from his brother August. who
left here to join a Klondike eXpedi-
tion. August is at Rampant City. or
was on October 21. 1898. when the mail
came out. The young man says:
You no doubt will be very much sur
prised to hear that Willie Cornwell.
and l have left our Happy Home on the
part City with billie" Eassie. / sup
pose you have already heard from the
coast that Willie came up from San
Francisco to join us. / was surprised
when he put in an appearance while
the Dawson City was hard and fast on
a sand bar and was sorry that he had
left San Francisco TO find us in such
pilikia
Ever since We left s. Michael We
have had a hard time of It on the
river. running on sand bars and get
ting firewood for the steamer.
After much hard work and getting as
far as st. James Mission we were un-
fortunately cast on sand bar by the
swift current. You know the river
runs at the rate OF six miles an hour.
When we struck shallow water the
captain stopped the engines only TO be
carried on this bar in just about TAO
minutes.
We realized the dangerous condition
our boat was in and commenced right
away TO get her freight off. for the
river was falling about foot each
day. We worked night and day. but
as fast as we would discharge ont OF
the ship the river would fall and tn
just five days after We struck we waded
around in water only knee deep. so
YOU can imagine how fast the water
dropped at that time OF the year. This
was after the rainy season was over
and all the tributaries frozen up. thus
causing the drop.
1t was hard work getting everything
out of her. On top OF this TO see our
boat high and dry on land was what
call hard luck. Don't you? The cap
tain, who was acting manager, said Il
was utterly impossible to save the
steamer. and We decided TO winter at
st. James Mission. The s. :. Dawson
City still lies on the sand bar and all
the old-timers and Indians say she will
surely be broken up by the ice next
spring.
As the company lives no more with
out a boat. Willie and decided to take
the first boat TO Rampant City TO join
billie" Eassie again. on the night OF
September 50 there came into 81
James Mission a small tug boat. called
the Governor Stoneman-and guess
who we found on boarde Mr.. Miller
from home. the old gentleman who had
the cabinet shop in Hotel street. II,
was so glad 10 meet US that ne nearly
cried.
We boarded the tug and asked tbs
captain 20 let us work our way 90
Rampant City. After some talk h'
| agreed TO let us have the whole us TN,
hurricane deck 10 ourselves. and We ar
cepted with pleasure. We left the mex
morning and had TO saw and split
wood TO pay our way. We had not E1u,
sixty miles when we We're shipwrscksJ
for the second time on the Yukon. Tn.
Governor Stoneman ran on bar sX
lactly ,he same way as our b1a- had
done only a few weeks before. Ejvju.
us a second unpleasant experience or
a stranded river steamer. The captain
gave her IN at once and took ashor,
everything OF value. We had been IL
camp two days when a large stclme
called the Monarch came along an,
picked us all up. The fare required fo
passage 10 Rampa-, was SI5 tsd vi,
and I told them we would pay when ~,
reached the place and not before.
seemed like old times az home whei
the purser gave us statsrooms. vii
and l cleaned up a bit. for when ~
went aboard we had on our heav,