The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-04-05
CAPS|ZES ON TBE BAR
Loss of the Steamer ChiIkat
on the Pacific Coast.
TEN PEOPLE ARE DROWNED
All Over in a TWinkIing and
Their Rescue impossible.

Eureka, Cal, April 4.-One Of the worst
wrecks, considered from the standpoint of
loss of life, in the history of Humboldt
bar took place today. The little steamer
Chilkta, with nineteen souls on board.
left Eureka at 10 o'clock. Before noon she
was upside down on the bar and ten of
her human freight were no more Of the
nineteen on the vessel, thirteen comprised
the officers and crew and six were passen-
gers. OF the passengers, two were saved
and four lost, and of the crew seven were
saved and six lost.
The saved assengers were H s. Smith
of Scotia, Cal, and w. c. Marser of Oak
land, Cal He had been working near
Fernandale for several months.
The lost passengers are:
NJ. 0. BUZAN,
PETER FRY.
Z. O'BRIEN.
e J. ROLAND.
Buzan was a tight-rope performer and
it is supposed that his home was in San
Francisco. Fry was manager of cream
cry at Fernandale and was well known
citizen of this county. E. OBrien was go
ing TO San Francisco to fill at situation.
E. J. Boland was printer.
The members of the crew saved were:
Peter Jensen, first mate; William Black
wood, chief engineer; Clyde Lightner, first
assistant engineer; T ". Bohall steward;
William Grip, fireman; Peter Hansen, fire.
man; William Black, seaman.
The ma mes n al those Ioct ora
known. The drowned include, however.
the captain, F. p. Anderson; the second
officer, name unknown; P. E. CapoIa,
cook, and A. Johnson, seaman.
Captain F. b. Anderson was master of
the vessel. His home is in San Francisco.
He has wife but no children.
OF the people saved, six got away in a
boat and were picked up by the steamer
North Fork, which had passed out just
ahead Of the Chilkat. They were carried
on to San Francisco and will reach there
tomorrow. The other three washed ashore
on wreckage. They were taken out of the
water by the men at the life-saving sta
ton and are now in this city. They are
Mate Jensen, Fireman Handen and Pas
senger Morser. From them the cause Of
almost over the bar when big sea struck
her forward, carried away the wheel
house and the wheel. disabling her steer
ing gear and smashing her upper works
generally. The captain called for a block
to try temporary steering gear, but be-
fore anything could be done the helpless
boat fell into the trough of the SEQ and
the men came piling up from below with
the information that the water had pour
ed down below and put out the fires The
ship was entirely helpless and another
breaker went over her. Everybody got up
on the hurricane deck and an effort was
made to get the small boats clear The
breakers followed each other fast and the
fourth and fifth ones struck the ship in
such a way as to turn her upside down.
1t is believed that the men rescued by the
North Fork managed to get one of the
small boats adrift after the steamer went
over. Morser says he saw no boat launch
ed; that there was not time before they
were all in the water A1orser tells a
graphic tale of the buffeting he received.
The Chilkat was laden with shingles, lum-
Der and butter. The water was covered
with this wreckage, and time and time
again Morser was knocked from the lank
to which he was clinging. His watch
stopped at u:24, indicating that that was
the exact time the Chilkat went over.
There was plenty of water where the yes
sci was wrecked. After turning turtle she
drifted northerly and finally struck the
beach about a mile and a half from the
spot of the accident She now lies couple
of hundred yards off shore in the middle
of the breakers with only the top OF ner
hull showing. She is breaking up rapidly.