Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1900-11-15
A SHIP IN A CITY STREET.
san Francisco Has u Warehouse
nuilt on n Stranded Hulk.

san Francisco Has Warehouse
Built GA n Stranded Hulk.
The Front street building which rests
upon the wreck Of Il heached ship may
be the Gully one Of the sort in New
York, hut ut least IN one other city
there is n similar structure and locally
a better known one, for the reason that
the building preserves the name Of the
Shtp,
This is in san Francisco. where none
may aspire to rank in the pioneer or
"tovty.umCu' class unless he can dis
tjnrtly rrmcmher when the water
came up 10 Montgomery street" which
relatively 10 the present pier and bulk.
head line rcprScnts n distance much
farther inland than Front street in
New Work At the time when Mont
gomcry street had only one side. being
in reality the beach, the bay Of san
Francisco was crowded with all sorts
ot ships lying idle for the simple rea-
SON that all hands and the cook had
skipped out for suffers Fort and the
mines, Il was impossible to get tho
ships disChargCd Meu would never
consent to he StrvCdorCS ON the beach
when they could hr millionaiyrs at the
mines That is why many ot the car
goes were never hruachcd except when
there was need ot something 20 fill up
the mudholcs ON the beach streets, No
argouaut would respect himself II he
could not tell ot the time when he saw
the streets along the water front paved
with plug tobacco In boxes.
ono of this fleet, abandoned and der
Clict at her anchors, the good ship Nj.
anttc, parted her cables In one Of the
stir Winds Cor which the Golden Gate
is notorious, drrtcd ashore on the mud
flat at the foot OF Clay street aud
found convenient and sticky berth
about n hundred yards otIshorc on the
line Of the present Sausomc street.
Tho underwriters paid tho loss. for at
the current rate Of wages and the nh
sCncC of labor Il would have cost half
n do2ou times her worth to get her on,
and even then she would hc OF no use
without sailors, Having paid the loss.
the underwriters In turn abandoned
her aud probably fclt In luck that they
were not called upon Ivy some owner
of real estate to take the ship away.
The presence OF the ship aided tho
sitting M Of the mud fiat and in
short time Il was uwash only Mt high
tide aud finally dry all day long, Then
II was recognized that this was new
addition TO the front OF the city, and
some business man took possession of
the ship aud made II over into ware
house, The vessel was sound In every
timber spars all standing and sails on
the yards, the hold ns tight ns u drum,
aud ir she did make MS much MS n foot
"A month Il was only short trick nt
the pumps to clear Il out. In fact
nothing could have been better for u
warehouse and general Chnndlory, The
hold made nm excellent cellar, the floor
OF the second story was supported Ivy
| the lower mnsts nt the tops the roof
was fixed ut the Crosstrccs, and the
royal masta were left standing above
! the roof. with the signal hnlynrds
ready hove, to serve for hagstuffs,
Gradually the buldng was altered
and patched, and the trnccs of the
original ship disappeared from view,
but tho nnmo Mantle was fixture,
and people entering the warehouse
continued 10 speak OF coming aboard
or coming over tho side When the
city dcCtdcd to expand Mt tho expense
of the bay ana filed in the flats and
formed Sunsomc ana Battery and all
the other streets which have put the
wreck Of the Mantle half mile In.
land, the filling in buried out Of Rieht
the hull and channel plates Of the ship,
and II ceased to resemble anything
that had ever noated. When this lirst
building went into decay ana was con.
dcmncd, tho old ship was found to be
the soundcst part of IL all. But II was
buried still deeper by the foundations
of the large and for that time modern
building That took It's place, Now there
IL nothing of the ship lett except the
name of the building and the old main
mast, which runs up from story To Sto.
ry and Is used to support It's due share
of the weight. Some of the pioneers
stoutly aver that the mainmast OF the
Mantle prophcslcs the coming Of gales
upon the bay by the way II crcaks for
two or three days before the wind
comes and that these forecasts are
much more 10 he relied on than the
gucsscs Of the weather bureau.-New
York Tribune