The Portland daily press., 1900-03-12
Zig Crew Working Hard on the CAL
ifOrnian.
Few People Visited Her
Yesterday.
How the Attempt to Float Her
Will BE Made.

The crew OF wreckers on the disabled
sseAmer Californian has been busily a
w erik for several days and has done every
thing it could to begin the operations OF
rem owing the big Allan liner from the
rocks eff Ram Island ledge.
But 1t Is not expected that the work OF
removing the steamer will be begun TO-
day as was very generally reported along
Commercial street all day Saturday. "We
are not ready to float the Californian TO-
morrow anyway" ssia Captain Humph'
reys Of Boston, Saturday evening. Cap
tain Humphrty rs has been at this port for
several days past In charge Of the
wreoking crews. EVERYTHING connected
with the plans Of removing the fteamer
has been left to him, the management Of
the Allan line relying solely upon his
| Judgment. "We shall not get around to
pulling her off before Monday" contin-
ued Captain Humphreys. land II IL hard
ly probable that we shall begin until
Tuesday. There still remains quite lot
Of the cargo In the steamer and OF
ccurss all Of this will have to be taken
out before we can begin carrying out
plans of floating tie steamer. Toda
here was in the hold four feet Of grain
and over this were rows Of .sals TIRE
feet deep. This gain sweiled up 80
much that 1t prefsed up all OF thu other
parts Of the cargo. After the operation
of taking out the cargo IL finished every
thing will go along all right"
Captain Humphreys ha1 been at the
scene OF the wreck all day and return cd
early in the evening on the tug Mercury
which had towed in the lighter SAlvo
with big lot of the cargo from tbs
steamer. At . few minutes before teven
O'Clock the tug Herald also arrived from
the wreck having in tow the lighter 81
pho. The Sipho was towed to the end OF
Custom House wharf while the Salvo
was towed to one OF the upper wharvss.
This morning these cargoes will be I'M
loaded from the two lighters into the
ship company which has bsen the head
quarters for ell the cargo from the steam
er since the wreck occurred. This shed
is one Of the biggest In the city and 1t Is
now half full Of meats, cheese and apples
which have ben brought in on the
lighters. Nearly every part OF these goods
are N ore or less damaged by water and
the management Of the line has deemed
1t unwise to attempt to again start to
ship the applss across the water. Accord
ingly arrangements have been made to
sell all Of this fruit at auction on NsdneS-
day. There are l166 barrels Of these ap-
pies. In the shed there are about 1900
boxes of cheele and nearly the same num-
Der OF cases OF meats.
On Saturday 1900 feet Of lumber was
piled up at the end OF Custom House
wharf. 1t is to be taken out by one OF
the lighters today to the wreck and Is tc
be used In the work Of floating the
steamer. On the steamer Saturday the
gang Of wreckers which is composed OF
some twenty men from Roston were get
ting the seven pumps ready for the work
OF removing the steamer. -Four tags are
ready to assist in the work and Or Sat
urday evening two Of them, the Mercury
and Dioue were tied up at the docks In
the harbor; while the othe two, the
Herald and Pallas, were at the wreck.
There were about fifty men at work In
unloading the cargo and two divers were
at work all day.
In the evening after being brought to
the city on the lighters these men assem-
bled at the ship ohandlery store OF W.
S. Jordan s. Co., where they were paid
OF under the direction OF Captain
Humphreys. They had lean putting in
some hard work during the week and
we're a pretty tired set as they filed into
the Office and received their week wages.
| Captain Parsons, who Is the pilot OF
the Allan lire boats and who took out
the Californian Just a fortnight ago this
morning, said Saturday night; 81 am
sure that the STEAMER will be floated and
that she can be taken along to Boston all
right. We don't know how many holes
were made In the steamer and viii not
know until she Is about to be taken Cd.
Neither can 1t be stated whether she will
be brought back to the city before she
leaves for BoIton. This can't be deter
mined until her exact copdition is know q
which will be- when she is floated.''
Assistant Port Captain GFifiiths OF
| the Allan line continues to remain
aboard Of the steamer. He has been on
the Californian since he boarded her q
few hours after the time OF the wreck
when he was taken cut with Captain
Barclay on the Baltimore tug Piedmont,
then In the hsrbor. Captain Griffiths has
worked like beaver and although force
| to un1eFqo u any diadvantages In tire
matter of aeeommod atiens has kept right
at his work. On Saturday he sent word
into the city that his only needs consisted
in four boxes o. paper collars and a neck
tie. One of the humorists on the light
er Sipho said that CAPTAIN Humphrey
had bsen unable to wash his bands since
he had been aboard the stsames.