The daily morning Alaskan., 1900-01-24
SEA SWALLOWS TIE
 TONNSEND'S HULK
Ship Stands on Her Stern
 in 30 FathOms of Water.
STORY OF THE MASTER
Capt. Mckenzie Arrives In skag- way and Tells How the wreck Occurred.

Capt. Mckenzie, master of the steamer Townsend, which was wrecked last We'd nesday mile and a half below HaInes, ar- rived in Skagway yesterday on the little local ste imer Moeklng Bird, and will re- main here until advised by the insurance men as to what policy to pursue in regard to the wrecked steamer. The captain has felt the strain oI anxiety aeutelv and es- peeiallv the relapse from the high tension of his nerves during the trying ordeal while attempting to save the ship and the precious charge of lives, but he Is eomFar- atlvely well and able to be about
 The captain left Halnes yesterday morn- ing. He reports that the ship has sunken stern foremost, and Is almost perpendicular in twenty-two fathoms of water, with only half fathOm of the craft above the surface at high tlde.
 The skipper in telling his story at the occidental hotel last evening of the wreck of the ship, said:
 "The keel of the craft Is right against the steep rocks of the shore, and the slt- uatlon Is somewhat remarkable when lt Is considered that the hull stands almost per pendleular. It seems to me that the 100 tons of coal which we had stored forward, has slid into the stern and broken the engines and damaged the boilers and at the same time anchored the hull in an up- right position. believe the ship will never be of any value, and that no part oi her will be saved. It Is likely the next storm will break her to pieces, and nothing more will be known of the Townsend as vessel
 "l believe that under the circumstances, the steam having been inadequate for making the shore, that we took the best course possible. Capt. Harry Gillespie, the veteran pilot was pilot of the Town send when the mishap overlook us. and l.ho-aas,-s.aEsrs-oa -ths.-bfides. -GnlisGslbs entire difficulty. We agreed as to the course to follow to get out of the trouble to the best advantage.
 "When we left Haines for the south the weather was pretty fair, but when only a few minutes from the wharf, and when half way to Battery point, there came a blow from the north. We were out only 10 minutes when the engineer came to me and reported a steam pipe had broken or some such accident had occurred, and that in 10 minutes all hands would have to get out of the engine and other lower rooms We realized we were in perlouS position Three courses. lay before us. One was to head for the spit to the southeast and across the canal, the other to run straight ahead on to Battery point, and the other to put back for Halnes. To make the spl' would mean a safe landing place on the sands, but we feared lest the steam would not carry US that far, and that we would drift down the canal among the islands To run straight ahead on Battery point wa not deemed wise, and we quickly decided to put about. ordered the ship swunI around to port, thus bringing her abou against the wind. then to steam for Haines Mu:h of our precious short time was con sumed In getting about, and we had pro- ceeded but short distance toward Halne when noticed the steam was giving out I and ordered the anchor lowered. We le
 out our full length of chain, 90 fathoms 1 but the hooks failed to find bottom, an we went on the rocks. Lines were gotte out forward and aft, and the ship held Il position while the passengers and then tn crew went ashore in small boat. It wa onlg 90 or 70 feet between the craft an the shore, and the boat was run back am , forth along the side of line Yet, 1t wa ! difficult landing with an icv gale blowln } against us, lnd especially so to some wh