The Hawaiian gazette., 1901-03-19

hardly FIVE hundred miles out of
San Francisco, the long overdue Amer
lean bark Olympic, Captain Gibbs, ar
rived in this port early yesterday morn
ing, thirty-three days from the Coast,
and locked at Sorenson's wharf where
many people had gathered to see the
vessel come in.
! Much anxiety had been felt by those
I interested in the Olympic at her non
arrival and when 1t was learned that
the bark st. Katherine had arrived at
, Hilo, having sailed from San Francisco
the day, before the Olympic got away
from that port, and that she had seen
nothing of the missing ship, they be-
gan to think that she must have met
with some misfortune.
1t was a very exciting story that the
captain and her crew had to tell-an
exciting and terrible story, but a short
one, for what happened to the Olympic
occurred in n very brief space of time
and it takes longer to tell of the Olym>
pics experience than it took the ele-
ments to change her from proud and
handsome bark to partially dsmasted
and half disabled vessel.
When the friends of Captain Gibbs
heard from his lips the tale of the
whirlwind which struck the bark and
carried one of the crew to his death
and the account of the bravery of the
vessels officers and crew in the time of
danger, of how one of the men was
saved from the wreckage in the water
at the risk of his comrades lives and
of how he, the captain, instead OF put
I ting back to San Francisco for repairs,
determined to keep on his voyage to
1 Honolulu they congratulated him on
/. his vessels narrow escape and on his
pluck in bringing the bark on to this
port.
! The Olympic was a sorry sight as she
came alongside the wharf yesterday
morning. With parts of her foremost,
"mainmast and mizzenmast gone and
with her port side SCARED by the
pounding of wreckage, she showed
iplainly the nature of the furious blow
which she had encountered.
She flew no signal Of distress but her
colors futtered from the jggermast as
II nothing had happened and she work.
led her way to port from the time that
she was struck by the whlrlwind with
what sail she could carry. Stuck on
the splintered stump of her foremost
was a small red flag. indicating that
there was powder aboard. Many peo-
pie thought that the little red flag was
a signal of distress. Indeed, the red
flag fastened to the stump of the fore
mast looked very much as if 1t was
meant to convey some idea of distress.
/ 1t had a very distressed look about it.
at any rate.
| The Olympic sailed from San Fran
cisco on the 18th of February. She en-
countered the whirlwind on the 22nd,
the day of the wreck of the steamship
City of Rio de Janeiro in San Fran
cisco bay.
| The tug Fearless towed the Olympic
| into port. She was sighted a very
short time after the steamship Gaelic
sailed for the Coast. The local agents
of the Olympic, anxious to have the
news of the arrival of the Olympic
known In San Francisco as soon as pos
sible. had letter all ready to send on
the Gaelic announcing the arrival of
the bark. hoping that she would be
sighted before the Gaelic left. But the
steamer went without the letter for the
Olympic was not sighted until after the
Gaelic had started on her voyage.
1t Is probable. however, that the
Gaelic saw the Olympic and that she
recognized the bark and that she will
take the news of her arrival to San
Francisco. ...
The Olympic experienced fair
weather from the time she sailed from
San Francisco up to the day on which
she was struck by the whirlwind. She
carried a general cargo and deckload
of bricks and half a dozen cattle.
On February 22nd, on the tenth day
out. when about five hundred miles
south of San Francisco. in latitude 30
degrees north and longitude 1870 degrees
west, Captain Gibbs saw evidences of
an approaching storm. The sea was
rougher than usual and the sky was
heavily overcast. Sail was ordered
shortened and as night came on the
Olympic was running along under her
topsails and her foresail and miz2en-
sail
1t was about o'clock in the evening
that the whrlwind struck the bark.
Then what happened. happened in such
a short space of time that those on
board could scarce realize what oc-
Cured.
The good bark was struck with awful
force and the Olympic bent before the
onslaught of the wi until her port
rail was almost under water Then
she rlghted herself almost as suddenly
as size had keeled over and then 1t was
that the masts snapped like so many
pipe stems and went crashing over the
side. 1t was all over in less than three
When the whirlwInd passed, al
though the sea continued to be very
rough and the wind was blowing at
good rate, the weather was no worse
than 1t had been before the crash.
The whirwind came out OF the west
southwest at the rate of about hun
dred miles an hour. When It hit the
bark there were three men working on
the foretopsail yards, When the fore
mast went by the foretop, with a report
like a cannon shot two OF the men
went overheard with It, while the third
fell TO the deck