The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1902-05-22
GOES TO DAVY
JONES' LOCKER
OLD BARK SEBASTIAN BACH
SINKS WITHOUT
WARNING
HEELED TO PORT
AND SOON SANK.

Number of Men Working on Her at
Time But Escaped without Injury
Was Star of Rotten Row.
After a varied career. the old bark
Sebastian Bach is resting i'm Davy
Jones Locker where her bones win
probably rot to pieces. The end of the
old vessel came this morning about 9
O'Clock in quite an exciting way
The old bark has been a familiar
figure In Rotten Row standing high
out of the water, as she did. She had
long ago been condemned as useless fOI
any purpose, but old junk and frewood
and was moreover. constantly leaking,
A windmill on deck has served to pump
out the water and help to keep the old
hulk ahOat a few days ago, the
schooner Twilight was hauled alongside
the Bach and a quantity of lumber was
transferred from the Twilight into the
hold and between decks on the bark.
where the stuff was to be kept until it
could be transferred to the schooner
Alice Kimball, to be taken to the ori-
ginal ports of Koloa, Eleele, Hanapepe
.apd Waimea, on Kauai whichever it
was bound for on the Twilight when
the latter vessel was wrecked at Ko-
lOa, some weeks ago.
This increase in the weight on the old
Bach did not do her any good and was
not conducive to keep her afOat
whatever it might have done with the
Twilight. The decks of the Bach were
moreover piled high with parts of the
masts and various portion of the SUI
perstructure which had been torn
away to be sold as frewood
The wind mill has not been working
well the last two days and it is thought
that the water had risen in the vessel s
hold. This morning, about six Japa-
nese were aboard the Bach removing
the tirewood from her, while between
decks were Charles Fisher and John
Ross who were putting the Twilights
lumber cargo onto the schooner Alice
klmball, which lay alongside the star
board ports of the Sebastian Bach
The old Sebastian Bach was very light
in spite of this load and her bow rose
fully twenty feet above the water. This
morning it was noticed from shore that
the old boat was heeIing over to poI-
more than usual, and many We're the
predictions made that she wodld capsize
and sink before the day was over. To
those aboard the vessel, she did not
seem any worse than usual, aud they
we're working without any fear of be-
| ing in danger
SuddCn My, without the slightest w1rn-
ing of any kind, the bark hecled sar
| over to port, until the two open ports
reached the water. The sea came rush
ing into her at a rapid rate. Fisher
and Ross wasted no time waiting to
discover the cause. 1t was a case of
neck or nothing with tn I'm and no
false idea of going down with the ship
| appealed to either of the men. They
made a rush to the starhoar1 port
holes and jumped over onto the deck of
the Alice Kimball. Captain Jack Hare
who holds the commission of Admiral
in Macfarlane,s service was noJ on his
vessel at the time, but was close by on
| the Alice Kimball
Every man to his post" commanded
theAdmiral, when he saw his id ship
! careening over. The half 1ozen Japa-
nese were terror stricken ami rushed
wildly about the deck. One of them
ran to the stern and tried 70 put the
wheel hard a starboard. The deck was
| streWn with piles of posts, so it would
have been impossible for the men to
have recognized their posts had they
even been in their ordinary senses, SO
they ignored the command of the ad-
miral and came pell nell over each
other aboard the Alice Kimball.
Admiral Hare scarcely had a chance
to go aboard the Bach to go down with
the ship He would not have gone
down very far though, for a few minu-
ties after the water had poured into her
through the port side she heeled over to
starboard and began taking water from
both sides. Within a few minutes, she
settled and sank to the bottom. She
went down in six fathoms striking bot
| tom when the water reached the chan
nels where the shrouds are clamped on
to the hull of the vessel, and leaving
about four feet of her hull above the
water. She rests on an even keel.
The water nearly submerged her
rushing in the hold and within a few
feet of the upper deck There was big
wash raised, when the vessel sank but
ii did no damage to the craft in the
vicinity. Just close to the after star
board rail of the sunken boat, lies the
famous old KaimilOa, the last warship
OF the old Hawaiian monarchy.
The stern of the Bach was resting or
the bottom before she sank, and wher
a breeze came along this morning, and
struck the old hulk she careened over
in short order
The Bach was the property of Fl
Macfarlane The timbers were rotter
and fit for nothing but firewood. They
were being removed by japanese at the
time of the mishap this morning
There is considerable old iron and cop
per sheathing on the vessel, as her NAH
mast Is of iron 1t is more than prob
able that most of the hulk will prove
loss as but little of her is above tn,
water. Her three masts are still stand
ing and considerable wood remains OF
the upper deck, which can be USED
! The copper will probably be a loss.
The sinking of the ole hulk will cause
an expense, inf all probability, to tn,
government as she will be a menace t,
navigation inside the harbOT limits
and efforts viii therefore probabl!
have to be made to remove her Th
government intends dredging the har
Dor fully fifty yards makai of the OLE
Bach, and unless the sunken hulk i
removed that portion Of the harbor will
be very dangerous. The Bach occupie
quite a consistent place however, for OF
her port side is the submerged wrecl
of the old bark Rosie Lee which wa
''a saCCOAtinuSd on page nvS.)