Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-05-09
SAILED OUT, NEVER RETURNED.
Ships That MysteriousIy Disappeared
In the Pacific. =

to or from this port within the past
twenty years, says the San Francisco
Chronicle, have disappeared without
the slightest clue as to how they met
disaster. Until the sea gives up Its
dead the mystery will never be clear
ed up. ...I .r. .....,.
Probably the most mysterious Of all
the disappearance was that Of the
schooner Pioneer, which left San
Francisco for the Behring Sea In 1893.
After she left this port nothing was
heard of her captain or crew, and she
was numbered among the missing.
Two years ago a hull was found i'm
bedded within the Ice within the Arc
tic Circle Nothing was found on or
about the ship which gave any clue
to her identity. for the grinding Of the
ice had rubbed away her name, and
nothing was found on her boats or
within the cabins to show who she
was or from what port she came.
Those who discovered her made
their way into one Of the cabins, and
were Mortified to see the skeletons Of
eight men grouped around the swing
ing table In, the center. A lurch Of
the ship warned the men who found
her that she was likely to sink at any
moment, or that the iceberg on which
she was fast might turn over. They
hurried from the cabin and got aboard
their own vessel, and the unknown
derelict was soon carried from their
view.
From the description brought home
by the whalers who found the ship 1t
was surmised that she was the Pio-
neer, but it could not be stated with
accuracy. The unknown vessi IL
probably still sailing around the Arc
tic Circle with its ghastly cargo, and
the Pioneer Is yet numbered with the
missing: fate unknown"
BY far the greater number Of disapT
pearances may be attributed to disas-
ter in one form or another, but not all.
Vessels heavily laden with coal. mi
tr4te or other combustible materials,
and posted as s'rnissing," may we'll be
considered as victims Of fire or Its
kindred agent. explosion Other crafts
that have tracked the wide expanse
during the progress Of one Of the ter
rife storms that periodically sweep
the seas may with fair certainty be
considered as swallowed up by the
waves In, the terrible struggle with
the elements: while still others. sail
ing within close proximity to the
Arctic zone and driven from their due
course by mishap or adverse winds
and currents. may safely be traced to
a tragic end among the grinding
mountains of floating Ice. The abso-
lutte and certain end Of such derelicts
may never be known, but there Is at
least a plausible conjecture.
But the fate of many Of the white
winged agents Of commerce defles
even conjecture. Sailing forth from
port under the most favorsssIT5 condi-
tions. and we'll able, fr9m/a structural
point Of view! tqpSSce the most tur-
bulent seas, tbsy have vanished into
the SHADOWS of mystery, leaving not
the faiatest trace of their going.
Notable In this connection is the
fate Of the British ship Lord Spencer,
which steered her proud way through
the Golden Gate on April 8, 1895. Cap
tain Leahy, her commander, was one
of the besr known shippers in port,
and shipping men and masters mao
the greatest confidence In him. With
him was a picked crew Of thirty men,
together with several passengers, and
with a. light cargo of grain, the Vete-
ran sailing vessel pointed her nose
to the often traversed path around the
Horn and to England.
Few vessels which have been re-
ported as overdue have occasioned
such interest in San Francisco as did
the Lord Spencer. Various circum-
stances unknown to the English un-
derwriters conspired to encourage
confidence among local spectators In
reinsurance Of vessels, and the longer
the ship remained out the greater was
their delight, because they knew that
reinsurance would go up.
And 1t did go up. When the vessel
was out 200 days the rate of insur-
ance jumped at a bound to 80 pei
cent. The underwriters, fearful tina,
the gallant vessel had fallen foul, were
in a hurry to unload their risks. Al
the same time all the reinsurance thai
was offered here was eagerly taken
up, and had the vagrant reached q
safe port thousands Of dollars would
have been made. AS 1t was, not the
faintest trace was ever gained OF the
phantom ship, and the San Francisco
spectators paid their losses to the
tune of thousands.
Various theories were advanced FOL
the strange disappearance. but the
fate Of the ship will perhaps never be
known. Possibly some day yarn a.
weird as that which the Ancient Mar.
liner spun into the reluctant ears Of
the belated wedding guest will be re-
counted. Some grizzled man OF the
sea may yet be treasurlng within nj:
breast the narrative which ended ab'
ruptly when the gay ship sailed mer'
rily through the Golden Gate and fad
ed into mist and oblivion.
Another mystery that the Pacific
ocean holds in its depths Is the fate o.
the ship Lamorna. which sailed from
Tacoma on March 1 of last year, car
rying a cargo of wheat for Queens
town. Following close upon the heels
of the vessels departure came one o
the severest gales that had beateI
against the inhospitable crags o
Cape Flaherty in years. The findini
of the wreckage at the storms abate
ment and its subsequent identifca
ton as property of the Lamorna hur
ried the report over the wires that tn
h ship had been battered to pieces.
\ But the death knell Of the Lamornt
had scarcely been rung when a coast
ing schooner reported having seen tn
supposed lost ship off Coos Bay bat
tered, but apparently we'll able t.
withstand the onslaughts Of the. ele
/ ments. Notwithstanding the findinl
N 80 ,Lo haoorna penara1l'