The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1906-05-09
THE LOST PORTLAND.

Where on the Bottom of Massachusetts,
Bay Lies the Inflated Steamer?
Supposed relics of the lost steamer
Portland keep coming to light. The
other day it was a brass chandelier
tished up from depth Of four hundred
and twenty feet, two miles south
southeast of Eastern Point. Before
that there had been found such wreck
age as cabin door, sink bowl, bed
springs, mattresses, etc. And now the
find is reported of copper wire, with
tubing, apparently piece of bell wire
such as used by the steamer This was
hauled up on trawl on the northern
part of Middle Bank, in the vicinity of
where the other articles were found.
The suggestion is made that it would
pay some enterprising wrecker to
dredge in the place. 1t is rather deep
water, but If fishermen travis bring
up these things the probability is that
systematic operations would be reward
ed. None of the recovered articles have
been positively identified SO far, we be-
lieve, and ii would be at least mel
ancholy satisfaction to have the place
of the wreck identified.
The location is to be noted The
chandelier was reported to have been
found about eighteen miles south
east of Eastern Point. seafaring
men and all familiar with the Massa-
chusetts coast line do not need to be
told that Eastern Point is the most
southerly projection Of Cape Ann, form
ing one side of the entrance to Glouces-
ter harbor, being located seven or eight
miles to the southwest of Cape Ann
lights of Thatchers Island. Eighteen
miles from that Joint in the direction
stated would locate the wreck about
east of Boston and nearly half way
from Eastern Point to Cape God The
Portland left Boston about p. M on
that awful night of November 16, 1898.
The storm had not then struck. A lit
tie later she was passed off the Graves
by the steamer Mount Desert, Captain
William A. Roix, Rockland for Boston,
and Captain Roix afterward said he
thought the captain must be crazy to
put out on such night. Still later the
Portland was sighted by the schooner
Maud S., about half way between East
ern Point and Thatcher's Island, and
presently she was observed as she
passed the lights on the latter island.
This was the last seen of her, and when
the next day wreckage and bodies from
the steamer began to come ashore on
Cape Cod, the natural theory was
formed that she had foundered in that
vicinity. This was reinforced by the
fact that early on the morning of the
9th the crew of the Cape Cod life saw
ing station had heard the whistle of the
Portland in distress. 1t was supposed
that either the captain on finding the
storm too much for him, turned about
and ran before it, attempting to make
harbor at Provincetown, and missed 1t,
or the steamer was disabled and drift
ed across the bar, going down near the
cape. But watches found on the bodies
had stopped at ten o'clock-one of them
at 9:17-indicating the probable time of
the catastrophe and that it occurred not
long after passing the Cape Ann lights.
The finding Of the wreckage corrobo-
rates this and indicates that the steam
err drifted before the gale eighteen or
twenty miles and went down less than
half way to Cape Cod. The exact facts
will never be known, but there is some
comfort in thinking that the suspense
and terror of the situation did not last
long.-Portland Press.