The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1906-04-22
SAN FRANC|SCO'S
WORST ! ) n
An EYEWITNESS Describes the
Panic Which Occurred OIL a
Bay Ferry.
ELONDON's "sEA WOLF" SEQUEL
I ~ Collision Which Came Nearly
III. Ending Like the Awful Tale
Of Jack London.

rho winter of 1901 on the Pacific Goa 81
A wns one Of extreme storms. Along inc
t-a,ifornia shore II was especially severe
ma many vessels OF all sizes and classes
,yerc rcportcd wrecked or lost The sew
" eral hurricanes we're not content Win
q the nnen sen, but invaded the best pro-
4 toc,ed norts from Mexico to Alaska
K raising havoc with the smaller snip
hing and doing serious damage 10 many
large vessels.
snn Francisco Bay, that bcnutlful ana
nearly land.locked lnrbor, received more
than its share of the winters disasters,
And this was quite peculiar on accouA,
of the fact that the hay is considered
one Of the safest aud best protected mar
bors in the world. 1t Is surrounded on
nearly nl sides by lofty mountains ana
hills, and has an outlet to the ocean
less than two miles wide through tho
Golden Gate.
The severest storm Of the year oc-
Cured hero in the latter part Of Feb
ruary 1t rushed in through the Golden
Gate and down over tho mountnin-tops
with q fury that swept everything pc
fore It. The hurricane struck the bay o.
about half-past eleven In the morning.
II came suddenly, but not without Il
warning. for tho wind had been high and
the sky dark and threatening all the
morning.
Ventures Out in the Lull.
I had been in San Francisco over night
and was down ut the ferry building on
the day Of the event with the intention
Of catching the ,half-past ten boat to re-
turn to my home In Berkeley which Is
directly across the bay. But the South
ern Pacific authorities would not allow
their ferry, the Berkeley" to put out,
fearing q disaster, and consequently,
when eleven o'clock came-th the next boat
leaving tine--a large crowd was waiting,
in spite of the inclcmcnt weather, to
cross the bay. A lull occurred at this
hour, and it was decided to venture the
five-mile run across TO Oakland Mole.
About five hundred people walked
aboard not crowding tho capacity of the
ferry in the smallest degree. took Il
scat on the lower deck, and In a few
minutes we were leaving the ship
The boat began to churn laborlously
MS soon as she struck the open bay Oc-
lcasionaly one of the sdo wheels would
be lifted from the water and revolvcd
with a great buzzing sound. No one was
on the outer deck except the boat hands.
We had not, however, been on our way
two minutes before a broad shouldered
man slouched past me on his way to the
pulled down over his eyes, and he wore Il
blue flannel shirt with a soft tllrn down
collar As he turned to one side in order
to pail back the door ] saw that he was
,Incls London, the novelist, who at that
rimc had made !, name rs the writer OF
4 Alaskan stories. decided to so on deck
s;tnd face the elements likewise. so | rose
&f"a3n my seat aud quickly followed him.
out.
terrific wind was blowing that nearly
Etf n"'t me off my feet. aud mist racing
nfnr- IN Is crasn was so donae that one
could hardly. see twenty yards ahead. The
seas were irregular and rolling by like
mad with the wind taking off their
foaming crests md blowing them into
spray. Here and there they met. and
crashed together into a mountain Of
wfiteness only to fall back again and
leave n whiring gulf. a sea gull. an
early arrival for that time of tho year
was blown suuaking across our deck,
disappearing In the mist beyond, An Of
ficer and deck hand stood steadylng them
selves with legs wide apart at the very
front OF the bow, peering anxiously into
the distance and a little behind them
& stood Mr.. London, seeming to enjoy the
gale immensely
Officers Lie Cheerfully.
stepped up TO the officer: ''Do you
think there is aFy. tlanscr?' ] asked
Not in thcicast," he replied. lying With
sailorly skill; and cried, Goat Island 10
our starboard," TO the captain In the
wheelhouse above.
l tried 10 discern the island to our left,
but could not make out the least sign OF
land: so concluded that he had told by
the color Of the water at this spot.
Shortly after the officers call the wind
suddenly died out to nearly dead calm,
leaving the waves 10 snarl like dogs
among themselves Then there de-
scended from the sky heavy downrour
of rain. the large drops falling so thlckly
that 1t drenched one through in a
minute. Mr. London returned inside
while waited moment beneath the
steps to the upper deck, noticed a
peculiar plikish tint IN the atmospheric
and remembered reading something Of
similar phenomena which preceded w.