The San Francisco call., 1906-04-01
At the Mercy of Giant
Waves Near Entrance to
Humboldt Bay, but Her
Crew Is Safe on Shore
RESCUE TUG Is RUN
DOWN BY SCHOONER
Forced to Drop Line to Dis
abled Vessel by Collision
With Coaster Whose Cap
tain DisObeyed Signals
speeial Dispatch to The Can.

EUREKA, March 31-The steamship
Newsboy owned by Scanned & Co..
probably viii be total wreck before
morning This evening at o'clock,
loaded with redwood, she steamed out
of Humboldt Bay for San Francisco. The
bar was rough, owing to the high north
west gale prevailing. When nearing the
breakers the Newsboys rudder became
disabled and she was soon in a vary
dangerous condition.
The tug Ranger answered her dis
tress signals and towed the life-saving
boat and crew to the disabled vessel.
Nhen the Ranger reached the Newsboy
the damaged vessel had thrown off her
deckload of lumber and the men were
all clothed in life preservers ready for
any emergency.
Ihe vessel was rapidly drifting with
the tide on the rocks of the South
Spit The Ranger arrived none too soon
The Newsboy's line was taken aboard the
tug which Immediately started towing
her back to Humboldt Bay The Ranger
was proceeding slowly but surely. and all
Danger 10 the Newsboy seemed past
when the steam schooner Wasp appeared
dead ahead. Although the Ranger sig
naied' her to keep off. she kept coming
steadily toward the Ranger.
captain Peterson of the Ranger found
II necessary 10 back his vessel at full
speed TO save her from being cut in two
As It was the Wasp struck her starboard
DOW With such force that her smokestacI1
ana whistle were carried overheard. a
large hole was stove in her above the
water line and her seams started.
The crash of the vessels was followed
by the noise OF escaping steam. The
shock had released the safety valve but
Engineer Burrell shut it off in time to
save enough steam to give the vessel
headway. In order to prevent the hawser
from fouling the wheel it was necessary
to cut the line and set the Newsbcy
adrift. The Ranger, in her disa bled con-
clifton, had to get into the bay as quickly
as possible to prevent her own destruc-
tion.a When the NewsbOy became unman-
ageable the seas that swept from stem to
stern put ont her fires. so that when
the Ranger was forced to let go she again
started drifting to sea. The anchor was
dropped when she was off the end of the
South Spit. The Wasp tried to assist the
NeWsboy but her efforts were unavailing
About S O'Clock this evening Captain
johnson and his crew abandoned the
Newsboy and were taken off the vessel by
the hfe-saying crew and brought to Eu-
reka on a launch. They have nothing to
say excepting that their vessel became
unmanageable, the waves washed over
her and she seemed doomed to certain de-
struction when the tug Ranger got hold of
her. They were a lot of thankful men
when the tug started back into the bay
with them. but they gave up hope when
the Wasp ran the Ranger down.
Captain Peterson and Chief Engineer
Burrill Of the tug, as well as the others
Of the crew, are very positive in their
condemnation of the captain of the Wasp
They say that he deliberately ran them
down.
If the tugs engines had not been re-
versed she would have been struck amid
ships and nothing short of a miracle
could have saved her crew. They say
that had the Newboy's crew been drowned
the Wasp's captain would been guilty OF
murder.
The Newsboy now lies anchored in the