The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1907-11-15
PASSING VESSEL
REFUSES AID TO
SHIP IN FLAMES
Steam Schooner Berkeley
Totally Destroyed Near
Point Conception
OIL USED AS FUEL
Men Narrowly Escape Death
as Flames Envelop
Doomed Craft
BIG TANKS BLOW UP
Freight Steamer Coos Bay
Passes Near Wreck, But
Fails to Give Aid
BIG TANKS BLOW UP

Special BY Leased Wlne to The Cal
GAVIOTA, Nov. i4.-Captain Mic
olson of the coast freight steamship
Coos Bay, owned by the Pacific coast
steamship company. stands accused OF
having refused to go to the assistance
of the irnperiled crew OF steamship
which was burning at sea. The YES
sci was the new steam schooner
Berkeley. in ballast from San Pedro
to San Francisco. 1t was destroyed
by FIRE at 4 o'clock this morning, about
six miles off Point Conception. All
of the crew escaped in the boats and
reached this place.
When the Berkeley's officers and
seamen arrived here they made the
sensational charge that they had been
refused assistance by the Coos Bay
and left to their fate.
The Berkeley was an oil burner,
and the FIRE started in the engine
room. Within few minutes the
schooner was enveloped in flames and
the crew. 1o in all, were forced TO
take to the boats. All were saved,
but the vessel is total loss. It's Of
fcers were: Captain, A. B. Higgins;
first mate, John Sorenson; second
mate. Eric Anderson; chief engineer.
]. H. Johnson. The vessel was en-
gagged in the lumber trade and was
owned by Charles H. Higgins of San
Francisco. 1t was valued at $4,000.
When Captain Higgins ordered the
crew to abandon ship they went for
the starboard boat. but that was al
ready In flames. The port lifeboat was
launched in the face of great peril, for
it lay almost directly over the fuel
tanks. There were three of the tanks
two amidships and one forward-and
they contained 400 barrels of OIL The
port boat was launched and the 10 men
piled into it. Some of the men had not
time to get clothing and escaped In
their night dress. One of the cabin
boys, A. Weldon, was asleep below and
he barely got out. his hair being
burned off as he rushed through the
flames. John Bird. the assistant en-
gineer. had his face and hands badly
burned while fighting the fire.
Hardly had the crew pushed clear
when the tanks blew up with terrific
force swapping the schooner's main
mast short off and wrecking the house
The small boat with its heavy load
remained near the ship in the vain
hope that the fire would go out But
as day light neared the men bent to the
oars and rowed toward land They
came ashore at A1catraz and went to
Gaviota, where the most of them
boarded a train for San Francisco. The
burning hull was last seen at 1 o'clock
this afternoon about three miles off
Point Conception, drifting northward.
While the Berkeley was burning
early this morning the freight steamer,
Coos Bay. owned by the Pacific Coast
steamship company, passed. It's crew
saw the light Of the fire and the sec
ond mate notified Captain Nicolson,
but the Coos Bay continued on it's
course without offering assistance.
When the steamer reached Santa Bar
bara at o'clock this morning word
had been received from Alcatraz that a
steamer was burning off that place and
after awaiting to discharge it's cargo at
Santa Barbara the Coos Bay was
turned north again to the rescue OF the
men Of the Berkeley. Captain Nicolson
explained that the failure of the Coos
Bay to go to the rescue was due to a
misunderstanding. When the mate
notified him, he said. he was asleep
and in his drowsy condition he under
stood the mate to say that fire was
seen coming from the smokestack of
a steamer some miles distant. The
mate defended his course of continuing
to Santa Barbara by saying that the
responsibility lay with the captain
The Coos Bay found the Berkeley's s
lifeboat making its way to shore and
offered to take the men on board But
by this time the shipwrecked men were
not far from land and they refused as
sistance.