The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1908-05-04

adelphia on April 3, 1907, for Seattle,
with a cargo of coal, and was burned
during the following September, the
fire being caused by spontaneous COM
bustion in the coal. The only survi-
vors, so far as known, were Second
Mate Weinberg, Charles Dixon and
George Baker, and the latter worked
his way many thousands of miles to
bring the sad news. Captain Gaffry
commanded the Sewall, and many ma
tionalities were included in his crew,
among them being a number of Ha-
waiians, who were working their way
home, the ship being under charter to
proceed to Honolulu after discharging
her cargo of coal at Seattle.
Soon after the vessel rounded Cape
Horn evidence was discovered of the
cargo being heated, and on the night
of September 8 smoke was first seen
coming out of the main hatch. Flames
soon followed, showing that the fire
had been smouldering in the vessels
hold for some time. Captain Gaffry at
once ordered the small boats to be low
cred and everything made ready for
abandoning the ship.
While the starboard boat was being
lowered by Second Mate Weinberg, as
sisted by Baker and Dixon, the fasten-
ing broke and the boat with its three
occupants drifted to the southwark in
the darkness. AS long as the three
men could see the fire grew brighter
and there is little DOUBT that in short
time the vessel was destroyed and the
remainder of the crew lost.
For two days the small boat drifted
about on the ocean, no one knew
where, the craft being without a COM
pass or sail. On the third day out
Norwegian bark, supposed to have
been the Sydenham, bound from Callao
to Newcastle, New South Wales, was
sighted, and she picked up the three
men and took them along to fill up
depleted crew.
After a forty-five days passage the
bark reached Newcastle, where she
loaded a cargo of coal for Kiel, Ger
many. Baker proceeded to Bremen
and secured employment on the North
German Lloyd steamship KrOnprizes-
sin Cecilie as a stoker, and on the YES
sells arrival in New York secured
money enough to reach Philadelphia.
Baker was taken before United
States Shipping Commissioner Smith,
who confirmed his statements by docu-
mentary evidence in the possession o.
the office. He was identified by ship
ping masters and others, and his state
ments were fully confirmed. His ma
tive name is Keoki Keliikoa.
The lost vessel was commanded by
Captain Gaffry, with H. Johnson as
first mate and John Weinberg second
mate. The others were T. Hoppe, Max
Strobel, H. Pasenort Charles Ander-
son, Albert Skur, II. B. KritZ, D. E.
Soneran, Oscar Treolup, George Eilers,
Henry Dahl, Frank Peters, H. Smith
field, Louis Citation, John Sullivan,
Joseph Suerio, Nathan Zero John
Koln, Frederick Demisse, Richard
Mikelsen, James Smith, c. E. Roberts,
William Brown, George Baker and
Charles Dixon.
The Sewall hailed from Bath, Me-,
and was a modern steel vessel built at
the port from which she hailed. There
is but slight hope that the crew of the
burning vessel reached some of the is
lands in the South Pacific Ocean, as
the distance to be covered was too
great for the small boats.
Great discouragements have from
the first attended the management of
this Sewall fleet, the finest of its kind
under the American flag. At one time
combining sixteen vessels, but now re-
duced to half that number, it was
started nineteen years ago with the
Rappahannock, of four masts and
wooden construction, which was soon
lost. The Iroquois was wrecked in the
China Sea April 5, 1902; the Roanoke,
the largest wooden ship ever built, was
burned to the waters edge at a Gillian
nitrate port in August, 1905; two
months later the Susquehanna found
! cred at sea; soon after the ErsRine M.
| Phelps, fastest of the fleet went ashore,
but was subsequently floated, while the
steel five master Kineo on a voyage
from the Pacific was given up as lost,
but eventually arrived at Delaware
| Breakwater
The troubles of the firms ships have
by no means ceased. The Benjamin F.
Packard is at Montevideo damaged, on
passage from Norfolk to Honolulu;
the Erskine NJ. Phelps has put into
San Francisco for repairs after being
in collision; the Shenandoah was driv-
en- into Melbourne on a voyage from
Baltimore to San Francisco, and after
repairing leaks set sail for her destina-
ton, where she stranded upon her ar
| rival.