The Hawaiian gazette., 1908-01-31
NEVER SAW BOAT
FROM ECLIPSE

The accusations made that the ship
Fort Georse must have seen the boat
containing the survivors OF the Eclipse.
seems 10 be absolutely unfounded.
when the charge was made in the az
ternoon papers Captain Fullerton was
Sp town and heard Of it. Naturally he
felt deeply hurt and Immediately start
ed out 10 show that nothing of the
kind was true He called at the news
paper officers and in company with a
reporter from the Advertiser and one
from the star, with John II. Drew. of
the firm Of Castle and Cooke, returned
to his ship.
There every member of the crew,
with the sole exception of the cabin
boy, who was ashore at the time, was
called in, and submitted 10 a sharp
cross examination by the newspaper
men and Mr.. Drew, while Captain Full
lerton sat by and listened. The men
had no idea that they were to be
examined and showed surprise AT the
questions which they were asked. Ev-
cry one of them stated that from the
time they had left san Francisco. till
they were of Diamond Head, they had
not seen a craft of any kind with the
exception of the Irmgard, Tobey and
Phelps They said that there had been
no talk among the sailors about seeing
a boat. WHICH would have surely been
the case had one been sighted. The
second mate was on watch from 4
o'clock in the morning till S. when the
first mate and his watch took charge
of the vessel.
As the sailors from the Eclipse claim
that they sighted the Fort George be-
fore sunrise and were very close TO
her at s o'clock. it seems impossible
that they could have been within
couple Of miles at the very best At
such a distance il is an easy thing for
men in a boat TO sight a ship but
different matter for a ship to sight
a boat.
Mate Cameron, of the Eclipse, man
over sixty years Of age, who is known
10 nearly every skipper on the Pacific,
was outspoken against the sensational
yarns. He said:
why. I know Captain Fullerton.
know him well. l was going with him
as second mate from Newcastle, when
l got this job on the Eclipse. He could
never pass a boat in distress. 1t is
not in the man. For that matter I
don't believe that it would be done
l., : mos dnna hV fha
master. the crew would never allow it.
Captain Fullerton would have stayed
there for. a week to pick US up If 1t
had been necessary.
I'VE must have been at least two
miles away from the Fort George, for
I am sure that ii was. her whom we
sighted. and they never were able to
see US. These yarns about being with
in a quarter OF a mile, and of smelling
coffee are foolish. l never had smell
OF the coffee. The old man had his
glass and said that he could see man
on the deck, but when I took the glass
I could not see any one, which shows
that we were pretty far away. Anyone
who tells you that sort of yarn is
away of.
happen. l was adrift from ship in
the China sea once and we were pick
ed ND by a Chinese man-of-war. but
they never saw US till we were direct
" under their bow and If they had
come much further ahead they would
have run us down. Another time
was on a vessel, the Kennebunk. going
to Seattle from San Francisco and we
were all on deck when we heard han.
There was a boat, from another vessel
that was in distress, only a few hum
dred feet from US. We had never seen
her till just then.
IN back Captain Fullerton against
any man alive for being true and as
straight as any sailor on earth. He
couldn't do such a thing. 1t is not
in the man.
Captain Fullerton said:
You can't imagine how it hurts TO
have such things said. 1 have been
master of vessels for twenty years and
there has not been a blot on my record
and 1 hope that there never will be.
I know Captain Larsen and do you
think / would pass by him or anyone
else at sea? WHY I would lose two
weeks with the ship to pick up some
poor Cinnamon. 1t is not a question
Of duty: in such a case it is a matter
OF humanity.
II have been through this sort Of
thing myself / am one of two who
were saved as the only survivors Of
crew of twenty-eight. When 1 was
picked up. I was the only live man
In the boat and the bodies of eleven
dead men were there with me. With
the memory Of such an experience. do
you think that / could let a boat like
that from the Eclipse go past, If l
knew anything about it,
THE OLD ECLIPSE
Among the seafaring men in this
city the Eclipse has none too good a |
name. It appears that she was a very |
old boat and leaked continually. The |
last successful voyage she made was
from Newcastle TO Kaanapali with |
coal. 1t is stated that on this trip |
she needed TO be pumped every day. |
OF course there was no great amount |
Of danger from this, but It shows that
Il did not require very much to cause |
her to go practically to pieces.
1t is said that many Of her officers