The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-01-31
NEVER SAW BOAT
FROM ECLIPSE
Entire Crew Testify That the
ShipWrecked Men Were
Not Sighted.

The accusations made that the ship
Fort George must have seen the boat
containing the survivors of the Eclipse,
seems TO be absolutely unfounded.
When the charge was made in the at
4ernoon papers Captain Fullerton was
up town and heard of it. Naturally he
felt deeply hurt and Immediately start
ed , t TO 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 H. Drew, of
the firm of Castle and Cooke, returned
10 his ship.
There every member Of the crew,
svith the sole exception of the cabin
boy. who was ashore at the time, was
called in. and submitted TO a sharp
cross examination by the newspaper
men and DIR. Drew, while Captain Full
Ierton 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. Ey-
cry one of them stated that from the
time they had left san Francisco, till
they were off Diamond Head, they had
not seen a craft of any kind with the
exception of the Irngard, Tobey and
Phelps They said that there had been
no talk among the sailors about seeing
q. boat. which would have surely been
the case had one been sighted. The
second mate was on watch from
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 10
her at o'clock, 1t seems impossible
that they could have been within
couple Of miles at the very best At
such a distance IL is an easy thing Tor
men in 8 boat to sight ship but
different matter for a ship 10 sight
a boat
Mate Cameron. of the Eclipse. man
over sixty years of age. who IS known
70 nearly every skipper on the Pacific,
was outspoken against the sensational
yarns He said:
why, I know Captain Fullerton
know him well. I was going with him
as second mate from Newcastle, when
I got this Job on the Eclipse He could
never pass a boat in distress. II Is
not in the man. For that matter
don't believe that 1t would be done /
nv any sailor. If II was done by the
the crew would never allow II !
CAPTAIN Fullerton would have stayed
there for a week to pick US up II II
had been necessary
We must have been at least two
miles away from the Fort George, Tor |
] an, sure that IL was her waom we
and they never We're able 10 +!
see ms. These yarns about being with
in 2. Quarter of a mile, and of smelling
coffee are foolish I never had a smell i
If the saffee The old man had his /
glass ard said that he could see man
On the deck. but when I took the glass
7 could not see any one, which SHOWS
that we were pretty far away. Anyone
who tells you that sort Of yarn is
away of.
II know how it Is that such things
happen. 7 was adrifs from ship IN
The China sea once and we were pick
"a I'D by 3 Chinese uan-of-war. but
-hev. never saw US till we were direct
II under their bow and If they had
.one much further ahead they would
nave run Us Down. Another time
vas on a vessel, the Kennebunk, gong
% Seattle from San Francisco and We
we're all on deck when we heard a nan
There was a boat. from another vessel
hat was in distress. only a few nun
lred feet from US. We had never seen
Ter till just then.
I'm back Captain Fullerton against
INV man alive for being true ana a.
,trafxb+ as any sailor on earth He
,oul6n't do such thing II IS not
4 the man
Captain Fullerton said;
You can't imagine how II hurts 10
rave such things said. I have been
master Of vessels for twenty years an
here has not been a blot on my record
md I hone that there never viii BE-
Know captain Larsen and do you
shink I would pass by him or anyone :
slse at sea? Why / would lose Two
Eeeks with the ship 10 pick up some
'oor Cinnamon. II is not q qUesIlon