The San Francisco call., 1909-02-09
Coaster Saved From Foundering When
Deck Load Slides Into Sea
Steamer Aurelia Is Thrown on Beam Ends
Off Blanco in Heavy Gale


Only by bucking off about 100000
feet of lumber from its deck load dur
ing a heavy southeaster was the
steamer Aurelia, which arrived yester-
day. five and a half days from Grays
Harbor, saved from laundering. 1t was
at 8 o'clock Saturday morning, when
off Cape Blanco, that a hurricane blast
of wind and a well timed sea rolled
the Aurelia over on her beam. There
the coaster lay for just long enough
TO make Captain Weber and his crew
believe that their last hour had ar
rived Then came a tearing and a
crashing that for a minute convinced
them that their surmise was correct.
Instead of being Gsbriefs trumpet
however, that crashing and ripping
meant a reprieve for ship and crew
The deck load lashings had carried
away under the strain and into the sea
slid an avalanche of lumber. In all
100000 feet OF the cargo went over the
side. Relieved of the top weight the
Aurelia righted. While the coaster
had been on beam ends water had
poured into the engine rooms and ex-
tinguished the fires and in going over
board the cargo had caused consider
able damage.
The lifeboats were torn from their
lumber. The main boom and the hoist
ing boom on the after deck were car
ried away and the helpless Aurelia was
a good deal OF a wreck. Fires were
soon started again and the Aurelia fin
ished the voyage without further
trouble.
The steamer Mann Smith, which ar
rived yesterday from Coos bay, was in
trouble off Blanco February 5. and dur
. -
lumber from its forward deck load and
sustained slight damage about the
deck. The schooner Camano, which
arrived from the north Sunday night,
encountered a succession OF southeast
gales all the way down.
City of Para in Electric Storm
The Pacific Mail liner City of Para
Captain A W. Nelson, which arrived
Sunday evening from Panama and way
ports, passed the doctors and docked
early yesterday morning. Until the last
three days Of the voyage from the low
er coast the Para was favored with fine
weather. Then the liner ran into the
kind of weather for which 1903 has
been famous in San Eranclsco-only a
little more so. The climax of the
inclemency came Sunday morning in
the shape of an electric storm. These
but rare in this part Of the world
For several hours the thunder was
heavy and the lightning vivid, and
through IL all the rain came down in
torrents.
During the voyage up the coast the
chief officer. Roger Altman, who, in ad-
ditiOn to being a sailor. is something OF
a poet, provided comet for the edi-
hcauon of the passengers. At 2 o'clock
one dark morning the air was filled
with the glare OF a fierce red light
The passengers were notified that the
comet, whose approach Altman had
q n n Gin : aa cn 1af-
Panama, was now in full flight II
was in fact keeping pace with the ship
Most OF the men passengers turned
out, and sure enough fiery red some
thing with a crimson tail was sailing
along high over the forward end OF
the liner It disappeared suddenly
lantePn hanging TO the foremast stay
and attached to the lantern a long tail
made Of canvas. Several amateur as
tronomers who had taken copious notes
the night before would not speak &c
Altman for several hours.
The City Of Para brought % pas
sengers, 1885 tons Of cargo and treas
ure, valued at S12,45S.50. Among the
passengers was George Abadie, who is
in business in Honduras, and who has
come north to be married. Abadie says
that Honduras is proSpering and bids
fair 10 be the most stable of Central
American republics. Reyolutionists are
not popular there, he says. and ever
the professional trouble makers arr
now directing their energies TO the
commercial development of the coun-
Try.
H. Mclean, formerly a steward in tn,
transport service and now commisSary
and postmaster at Porto Cabello In tht
canal zone, was another passenger
George keene, formerly a sergeant ma
jor in the United States army, was
passenger from New York. He was re.
tired from the army for total disability
the result of injuries received in actor
in the Philippines. Part of his skull
was shot away and he wears a silvel
plate over the hole He is blind in one
eve. He is on his way to the old sol
diers' home at Santa Monica.
The Para's passengers included:
NJ. and Mrs. J. H. Mrs. Griffith Jones ant
Worden baby
Mrs. J.. r. Appleman 3. Courtade
J. A. Stiles AIr. and Mrs. J. T.
George Abadie Hitchcock
Marcus Ley r. C. Branon
Mr.. and Mrs. George c. Il. Mclean
Stockney Mrs. NJ. Welsh and sol
H r. Talbot
saved by Brave QUartermaster
Thomas Mulcahy of 1913 Townsene
street fell into the bay about ] O'Clock
Sunday morning from Howard stree
wharf Mulcahy was under the influ-
ence Of liquor and fell while trying tt
plorer. he dropped between the EX-
plorer and the wharf and lay uncon-
sciOus and without d sound on the float
ing pile fender. Quartermaster B. Rem.
berg, who was on watch, saw the mar
fall In spite Of the fact that a heavy
ground swell every now and then threw
the Explorer heavily against the wharf
down between the ship and wharf Il
where Mulcahv Law Others on hoard