The San Francisco call., 1909-12-06
RUIN WROUGHT
BY HEAVY GALE
AND HIGH SEAS
Ships Buffeted About Outside
Heads and Anchors Fail to
Hold Vessel in HarbOr
Steamer Excelsior Is Swept
Ashore, but Later Is Hauled
Off Beach


vessels trying to enter the Golden gate.
The pilot boat Pathfinder was the
greatest sufferer. It's cabins were
hooded and its three pilots all more
or less injured.
The elements did not confne them
selves TO the outside. but ragged with
fury up and down the bay from Point
Richmond TO Hunters point. Only one
life was lost. that being Mel scow. who
was swept from the deck of barge
in Oakland creek.
The storm began early Saturday
afternoon and while il abated inside
the harbor. BY midnight it continued
outside the heads with unabated fury
until early yesterday morning.
The accident which threatened to be
the most serious was the driving ashore
of the steamer Excelsior at Moss land
ing early Sunday morning. Late yes
terday the vessel was hauled off the
beach by the tug Navigator. which
went 10 its assistance early in the day.
PILOTS ARE INJURED
The pilot boat Pathfinder had a hard
Il.
in which the three pilots on board were
hurt. Pilot Castle had mis- hip badly
injured; Pilot Mill had his face cut and
Pilot Shea got badly squeezed by being
thrown between the ropes and the
railing.
The, gale struck the little vessel at
o'clock Saturday night and for two
hours il was in a succession Of south
.nI Sor,sl,rx-aes caae
running with tremendous force. Dur
ing the fury OF the gale the main boom
was carried away and seas flooded the
cabins and forecastle. The little boat
was almost at the mercy of the ele-
ments, but at 3 o'clock Sunday morn
ing il mana ged TO reach Bolinas bay.
Mel Scow. the watchman of the Cali
fornia stevedoring and ballast COM.
pany's barge, was the only one to lose
his life during the storm. Exactly
hew the accident Happened is not
known, but it is supposed he was try
ing to throw out an anchor as an
extra precaution when big wave
knocked him into the sea
Scow's body was recovered late in
the day
CRUISERS LAUNCH NEARLY LOST
The little steam launch belonging TO
the cruiser Princeton had a narrow es- /
cape from going to the bottom of the
bay Saturday night. It left the Prince
ton anchored off California City and
was attempting to get TO Tiburon. 1t
was just approaching that point when
ii was practically filed by heavy
Sea and its fires extinguished. On
board was the coxswain. engineer and
deck hand They shouted for help and
Crowley's launch. No. II. put out from
Tiburon and towed the launch 10 shore.
The Oceanic steamships Sierra, So
nOma and Ventura. lying i'm the stream
of the Union iron works. began drag
ging their anchors at 10 o'clock Satur-
day night. and before they could be
brought to a standstill had drifted
more than a mile up the bay
The British steamship Wellington ran
into a veritable hurricane at s o'clock
Saturday night as ii approached the
bar. which compelled Captain Cutter
to keep the steamers head to the sea
all night. The vessel started to cross
in at o'clock Sunday morning. but it
was late in the afternoon before it
came TO an anchorage.
Captain Cutler reports that at 1890
O'Clock Saturday night he saw q vessel
burning distress signals. but as it was
outside Of the Wellington Captain Cut
Ter thought it could not be in much
danger.
DOUBLE DOSE OF GALES
The British steamship Katanga- which
arrived yesterday from Newcastle. Aus
tralia had double dose OF gales. On
ITS way TO this port il stopped at Apia
and had no sooner left that port than
81 ran into gales which lasted without
cessation for Is days. The gales came
from the north and northeast. AS the
vessel approached this port it encoun-
tered storms more furious than those
it had previously passed through.
Healy -Tibbitts company's big barge,
which was alongside the dock at Molate
point near Richmond. broke adrift late
Saturday night and was swept up the
bay II had not been located at a late
hour last night 1t had a watchman on
board.
BARGE OFFICE DAMAGED
rne fancy decorative woodwork
which ornamented the buildings of the
customs house and barge Office at
Meiggs wharf was torn away and
swept lHLD tIS Dde % AlOuSn II Hdu
been 50 much paper.
The French bark Grand Duchesse
Olga had a struggling time with the
elements. as it approached the coast
Saturday afternoon. The storm Knocked
the vessel about TO such an extent that
when Captain lie FIoch was FIVE miles
of the lightship he had to let go both
anchors.
The lumber steamer Point Arena came
iimping into port late yesterday with |
half its decklosd of lumber gone-more 1
than 10000 feet having been washed /
into the sea.
Snow on Mount TamaIpais
SAUSALITO, Dec. Snow fell on
Mount Tamalpais this morning. but the |
wind and rain that raced along the
coast last night did little damage in
Marin county.
In this harbor Harry Goodalrs steam
Yacht Lucero was torn from its moor
fngs and crashed into John Coleman's
Yacht Aggie, in7icting considerable