The San Francisco call., 1909-08-03
Two Members of Party of Five
Saved After Battle for
Life in Waves
Cenvicts and Guards From San
Quentin Do Brave Work in
Effecting Rescue
Prisoners Spend Hours in Icy
Waters in Effort to Recover
Bodies of Drowned

q wAMPED by the racing tides
which sweep through Rincon
- straits into san Pablo bay. small
oat containing FIVE men sank 500 yards
of Point san Quentin about o'clock
yesterday afternoon. and three of the
party were drowned, while convicts and
guards were fastening TO their rescue
Two Of the men went down immedi
.ately For half an hour the other three
.clung desperately to the keel of the
upturned boat.
Warden Hoyle. the guards and 500
prisoners of san Quentin penitentiary
stood on the rocky shore and watched
the men make their fight in the water
with death. Captain Of the Guard O. E.
Enis and three guards put of in a
boat. and five convicts pleaded with
the warden for permission TO swim out
while the prison boat was being
launched. Their brave petition was
granted.
When the reseuers had almost
reached the capsized craft one Of the
men clinging to the upturned boat let
go his hold and sank.
The hve men in the illfated boat
were William Darling. unmarried, Of
5s4 Valencia street. san Francisco.
whose parents live in Deering street,
.aIelrose, Oakland; Louis Krauer. un-
married, partner with a man named
wack in the Thoroughfare saloon. 1850
Market street; John Mecluskex a clerk
in the san Francisco yard offices of hte
Southern Paeifa. ali Of whom were
drowned. and Guy Beck, a seaman on
abe U. 5. S. West Virginia, and Belmont
Ciiner. 4 cement worker of 1889 Guer-
rero. street
Sailor Proves Hero
-. Beck was the hero of the tragedy.
He saved the life of UIner and nearly
. -ssunceeded in holding McCluskey above
the water until help came.
The: heroism Of the convicts was
islaos51 after the living men on the up
-tuTaed- boat had been taken of. They
stayed in. the freezing waters and the
heavy wind. diving for the three
bodies under the waves. A guard stood
.;0n shore and shot at the point Of water
beneath which the men had sunk. From
2 o'clock until after the convicts dived
into the chilling waters, and finally
. their bravery was rewarded They re-
covered the bodies of Darling and Nc
: ClgsKey. Warden Hoyle refused to
make public the names Of the convicts.
:but took. especial notice of their worthy
@copduct~ One convict in particular, a
!: 'PortU- Fic4n, distinguished himself by
lis hardihood in attempting the rescue
p of the living and the recovery of the
bodies Of Tie dead.
= Guy. Beck. the United States sailor,
told the following story of the fatal ex-
cursion:
We left San Francisco Sunday to
spend the day on the ark Erie at Green
brae.. We went to the picnic at
:schuetzen park, missed the last train
FOR the city and had TO spend the night
on the ark. This morning we set out
in=a- smalr boat to go to san Quentin
FOR supplies. We started about 10
o'clock. On out return trip, made
about 2 in the afternoon. we encoun-
3. tered a choppy sea. When off the point
where the new prison building is being
erected the boat started TO ill with
water. / set to work to bail it out, but
ST filled too sast for me and then the
boat swamped.
Saves Drowning Companion
we al went under. When I came
Up McCluskey was close beside me. He
called. Help me. 1 can't swim. !
grabbed him with one hand while !
SHIELD on 10 the gunwale with my other.
Ir.could have swum ashore, but [ did
not want TO leave McCluskey. I thought
mat Ire could be saved. but as the boat
from the shore came sout he started to
drag me under. I had to let go my
bold on him to save myself and before
j could set fresh hold he had sunk
from sight I was very weak then
ahd it was ali that could do TO swim
10 the boat as It approached"
Uuner praised Beck for saving his
life.
When I came UP was helpless, as
I-had swallowed a quantity of water "
said Uuner Beck got hold Of me and
told me to cling to the floating hull OF
tae boat lie held me up until I re-
Covered my breath: then he turned his
attention to Mccluskey. We did not
So Darling or Krauer after we first
sank.
gslIner was in bad shape when res
cued 5nd was taken to, the prison hos
pital, where Dr.. Wade Stone, the prison
physician. treated him. The men in the
ashore were Captain Of the Guard o. Z,