Valdez daily prospector., 1912-06-18

| and the sun was obscured and darkness was setting in. At 5:3O
 we had to have all the doors and
 port holes opened, it being so
 close and stifling, and We ate din- l ner with the use of the electric lights, dust and ashes falling in to everything. Between 6 and 6:30 the whole world was shroud- cd in complete darkness. The darkness became so intense that when We stood on deck we could not sec anything about us--not even the water over the side of the boat. During all the time the constant rumbling of the volcano, the falling ashes and the clcctri- cal display continued.
 The captain of the Dora was particularly anxious to land me at Kodiak, as we had tclegraphed from Chignik to the people at Ko- l diak, many of whom I knew per sonally, that We were going to stop to meet them. The captain constantly blew the Dora's whis- tie and we were answered by the whistle of another boat and the
 ringing of bell of a third, but
 1t was impossible to sight or get I the bearings into the harbor at Kodiak and it would have been little less than criminal to at tempt to get into the harbOr un- der the conditions. He was just as much disappointed as all the
 rest of us at not being able tO I,reach Kodiak. We were within
 three miles of the place and un-- able to land. Our little wireless boy stuck to his task and kept calling for Kodiak io notify them of the eruption, and not being I able to get them the captain wrote out a message and the boy time after time again tried lo get Kodiak, but was unable to do SO. It afterwards transpirrd that lightning had struck the wireless at Kodiak and our message was sent in vain. \ constant electric current was passing through the wireless of the Dora, visible to the naked eye, and our sparks"
 is entitled to great credit for his bravery in sticking to his instru- mcnt.
 The captain steamed for the high seas and all night long un- til o'clock the next morning we steamed ill heavy sea with ash rS raining down on Us. Ashes fell on the Dora from three to i2 inches deep and drifting in many places still deeper on the boat. The heaviest part of the volcanic cloud evidently fell southeast of Kodiak and AfOgnak. When We came out from under the vOlcan- were in sight of the cliffs near SeldOvia and all day WI were streaming in plain sight of the volcano to the westward. still '"i'hiliE ''hl SjD'h' il ltIIlllt volumes.
 We arrived at Srldovia al 8i o'clock in the evening and left Homer at fl P. m. On the morn ing of tn" 8th, about o'clock, we anchored tU the lrcward of some of the islands west of Cape Elizabeth and for thrc hours lay in complete darkness with a finer volcanic ash falling upon our decks. We hauled up anchor and started for Seward about iO| o'clock and at i2 o'clock noon we still had tn use the electric lights. That afternoon wr steam ed out of the cloud, again leaving the cloud away tO the westward, 'trriving al Seward at 9 o'clock on Inc 9lh and as the Dora steamed into Seward she looked like a phantom ship, she was so com pIricly covered with white ashes.
 As soon as the cable office Op- rnrd on the 9lh sent a cable gram to Capt. Reynolds. port cap tain al Unalaska, notifying him of the disaster and advised him Io send revenue cutter to Ko- diak and AfOgnak al once.
 This is a brief summary of my own experience in tn" matter. While there may not bc much Ipsu Inf lifc if iS ypry u, ,idonI IhoI tue high prevailing wind that dropped the volcanic ashes away io the southwest saved the life of everyone on the Dora, as well as -I C.