Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-01-13

II San Francis O. Mr.. Wool IN
l1lM-Mt N'Ht ON to say that ~" = ~
Is was rs Zee; long. Il feet in h an
and 81 feet IN depth. that both nun
md engines wee is perfect conNuon
and that most Of the ct;uIl ment vas
II o I'd He stated further tYat + Nu2
ret more thar coo feet from where H.
slip lay 10 a point where the water
WIS ~ feet dep.
Ct arg" ,ory pro. =. ~.
The tale seemed 50 inCrs di1la to
, ne THAT expressed Consider able doubt
. a5 20 its yeraCiry." said Mr.. Wood. in
relating the incident TO the writer 1T
did net seem reaSNnaOl" tha; a ship
in the condition in which this one was
represented TO be could have been
left OR sand shore for ne arly six
years without some or" making az eff
fort TO get il. In answer TO my queries
as t. WHY no one had attempt
cd 10 FLOAT the SeSrstriS. my informant
told me that there was no one in the
i salvage business on the Pacific coast,
| ana that not Withstanding several eff
! fUr.s 10 interest different people. moth
! ing had come Of the nCsuti.:IOnS as
! OCOS was so far from tIt base of ma
! terlal and supplies. In answer to my
! query as TO whether or No; here was
clear jitle to the ship. nc assured me
/ that there was, and that it came d.
rectly TO the Mexican planter MARES
| from the underwriters. and that the
! ship was free from all liens. | still
expressed doubts as to the CORE ctness
,I,f+ if l,,t l. /
! that there was no chance of error. as
| Re had been aboard the ship himself
only few months before.
'Whi'e still doubling the correctness
Of the story, | made inquiry as to the
price the vessel was held at, and the
answer was that $4,000 cash was the
/ lowest piice ever named for it,. My re-
ply was that no one would ever put up
that much money, in addition to what
The salvage would cost. and take big
chances. on getting the ship aflOat. II
was told then that the owner had once
made a proposition to a salvage con-
Germ to go in on a contingent basis, !
/ and take 40 per cent of the net profits |
of the operation. but that the deal hal
fallen through. My answer was that |
such a deal was sure to fall through, :
as the terms were ridiculous, but that |
if the owner wanted to take 10 or IS +
Ter cent, he would probably get some |
one interested.
"While this discussion was going !
on" continued Mr.. Wood, Il kept
thinking over the details, and taking
into account the size of the ship, that |
c no hIj1f or LNlnnChnPo
in 1897, Of iron, instead Of steel, with !
therefore less chance CT deterioration,
together with the fact that the scare
ity of tonnage on the Pacific at this I!
made the ship much more valuable |
than she would have been several |
years ago, | decided to take a flyer, |
and so, subject to a guarantee that |
the facts were as stated, l made an
offer Of $4,000 for the ship, the out |
come being that after some negotia- |
tons the deal was closed, and l found |
myself the owner of an unseen wreck"
Made Personal Inspection.
Mr. Wood sent an agent to Ocos to |
see whether he had bought ship or |
heap of scrap iron, and a month |
later, while in New York, received a |
telegram saying that the ship looked
all right. and that he had better come !
down himself and look her over Early |
last September he left New York, and |
travelling through Mexico finally |
found himself at Ocas.
There in front of me when l came /
in sight of the beach was ship which |
would carry 1000 tons cargo and forty
passengers" said Mr.. Wood. She was
high and dry on the beach. and looked
for all the world like big hotel. with
the lawn coming right up to the front
porch. l went aboard and found that |
the Sesostris gave the appearance of
having just been abandoned. The