Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1913-01-13
ABANDONED SHIP
TREASURE TROVE
(Continued from Pace y

town c"nsi Is OF Il le" rumrIe-doU
h,r scs on TIM beach, at the ttrmi.vs
Ol Z riCkety railroad running J..,E mo
tbs mountains 10 the COftec pianta
urns. The P"Ccr>s Of loading rHT@G
IN primatile. The bags Of coffee ar.
carried BY I'll" Indians; from t."
C:ls out through the .GE and tn.0H "
IHiO boats. and a~t then t,NoH ont -
e. ship in lighters. the boat. benz
= He'd by hight wire cable Ia,sr
IuunI a pulley attached 70 d bUO"
~ OIt -" ltet 1rc!u shore. in cny:n J.
On land SUPPLYING the mOti'r IOW-'
for the cable. Ships anchor ncLr re
LUCY, and the coffee is hO.ateI abCA.i
l'"m the lighters.
On the memorable March afternoon
when the Sesostris arrived at OCOs
lOI the last time, the ocean VAS nix e
gIa. s, and the calm o. the tropics
ling over land and sea Storms AMI
shIpwreck seemed as far removed IS
the. North Pole, and casting dull care
to the gentle land breez"S all hands
went ashore for i frolic. letting tme
fires die out The men hit the beach"
ioI a good time, and what fOllOW".'
indicates that they found what they
sought. At any rate, it was not unit
late that night that they returned to
the ship, and al hands turned II 70"
What they con, idered a well-earncd
rest.
False Security.
IT was a night of clear tropical
moonlight, and the fair weather gave
the officers a false feeling Of security.
When everything was quiet aboard,
the breeze freShened, and the ship,
thinking it her turn ashore, clipped heT
cable at the 3O-fathOm shackle, and
when the crew woke in the gray dawn,
il was to find the Sesostris in the
breakers, pounding on the sand. Be
fore they could get up steam, and get
Oft anchors and cables. the sand
filled around the ship until she was on
a shoal, and it was then Impossible to
move her. Alter working several
weeks and making no progress, even
after one of her SISTER ships had called
at Ocos and given a tow, while every
day the sand was making round her
more and more, the ship was abandon
ell to the underwriters, who paid the
insurance.
The underwriters sent an expert
from Hamburg to Coos, to look at their
bargain, and he decided that while the
ship was in good condition, she was
1000 miles from nowhere" and as
there were no tug boats, dredges or
barges within that distance, 1t would
lie hopeless to attempt to salvage her.
She was put up at auction by the I'M
derwriters and sold to Mexican COT
fee planter Bruno G. NMijares, at Ia.
pachula, Mexica, for $4,000 gold.
Now Mijares had operated the light
er business at Ocos, and knew consid-
ereble about tidal conditions there.
and he conceived the idea that the
first northwest storm would move the
sand round the ship so that she could
be pulled Off With that in view, ne
kept men aboard the Sesostris, paint
ed her inside and out, got off heavy
anchors and chains, put white lead and
tal,ow on the engines, and in general
kept her in shape, ready for operation,
and then sat down to wait for mana
na."
For two years Mijares waited, and
frally a northwest storm did come,
and washed enough of the sand from
around the ship to float her in little
basin, the bar still remaining between
her and freedom, however. The story