The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1915-05-13
SCH. BLANCHE c. PENDLETON.
Particulars of Her Loss AT Colon. Her Com
mander, Capt. J. o. Hayes, Not At Fault.

Adpls J. ". hayes, l>Ol al L dult
Especial to. The Bangor Daily News,)
BELFAST, May 5. Capt. Jerry .. Hayes
of the Inflated schooner Blanche G. Pen
dleton has arrived at his home in Bay
View street, from Colon. Panama. In
all his 81 years of experience this is the
first schooner under his command to be
lost, and this through no fault of his.
The schooner was loaded in January at
New Orleans with 49, foot railroad pilings
for the breakwater at Colon. She was
chartered by the j. C. Rainwater Lum-
Der Company of New Orleans ard re-
chartered by them to the Seeberg Steam
ship Co. She was towed by the Danish
freighter Drowning Olga, IN the charter
of the Seeherg Co., from New Orleans
to Colon. From there she was towed by
U. S. government tug to the break
water, through canal 100 feet wide,
the first schooner to be taken in. A
barge had been in there before. but no
schooner. She was about four miles
from the city of Colon. Laying there
discharging about ten days, bad North
er came up and Capt. Hayes put up dis
tress signals. A government tug and
pilot came and started to tow the s. hoon-
er out but she grounded on the reef and
was a total loss.
Capt. Hayes lost all his personal eff
fects, including valuable papers, charts,
library, all his money on hand, and his
crew lost all their belongings. A por-
ton of the cargo had been discharged
before the storm and some 210 logs,
worth about $50 apiece. were taken off
afterwards. No blame can be attached
to Capt. Hayes as he was in the hands of
the pilots and did all he possibly could to
save her. In all his 81 years expert
ence, having been commander since
1875, he has never lost vessel, and the
only damage he ever paid for collision
was 81. rs to a man whose boat was in
jured, through his own fault, but whose
pitiful story aroused the sympathy of
the captain.
About SIX or seven years ago, Capt.
Hayes, then in the Pendleton Bros, puilt
in Belfast, was off the Hatteras light
ship when he sighted about daylight a
disabled craft. Fastening to the rescue
he found it to be the barkentine Francis,
owned by the Pendletons, and command
ed by his old friend and neighbor at Isles
boro, Capt. Freeman Coombs. A strange
coincidence that two vessels owned by
the same company should encounter each
other in trouble. but truth is stranger
than fiction. Capt. Hayes went along
side and asked what he could do. "Stand
by me until l can get tow" replied
Capt. Coombs. 'I'll go you one better
and tow you in myself" said Capt.
Hayes, and he was as good as his word,
although this is said to be one of the
first times in history that one sailing ves-
sci has lowed another in distress. An
English steamer, anxious for salvage,
tried to interfere, to get .thessalvage, no
doubt, but Capt. Hayes, realizing that it
was ''all in the family" would not listen
and so one Pendleton vessel towed the
other into port. The Francis had been
disabled by collision with Clyde liner.
One sailor, a Norwegian, was washed
overheard during the night and the next
lday picked up on piece of wreckage Dy
a passing steamer and taken to Charles
ton, S. C.
The Blanche C. PendIeton, now wreck
at Colon, the same storm having also
carried away the breakwater partially
completed, was built at Verona in 1900
and is owned by Fields G. Pendleton of
New York. She is 1877 net tonnage.
At this time she is great loss to her
owners. as owing to the war they had
been offered very profitable commits
sion for her.