The herald., 1922-03-09

Her officers say she is lucky to he aioat
The West Wind steamed 1000 miles with her
bunkers aire the record shows drove within three
cable lengths of the rocks after an alnight strug-
gle when her anchors dragged in typhoon OH
Newcastle n. s. w., clawed out of Brisbane mar
Dor half an hour ahead of quarantine proclama-
ton for bubonic plague and had to shlt cargo III
mid-Pacifc TO tinker her tail shaft. All THIS 10
say naught of being laid up two weeks Tor Doher
repairs at Panama.
An entry I'm the log dated August l records that
the ship was joined that day at Pulpit Point sgd
nev. bv one Sinbad An elaboration of this entry
reveals that Sinbad is a tabby tom cat, formerly
shiD's mascot and supercargo OF the S,oOO-toh
freghter, CanastOta, also flying the I. .. " "A.
house flag which mysteriOusly vanished WIN all
hands between Sydney and Wellington the last
week in June.
The advent of this feline marine adventurer out
of vast and mysterious void enshrouding the
fate of 80 men and officers who constituted the
Canastota's complement. appeared TO have oeen
considered an event of rare significance. Inc crew
saw he's the luckieSt cat atoat. hundreds OF good
| seamen are ashore in worlds ports because Oh
| hard times in the ocean carrying trade, Dut Sill
| bad, rover of the Seven Seas, can sign on any
| minute anywhere. All he's got to do is walk
| aboard
| Both the Canastota and West Wind piled be-
tween New Zealand and New South Wales ports.
| carving benzine for the Vacuum Oil company or
| New Jersey. The CanastOta had 6o,UOO cases
aboard when she left Sydney bound for Welllng-
! ton to take on more cargo This vessel was spoK-
en- of I'D and down the Australian and New Zea-
land coasts as "the bomb ship" Her commander.
| Captain A. W. Locke, a capable officer, was well
known in New York. Montreal, Havre and up the
Mersev. He ran the submarine blockade between
Montreal and French ports through the war
The West Wind probably in recognition of haz-
ards inseparable from the benzine carrying trade
cInro in Sy1Op
Wellington and Auckland as 1.-THE coffin box" Her
commander, Captain Abbott, halls from New York
His home is at 996 Simpson street, the Bronx
| Among officers and men of the West Wind few
are without mementoS such as burns and bruises,
of a terrific hurricane that kept the vessel steam
ing full speed ahead into her anchor chains during
a thirty-hour fight 10 prevent piling up on the
Mobiles off Stockton Blight, Newcastle, July "A.
During that storm everything loose on deck went
oversize When day dawned the West Wind was
close enough to have tossed biscuit ashore, with
only three fathoms Of water under her keel. The
typhoon had blown itself out
Since the Canastota signaled "All clear off Sgd
ney harbor that June afternoon, no trace of her
has been found. What happened to the vessel will
probably never he known. Australian sea lawyers
hold that benzine from punctured containers leaked
into her bilge mixed with the water there form
ing an explosive gas and blew her sky high when
lantern was carried into the hold by an oiler at
work on shaft bearing 1t is sufficiently reason
able hypothesis but that is all. Whatever hap
pened must have taken the ships company I'M
. awares, because. although equipped with modern
!. wireless outfits, the CanastOta sent no calls for
aid All any really knows is that she van
ished-spurlos versenkt.
Far out at the West Wind picked up wire
less alarms sent out by Dalgettys Australian ship
ping agents. and by Captain Williams. director OF
navigation at Sydney. Half dozen times day
b the radio chartered: Report Canastota" vary
ing this later Report Canastota wreckage." The
T West Wind laid off her course and swung wide
!. vainly seeking the missing vessel Her disappear
ance constitutes another deep sea mystery nscrut
e able as that surrounding the fate of the United
II States naval supply ship Cyclops The West vino
y headed for Newcastle.
3 1t was three days later that Snbad the Canas
totals mascot, bounded up the gangplank at Pulpit
o Point William Hodgson, able seaman of the Yves
s. Wind, spotted the old cat, having served ship
d mates with him aboard the Canastota, when sh
I was known as THE Falls of Orkney and sale,
out of a British port. HodgsOn instantly recog
J. nzed Sinbad's cnder-scarred body. The cats ad
l. vent followed by serious discussions above ant
d below decks.
y Why had Slnbad quit the Canastota? Plai