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2C THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016 HISTORIC PHOTOS OF THE WEEK SHIPWRECKED By ELAINE TRUCKE Special to The Daily Astorian I n early January 1881, the Bri tish ship Lupatia wrecked on Tillamook Rock, a wreck that killed 16 sailors and had only one sur- vivor — a shepherd dog that accompanied the crew. The Lupatia met its doom 130 years ago this month, and we need only read a newspa- per to be reminded of other ships that never came back to port again. For example, the remnants of the 1908 wreck of the Emily Reed in Rock- away Beach recently resur- faced only last month, after the less-than-hospitable Ore- gon Coast weather shifted sands that hide the wreckage for decades at a time. Only eight crewme n from the Emily Reed were claimed by the tumultuous waters of the Pacifi c, but over 1,000 lives have been lost on the n orthern Oregon Coast alone due to the unfavorable weather, dangerous coast- line, and treacherous river crossings seafarers dealt with year round, but especially in winter. The Lupatia was known as a bark ship, or a ship with three masts, and wrecked a mere three weeks before Til- lamook Rock Lighthouse went into full operation. Capt. Wheeler, who was in charge of construction of the lighthouse, roused his crew when startled by the sound of voices outside. “The weather was thick, with a strong southwest gale,” says Lewis and Dryden’s “Marine History of the Pacifi c Northwest.” “They at once sighted the red light of a ship inshore, and heard a terror-stricken voice give the order, ‘Hard aport.’” Wheeler ordered his crew to place lanterns in the uncom- pleted tower and began build- ing a bonfi re to warn the ves- sel of the rock only 600 feet away. Unfortunately for the Lupatia it was too late. “Her yards were aback, and she seemed to be work- ing out of the dangerous place, but soon afterward the red light disappeared, and no further cries were heard from those on board,” says Lewis and Dryden. The lighthouse workers were optimistic that perhaps some crew had survived the incident, but the following day 12 dead bodies were dis- covered on the nearby beach. Whining amongst them was the dog, more fortunate than his human companions. Not every shipwreck on the Oregon Coast claimed the lives of sailors. In fact, the wreck of the Peter Iredale in 1906 left all 27 people on board unharmed, including two stowaways. By the time the Peter Ire- dale reached Tillamook Head in October 1906, Tillamook Rock Lighthouse had been in operation for nearly 25 years. The ship’s lookout sighted the lighthouse at 3:20 a.m., so the course was altered, but the wind shifted, a heavy north- west squall struck the vessel, and the ship ran aground. “We consider that every- thing was done by the master to get his ship out of danger,” said P.L. Cherry of the Brit- ish Vice -Consul in Novem- ber 1906. “The set of the cur- rent and the sudden shift of the wind drove him so close in that in the act of wearing around to get his ship’s head off shore, she stranded.” Most coastal residents have seen the wreckage of the Peter Iredale at Fort Stevens State Park, formerly a military out- post, where the rescued sail- ors from the wreck were fed, clothed and housed after the incident. Not all shipwrecks occurred in poor weather, however. On Oct. 1, 1913, a beautiful day with calm seas and nearly no clouds, the Glenesslin, bound for Portland, was sighted sail- ing unusually close to Nehalem shores. Cannon Beach’s Paul Bartels recounted his impressions of the wreck in a 1978 oral history. “The Glenesslin came in at Neahkahnie Mountain,” Bartels told the Cannon Beach History Center. “I took the picture with one of those old-timey cameras, you know the kind that you have to throw the black rag over your head.” “The day was nice and the old sea captain, he had been hit- tin’ it pretty heavy, because they were coming ashore. You see, they wanted to get rid of the whiskey,” Bartels said. “They were all pretty well loaded up, and he said he was going to lay down a while. At 2 o’clock he was woken up and they had changed course. They were coming up on the rock and there was no wind so they just plowed right into the rock.” The Court of Inquiry held to determine the cause of the wreck confi rmed the suspi- cions of helpful beachgoers who helped tie lines to the rocks on shore and pull the 21 drunken crewmen to safety. There was no mistaking the odor of liquor on many of the survivors, reports said. For his negligence, Capt. Owen Williams, master of the ship, as well as his second mate John Colefi eld, were suspended for six months. The fi rst mate Submitted Photos Glenesslin Graveyard of the Pacifi c holds the ships’ ghost stories some- where in her stormy depths. Elaine Trucke is the exec- utive director of the Cannon Beach History Center and Museum. F.W. Harwarth got off with a reprimand. No matter the cause of the tragic ends of the thou- sands of vessels that have met their deaths on the Oregon Coast, one thing is for sure, the Peter Iredale ? 9-1-WHAT? THE BEST OF THE WORST CALLS TO ASTORIA 911 DISPATCH Chicken at large, Part II C hicken can’t be stopped … From 911 dispatch: “Chicken at large in U.S. Bank parking lot. Chicken has been roaming for three months, and is too hard to catch.” Follow reporter Kyle Spurr on his 9-1-What? Twitter watch, where a few of the sometimes head-scratching calls to area dispatch take center stage. The full feed is at www.twitter.com/9_1_WHAT. 3 W AY S TO GE T Y O U R CO PY TOD AY ! OR DER ON LIN E w w w .DiscoverO urCoast.com /order S TOP BY ON E OF OU R 3 LOCATION S A storia • 949 Exchange St. Seaside • 1555 N . Roosevelt Dr. Long Beach • 205 Bolstad A ve. E. #2 o r CALL HOLLY LAR K IN S at 503-325-3211, x227 Em ail: hlarkins@ dailyastorian.com