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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1919)
THE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN- PORTLAND. DECEMBER 21, 1919. CREW IS AT TABLE Some Penned In When Stern Sinks Rapidly. ONLY WATCH ESCAPESl Men on Duty on Deck Get Away in Boat Which Is !Later Spilled iu Second Line of Breakers. 20 TWO VICTIMS OF J. A. CHANSLOR WRECK, AND MASTER OF ILL-FATED CRAFT. fc " WHEN SHIP STRIKES i Jp gj 'Portland wl j ' J " f MARSHFIELD, Or., Dec. 20. (Spe cial.) The death total in the wreck of the Chanalor is 35, and of the crew of 38 only Captain A. A. Sawyer, crew steward, E. W. Dooley and William I Merkel, quartermaster, live to tell the, tale of the worst disaster that has! marked maritime affairs on this sec lion of the Oregon coast. The crew of the Chanalor had no time to escape, save 13 who got into the lifeboat, and cleared five minutes after she struck on a large rock, then broke into pieces, the stern section going- down at once. When the Chans-I lor struck she was half a mile from! shore and the water about was deep. which accounts for the fact that no nodles were found in that vicinity. The crew were at supper below, and those who escaped in the lifeboat! were on watch forward Afterward two sailors were picked up half way between Bandon and the wreck, clinging: to a staging, but they died before the crew could force the craft through the breakers north of Bandon. Second Breaker Spill Bpat. After leaving the wreck the 13 men and the two extra men picked up suf fered severely from exposure and wetting, as the seas were running high and the waves were constantly breaking over them. They suffered through the night and all day yester day and in a last effort to save them selves agreed to run the lifeboat through the breakers and take their chances. They did not approach the beach two and a half miles north of Bandon until some time after dark and they passed safely through the first breaker, but were caught in the second and all were spilled into the surf. It was then every man for him self and Merkel, Dooley and Captain Sawyer played in the best luck. After they landed it was found that Cap tain Sawyer was badly bruised ' and bad taken in a considerable amount of water and he was unable to walk. They dug him a hole in the sand to aid in keeping him warm, while Mer kel started out for assistance. He reached Bandon about 7 o'clock and there told the details of the disaster and got help from the coast guard station to bring in Captain Sawyer and Steward Dooley. Captain Sawyer was so badly beaten by the boat which struck him several times while he was in the eurf that he was helpless. He was taken to the Bandon hospital and , kept quiet all last night and today with opiates, but the word tonight 'was that he was In a serious condition and will prob ably develop pneumonia before "morn ing. Dooley, as well, was not recov ered. Merkel was being cared for also and the Bandon folks are doing everything to help them. Not one body has been found in the district about Cape Blanco although searchers patroled there all of today. Two others of the crew were Fran cis Jackson, second assistant engi neer, and Fred E. Tombaugh, wire less operator. Jackson; the survivors eaid, was on watch in the engine room when, the stern of the vessel went down, and had no opportunity to get on deck and the etern. when he broke off, tipped up at an angle of 45 degrees and penned in all who were below. , Seas Engrnlf Fugitive. The story of William Merkel was told today while going to and from the locality where the "lifeboat was wrecked. He said there had been some fearful times while they were at sea and none of them expected to get shore at times when unusually large seas would almost engulf them. "We came in sight of the two sail ers Friday. They had evidently been floating about all night, but they had stuck out with a fierce determination but only to die on our hands after we naa taken them into the lifehoat Their support was a staging that was used on the Chanslor by painters, and when the ship went down they found this refuge after having been down in the water and floating and swim ming about on. coming to the surface. Messages have been received sev eral times today from Cape Blanco and the Hughes Bros. ranch in th vicinity of the spot where the Chans lor met her fate and. all have said there seems no probability .of any ooaies oeing lound. The currents along that shore are such that flotsam or bodies would be carried up or down the beach. Searching par ties were out last night and all day today, but no sign was found of any oocnes. Derelict Drifts Toward Sea. A. message late tonight said the forward part of the vessel had floated from the rock and was drift ing out to sea and southward in the vicinity of the cape. The survivors said the reason nothing was known of the wreck for 24 hours after it occurred was the fact that the boat went down so Quickly that there was absolutely no chance to send out wireless information advising of the situation. Besides this, the operator was at supper and perished with the others who were dining and those in the engine room. Fog had been hanging about 'Cape Blanco for several days and did not lift so there was any visibility towards the wreck until late In the afternoon of Friday. The keeper of the Cape Blanco lighthouse then saw the wreck and made out he'r identity Captain Johnson of the Bandon life saving station intended leaving last night at 7 for the wreck, but Quarter master Merkel came with the story before he got away. The country about Cape Blanco Is seven miles from the highway and the Sixes river empties Into the ocean a short distance above the lighthouse. The Cape Blanco reef juts out In in termittent pinnacles and somewhat toward the north. The water where the Chanslor struck is said to be from 0 to 150 feet in depth. Quartermaster Merkel said there were high seas running when the vessel went on the rock and the crew was fortunate to get a lifeboat over board and rig-ht side up. Cor one I'red Wilson has gone to Bandon to take care of the bodies that -have been found and those that are ex pected to come ashore north of Bandon. . The Chanslor wreck is the Tors In point , of death loss that has oc curred in the remembrance of th oldest Inhabitant on Coos Bay, o eourse, relative to this immediate sec tlon of the coast. The Czarina, which went on the north sandspit at th harbor entrance to Coos bay abou ten years ago, had 30 men on board. AC A ; IJm Supreme MtW-i if' VW f- im and a most practical value in the opportunities M fir 1 1 VN-f I 1 l ,oopm. iMlrM?S ' for education and enjoyment that it affords. rZ3lm l ..N.'-W III - 1 II I f II Vi W " vvr 7m . . ."ts. : f-:i . Jr -known re tone.. - '! f f , ' t I V IK I ' TpIIE embodiment of all splendid Stradivara the music of any instru- 1 x !"t'' 't ; -V 4lV - I musical instruments and the ment or artist, produced with all the i i "y-y.-, v , ' f i. - T V world's finely-trained voices is clearness, volume and sweetness of '! i iJ. I k" '-w I '"" I ' I i$ oranWp y this wonderful new instrument for the original singing or playing, be- h " - ; j,'"t cape. V music's reproduction. With the comes immediately available. T ' . " 'I '""L' " I; 'V ?V-1 BLANCOl 1 ' . , f, 7 t wu.,au. I .1 Order Without Delay From Any of These Dealers h -iA- : : II i II J. ... AboTe Captain A. A. Sawyer. Below (L.ert l.ouls Delor of Portland: (rlKhtt Francin C. Jackson, son of publisher of Oitkob Journal. On map arrow marks approximate loca tion of wreck. and of that number one got ashore alive. ' Captain Sawyer and the men who launched the lifeboat had no time to takij with them food or water, and it is. somewhat due to this fact that the men in the lifeboat did not weather out the storm and .come safely into port at either Bandon or Coos Bay. They were severely tried by the seas, but had they been able . o stay out over another night tney might have all been saved. Men In Boat Denperate. Hungry,-greasy, suffering from -the weather and almost hopeless, they -de- ided upon trying to land through the breakers rather than stay arioat. hrough another long night. A few in the boat be lieved.they would have better chanceto stay at sea and perhaps be fortunate enougn to. oe picked up by some passing craft. . Steward Dooley s story is tne most vivid that could-be obtained from the urvivors and this morning he was able to tell of the thrilling experi ences 'he -went througji in company with the other 1'3 men in the. lifeboat and during the excitement of launch ing her: We were creeping along in -tne fog and the ship struck the reef about 6 o"clock Thursday night. The dis tress 'signal soundedat once and all was excitement. I rushed to the for ward deck to find a means of escape, but the ship had. broken in two and the after portion was sinking in.no time. On the forward dtck there were aboul ten of -us, as nearly as I can remember, but most of the engineers. stewards and oilers and sailors were aft and went down with that part of the vessel. ' ' The 13 men who got away in the boat drifted all night and the next morning we picked up two sailors who had clung to a staging. That night and Friday were bitterly cold for us because we were all wet through and had no food. The two sailors we picked up were about all In and one of them later died in our boat. Men Without Water. I joined the Chanslor on this trip. signing on at Linnton, near Port land, shipping in the steward's de partment." Here Dooley named one of the two sailors .who went into the boat, as Charles Connelly. "All day Friday we were driven northerly in a bitter cold wind and heavy rain. We did have a few sea biscuits, but no water. When dark ness came Friday night we were about all in, and after dark sighted shore and heard the breakers roaring, It was then we decided to take our chance in trying to run the breakers. The first wave upset our lifeboat and we were all pitched out. I lost my lifeboat, as did the captain and up and managed to get hold of the lifeboat as did the captain and Merkel. The only one we saw after the boat overturned was Steward Cashen, but the sea washed him away and he was drowned. 1 believe most of the men were drowned at the time the boat overturned, for I saw none of them. Dooley says he has no home, and his home is wherever he is employed. SUIT AGAINST CITY FAILS Jury Finds for Seattle in Action for $101,029 Damages. SEATTLE, Wash., Dec. 20. Verdict for the city of Seattle was brought in by a jury last night in the suit of the North Bend Lumber company against the municipality for $401,629 damages. The company asked for damages re suiting from the flooding of Boxley creek, December 23. "1918. Caused by seepage through the north bank o the city reservoir behind the Cedar river :dam near here. Jewelry Store Robbed. ASTOTUA, Or., Dec. 20. (Special.) Early this morning burglars smashed a plate glass window in the store of the George Howe company. Chinas merchants, and stole watches and jewelry valued at 350. PUBLISHER'S SON IS LOST FKAXCIS C. JACKSON' PROBABLY- CHANSLOR VICTIM. Six Others From Tills City May Have Been on Ill-Fated Tanker, According to Records. Five Portland men are known to have " been aboard the steamer J. A. Chanslor when she sailed from Port land, and four, possibly six, others from this city are believed to have been on the tanker. Those known to have been aboard aro Francis C. Jackson, second assistant engineer; Boris Secord. 687 East Oak street. eaman: Louis De Lor, 728 East Ever- tt street, messman; F. Madsen, sea man, and Ray Curtis, oiler. According to the records of the Portland office of the Sailors' Union f the Pacific, L. M. Larsen joined the hip at this port December 4, Peter C. Christensen signed on November 1 and A. D. Fredericksen and E. R. Schmidt joined the ship November 17. Whether these men were still mem bers of the crew or had left the ship at San Francisco or some other port is not known here. Thomas Farrell. agent of the marine firemen's union, said yester- y that two young men were sent from the union headquarters Mon day to work on the Chanslor, but their names were not secured and Mr. Farrell did not know whether they went to sea-with the vessel. Mr. Jackson Probably Lost. Francis Clopton Jackson, second engineer of the J. A. Chanslor. is the son of C. S. Jackson, publisher or the Oregon Journal. As the seeond engineer should not have been on i watch at the time the crash occurred. ittle hope is held for his safety. Mr. Jackson was an. officer and director In both the Journal Publish ing company and the Journal Build ing company. He accepted the berth of second assistant engineer on the Chanslor in the place of J. TIbblts at the special request of the chief engi neer, Thomas Seymour, a friend of long standing. After a number of attempts to enter active military or naval service dur ing the war, which were always un successful because of his defective vision, Mr. Jackson was obliged to content himself with service in the merchant marine. Because of unusual mechanical ability, he rose quickly from the position of oiler, which he held on the Portland-built steamer Point Judith on a voyage to Honolulu, to that of second "engineer. He had ade several trips on the J. A. Chans lor, and at one time spent six weeks aboard the vessel in her coastwise trade. Widow and Son Survive. Mr. Jackson was born at Pendleton, October 19. 1887. He had made his home in Portland since 1904. and in his youth attended Hill Military acad emy and Oregon Agricultural college. He was married in this cltjr November 16, 1911, to Miss Lillian Eva of Port land. Mrs. Jackson and a young son, Charles Samuel, live at 18 East Sixty sixth street. Captain A. A. Sawyer, master of the J. A. Chanslor. is in the emergency hospital at Bandon, suffering from exposure, Druises ana a iracturea no, according to a message received yes terday morning by his wife, who lives at 394 Columbia street, rrom captain Johnson, commander of the llfesaving crew. Mrs. Sawyer left yesterday for Bandon to attend her husband. Cptaln Sawyer is one of the best known and most popular navigators sailing out of this port, and has been engaged In the coastwise trade for manv years. All wno Know mm speak highly of his diligence and ability. All the other officers of the ship, with the exception of Second Assistant Engineer Jackson, are San Francisco' men and not widely acquainted here. 1 Others But Little Known. 'Of Madsen, Larsen. Christensen. Fredricksen and Schmidt, Portland seamen believed to have been mem bers of the crew of the Chanslor, lit tle' is known beyond the fact that they were members of the sailors' union and made their headquarters In this city. Addresses are not recorded on the books of the union because a sailor's home ashore usually is tem porary.'. Ray Curtis, an oiler believed to have perished, was 23 years of age. He was the son of Mr. and Airs. Bay Cur tis, who live on the Base Line road near the Russellville schoolhouse be yond Montavilla. Louis De Lor, messman, was 26 years of age and a native of Oregon. He is survived by two brothers, Fred A. De Lor of 728 East Everett street, and Willard A. De Lor of Vancouver. Both brothers left for Bandon last night to aid in the search for bodies. Louis De Lor had lived in Portland for ten years. Boris Secord. seaman, of "687 East Oak street, was the son of John H. Secord of the same address. L. V. Knm Thonnrht I .out. L. V. Kruse of 100 East Twentieth street told his mother, Mrs. F. Ford, Monday that he was going to sea as an oiler on the Chanslor. and no word has been received from him since that time. Kruse was an over seas veteran who had- recently re turned' from service with the army in France. From the statement of Thomas Far rell. agent of ine Marine Firemen's union", that two oilers were sent to the Chanslor Monday, whose names were not learned. It is believed that these two were Kruse and Ray Curtis. It is probable that these two Port land boys took the places of V. Misov and B. Axelson, included in the crew list telegraphed from the San Fran cisco offices of the Associated Oil company. As M. Jones, the other oiler In the San Francisco list. Is a rela tive of one of the officials of the company, it is considered improbable that ho left the ship here. Shipwrecked Crew on J. A. Chanslor. The names of the crew of the wrecked steamer J. A. Chanslor, when she sailed from Portland, follow: A. A. Sawyer, master. W. H. Reese, first mate. F. Norton, second mate. E. Rose, third mate. E. Stringer, carpenter. C. Pfantzsch, boatswain. Thomas Seymour, chief engineer. F. 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