The San Francisco call. [volume], January 05, 1907, Page 1, Image 1

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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For The Call's Index Qfthe.New^m-WuwSee-Page-Z
• * _ * ill i i \u25a0 — \u25a0*\u25a0
Let the boy learn how to make an auto
mobile for himself. He can do it with a
few simple materials after he has read the
Jack Kneiff story tomorrow in
The Sunday Call
VOLUME CL— NO. 36.
CITY OF PANAMA MAY BE LOST
RAFTS DRIFT ASHORE NORTH OF SANTA CRUZ
Provisioned hferafts from the steamer Gity of Panama, which drifted ashore yesterday at
Waddell Beach, north of Santa Cruz, M^&^v^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^i^tt^^§^^
that her sixty passengers and crew of f if ty=six have perished.
\ 7 t ¥ 1» \ • < J HUT
T W417^3wl iO Uvllv V vu Wj llilT'V.
More Than a Hundred on Board
Craft Left Here December 31 for Panama
and Way Ports Just Before
Severe Storm
SANTA CRUZ Jan. 4.— A message received late tonight from Waddell Beach,
on the coast forty miles north of here, says that the Pacific Mail Steamship fCity^of
Panama may have met with disaster. The message states i that p-four^liferafts^have
been washed ashore, fully provisioned. The City of Panania;. left* "San Francisco; ofl
December 31 for Ancon, on the Isthmus of Panama, with fifteen cabin passengers,
twenty steerage passengers and twenty-five Chinese:
Two of the liferafts were found at Waddell Beach and two a few miles far
ther south. All were plain
ly marked "City of Pan
ama." They contained stores
such as are thrust into boats
which put off from wrecked
ships. One of the rafts con
•tained a box of crackers and
a cask of water. In the boats
were also found oars and
boathooks. Two of the rafts
were lashed together with
A terrific storm has been
raging, and it is not deemed
possible that any rafts
which may bo afloat can
survive the storm.
It is believed that the City
of Panama encountered a se
vere storm shortly after
leaving San Francisco, and
put far out to sea. Re
turning closer to shore to
continue her trip to the
south, she met with another
storm.
Below Waddeli Beach
wreckage is drifting ashore
in vast quantities. Ranch
ers are patrolling the shore
watching for bodies which
may drift upon the beach. •
Local mariners stated last
night that the fact- that
wreckage as described in the
Santa Cruz dispatch -had
been washed ashore did not
necessarily indicate a. wreck.
It was pointed out that the
lifeboats, previously .pro
visioned, might Have been
washed overboard during
the storm. Captain John
Anderson, one of the best
known mariners of the
coast, gave it as his opinion
that the City of Panama was
in distress, but not neces
sarily wrecked. He stated
that such a storm as has pre
vailed off the coast could
have played havoc with the
City of Panama, but that
unless the • machinery was
injured the vessel should
weather the gale. /;. ,:
At Santa -Cruz there are
The San Francisco Call.
scant facilities for rescue
work, and far as could be
learned last night no. relief
ships were sent out from the
south. As soon as the news
was communicated to the
local authorities prepara
tions were made to send out
cutters and tugs to search
STORM PASSED SOUTH
The storm has been par
ticularly severe in the north
west, but struck San Fran
cisco on Thursday night and
rapidly passed to the south.
When' the first rumors of
the disaster reached San
JTrancisco no credit was
given them, as the City of
Panama left here on Decem
ber .31, and by this time
would have been as far south
as Mazatlan. Later reports
stated that the vessel had
encountered gales and had
put far out to sea, and had
made little progress down
the coast since leaving the
city, and the fear gained
ground that the vessel had
met with disaster.
Panama wayport ' vessels
usually carry heavy deck
loads, and it was such a load
that caused the wreck of the
steamship Colima several
years ago, when she was
struck by a squall off the
coast of Mexico. If the City
of Panama foundered she
probably turned turtle, as
the southbound vessels do
not carry much cargo be
low, but nearly always have
a large decklpad* .of lumber.
MAY BE DISABLED
The City of Panama left
here just before the prevail
ing southwest gales, which
have kicked up nasty seas
off the coast as far south as
Port Los Angeles. The
Panama probably put off
shore , several hundred miles
and it is within possibility
SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY; =,\u25a0, \u25a0 JANUARY ;5, : 1907;
that she was; disabled 'by
heavy seas /washing over
her and tried <-to "return Vto
port .under sail:; This'
would" account -for her prox
imity to the; shore, '; for-^slie
liiiist have been/close in (? or
else the drift from liere
/wpulci liave; followed : ,f : the
coast current s^vfahd, come
ashore at^some-ppint remote
from San^ Francisco.
The ; JraftsV might /have
been • .washed from tlieir
lashings; vwlien- .the>jjsteamer
;wasi plowihg^ihto fgreat •• sea s:
Tliis : theory is \u25a0{ somewhat
upset I by ttHeireport^tliatlb^i
of ] the rafts / were laslied'; to
getlier;.which would; seem> to
indicate >tKat preparation^f or!
ajbanidoningi'^ship, 'was^macle
or that/af ter [> the raf ts : ' were"
launched ?tl^]^ere^brpuglit
together- and made ;"fast/ ;to :
each : other"; by-jthose who? had
taken, refuge' on .board of
them. \u25a0
On board -the City of Pan
ama were 1 16, persons, of
whom: sixty were- passengers
and fifty-six made up the
crew. Of the passengers fif
teen .;.\u25a0 occupied '• the first cabin
and twenty the steerage.
The other twenty-five, were
Chinese. Dr. Henry Waldo
Coe ; of Portland, Ore., ; his
\vif e; aiicl a number ; of friends
of Portland * were passengers
for the isthmus, where -Dr.
Coe intended to ; make an
inspection «' of \u25a0": the) hygienic
conditions "-•; arid 4 report \ /to
•President" Roosevelt. '; Dr.
Goe/ .is t-. a member of -I, the
•Medical v - Editors': Associaf
.tion.i .His writings{on-medi
cal 'sub jects are well > known
throughout- Vthe. United
The City of ' Panama left
Sain Francjsco-for-Ancon, on
tKe / isthmus ;of Panama, ; on
December 3 1 ; in s charge i ol
Captain ./'/Nelson: / Manv^of
the " '. passengers 'remarl<ed
tliat ;the'lastjday of^-the'year
\yas \u25a0''[ utipropitious; for • tHe
.commencement, of < a jour
ney, but others on the dock
laughed at \ their supersti
tion."' - ;V. :*'•-\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0':'\u25a0> . ' V-" \u25a0 \u25a0;..
washed •ashore
at!i\yadBellv6feek|\fift^Vmilcs
down the coast, 'indicated
that the jCity of Panama
shortly after, leaving ;San
Francisco was 'Caughtiniterr
rifipp gales Vahd'v-blown . far \
out to : sea. :^
The; City:; of vPanama swas
pne^birithe^yeterans >•' of; "the
pacific Mailf serviced :Sl^^was"
Suijtin-New'York^iri- 1573
and had^been 'used \u25a0on r the
- Everybody is interested in the Sultan of
Turkey in view of; his critical condition.
A California traveler tells an extremely
interesting story of the Sultan as he is in
The Sunday Call
Cabin Passengers of the City of Panama
Drjrjenry Waldo Coe, and wife,
-James Bowdryr
W* G. AlcF^herspri « ;
R. G. McPherson
Dr. E. Rutherford and wife ,
Fw Prince
jprank d.f Gluyas
\u25a0'i Thomas Glark \u25a0
\ wrisriGs !—«• o tail or el
J. V. Qboney
Marry Copper, wife and child
T\venty=five Chinese and tyventy
run from San -Francisco to
tHe I isthmus'; f or; a \u25a0 number • of
y eajr s : : : f ; Slie |\y a Sj "of ' 1 490 1 tons
and^2so; feet, in length. .•;'.
Captain Nelson had been
in -.the. service of the Pacific
Mail Company ; for < twenty
years, and was one of the
most - trusted ". manners in
tHe : employ of 'th'e company.
Captain Nelson had been. in
command of f. the steamer
Sanijose; which makes the
same rurr .asv'the; City of
{Panama, but was trans
ferred' to the Panama, the
smallest steamer in the ser-
Jyice/ on: her; last'trip:: !\u25a0
The /Pacific Mail Steam
ship; Company, has been a
heavy -loser through marine
disasters: y The /wreck 'of
tHe^ 'steamer Rio; Janeiro
arid^the loss^df .-more
100; lives in the: spring of
1901 v- at , the- Golden /Gate is
fresh : in ;the minds of: San
Franciscans. The steamers
.Cplima- and New York were
lost some years ago and
PRICE FI VE CENTS.
most of the passengers per
ished. .
The Panama's cabin pas
sengers were: James Bow
dry, W. G. McPherson, ' R.
G. McPherson, Dr. E. Ruth
erford and wife. Dr. H. W.
Coe and wife, T. E. Prince
Frank J.- Gluyas, Thomas
Clark, Charles L. Stafford,
J. V. Cooney, Harry Cooper,
wife and child.
The hull of the City of
Panama was subdivided by
four watertight bulkheads,
but. there were no automatic
bulkhead doors, and the
doors between the bulk
heads had to be closed by
handjpsl
The hull was -formed of a
single : skin and there was
not ; : even a double bottom
for water ballast. There
were no longitudinal bulk
head walls .dividing the en
gine room, as in the^casedf
a twin-screw ship, for the
City of Panama -was driven
by a -single screw. Her en-