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Redwood
History Basic Data |
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XII. DEATH AND DISASTER ALONG THE HUMBOLDT COAST
A. FLOODS
1. The Flood of 1861-1862
The first flood of record occurred in December 1861 and January 1862. Torrential rains hammered the Humboldt Coast in late December. Devastating floods ensued. At high tide, the breakers forced themselves over "drift-wood, bulk heads, and break water, into the streets of Crescent City." Huge logs were carried onto the sidewalks, crashing into Front street buildings, breaking windows and doors, and wreaking havoc. On the beach, debris was piled to great heights. Forest giants were swept in by the flood tide. From one end of the beach to the other, huge redwood, spruce, and fir were piled one upon another. [1]
But the losses at Crescent City were slight when compared with the loss suffered on the Klamath. Fort Ter-Waw and the Wau-Kell were engulfed by swirling flood waters, and most of the buildings swept away or wrecked. Damage was so great that the post and agency were abandoned. [2]
Many conservationists argued, following the disastrous floods of 1955 and 1964, that heavy logging on the watersheds was the cause of the great amount of redwood and other timber being uprooted and swept downstream into the ocean by flooding rivers. Much of this timber and debris was deposited by the breakers along the beaches. If these individuals had studied the flood of 1861-1862, which occurred before there was any significant logging on Klamath and Smith rivers, they would have found that floodwaters have always been an enemy of redwoods.
William H. Brewer, a professor of Agriculture in the Sheffield Scientific School, visited the area in the autumn of 1863, almost two years after the floods. He found that the swirling waters had brought down a tremendous quantity of wood, much of which was cast up onto the beaches between Crescent City and the Klamath. He reported that it looked to him as if there were enough timber along the ten miles of the shore "to make a million cords of wood. It is," he wrote, "thrown up in great piles, often a mile long, and the size of some of these logs is tremendous." He had measured at least 20. Although they were worn by water and their bark was gone, it was not uncommon to find logs 150 feet long and four feet in diameter at the small end, without the bark. [3]
According to other contemporary accounts, the beach at Crescent City for eight miles was covered to a width of 200 yards and a depth of from three to eight feet with debris. One large officers' tent from Fort Ter-Waw had been picked up. Winter squashes "in good order" were found. Goods of all sorts, but badly damaged, were often seen. There was enough timber on the beach to supply the California market for years. [4]
2. The Flood of 1881
The next major flood on the Humboldt Coast occurred in January 1881. Morgan G. Tucker reported that in January heavy rains caused the Klamath to rise to an unprecedented height, "sweeping everything within its reach." Enormous trees, which had been up rooted from the banks, "came crashing down the river, some of which were deposited on the farms, while others found their way to the ocean." Houses were swept away, and livestock drowned. Morgan, who had been living on the Klamath during the last flood, assured the editor of the Del Norte Record that the river was "higher than in '61 and '62" [5]
3. The Flood of 1890
Heavy rains in late January 1890 caused the Klamath to spill over its banks. Water from the river inundated the Hunter Creek bottom to a depth of ten feet in places. South of the Klamath, Jim Regan's and W. Norris' ranches, located on the flats, had suffered heavy damage. At Martins Ferry, the Klamath rose 100 feet, the highest the oldest resident could recall, and carried away the suspension bridge. The river at Orleans Bar was higher than it had been in January 1862, while at Turwar it crested three feet higher than 28 years before. [6]
4. The Flood of 1955
There was high water on the Klamath several times during the next 65 years, but not until December 1955 did the Humboldt Coast again feel the full fury of the elements. Rains which pounded the area relentlessly during the third week of December sent the Klamath surging upward. The low ground at the mouth of the river was flooded, and more than one thousand persons driven from their homes. Traffic over U.S. 101 south to Eureka was stopped by the high water, as the south approach to the Douglas Bridge was washed away, and earth slides loosened by the rain blocked the Redwood Highway. Damage ran into the millions of dollars in Del Norte County.
The communities of Klamath, Klamath Glen, and Orick were evacuated and suffered fearful damage. Klamath was inundated. On the morning of the 22d, only the second stories and roofs protruded above the churning, muddy water. A reporter from the Triplicate, who flew over the area, observed that it was
a horrible, sickening sight, as the highest flood waters in the history of the great Klamath river smashed and swept all before its wild, muddy flow.
Debris was in sight everywhere. Logs, trees, sides of houses, propane tanks, in fact almost everything, was observed being carried down the river. [7]
South of Crescent City more than 300 refugees from the flood, most of whom had fled the Klamath Glen area on the 21st, were huddled at the Arrow Mill. Another 300 had been evacuated south of the Klamath and taken to the old radar site, when high water blocked their movement up U.S. 101 to Crescent City. An equal number had fled to the safety afforded by the mill of Simpson Redwood Co., at the Glen. About 100 were quartered at MacMillen's Ranch, just north of Klamath, while scores of tourists had remained in their cars which had been stalled by mud slides. [8]
The rains providentially ceased on the 21st, and the Klamath crested the next afternoon. President Dwight D. Eisenhower on Christmas Eve proclaimed the flood-ravaged region in the Pacific northwest a "major disaster area." He called on all Federal agencies "to grant every aid as rapidly as possible." [9]
The local people, assisted by the Red Cross and Federal and State authorities, were able to cope with the situation. Within a short period, the physical damage to roads and buildings wrought by this calamity, the worse that had ever visited Del Norte County, had been repaired. The thousands of redwood and other trees uprooted and swept downstream by the flood could not be replaced, neither could the top soil that had been washed away.
5. The Flood of 1964
Residents of the Humboldt Coast who believed that it would be impossible to top the flood of 1955 had only nine years to wait. During the Christmas season of 1964, the Pacific northwest was sent reeling under the "greatest natural disaster" it had ever experienced. Torrential rains, along with a warm spell that caused the snow in the Siskiyous to melt rapidly, sent the Klamath and Smith rivers surging. The former crested much higher than in 1955, though it was impossible to establish an "official" high-water mark, as the flood gauges were swept away. Rivermen estimated that the flood crest was eight feet higher at Klamath than it had been nine years before.
Hundreds of people in Del Norte were driven from their homes, as the Klamath and Smith rivers flooded the flats and lowlands. Even the Gasquet area, which had heretofore escaped damage, suffered. Emergency relief facilities were set up at the Del Norte Fairgrounds by the local Red Cross for the reception and care of victims of the flood. Granges and local residents opened their doors to many of the evacuees. The Seventh Day Adventist School was employed as a clearing house for clothing donations. [10]
Much of the damage was caused by the debris (trees and wreckage) swept downstream by flood waters. Once again, as in 1862, the Crescent City beaches were obstructed by huge log jams. Tons of mud and sand (gook) were dumped into homes and over roads, making rescue efforts difficult. Bulldozers were used to reopen the road into Klamath Glen, where several hundred were marooned. Most of this equipment was manned by personnel from Simpson Timber Co. That firm's Klamath mill served as a rallying point for persons fleeing the surging water. Many trailers were pulled onto high ground at the mill, but for others rescue came too late and they were swept out into the Pacific. [11]
Del Norte boat owners risked their lives on the Klamath and Smith to save persons stranded in and on their homes. Jet boats were employed in the most dangerous areas, "but the heavy flow of logs and other materials made rescues hazardous."
For a number of hours it was feared that Del Norte would be isolated by the flood. U.S. 199 to Grants Pass, Oregon, was closed when several bridges across Smith River were washed out. The Douglas Bridge, across the Klamath, was carried away. Two spans at the south end of the structure were crumbled, a third span was left wobbly, and the north approach washed away. The golden bears, however, held firm and stood guard over the ruined bridge. Huge slabs of highway and street pavement were visible to airmen, protruding "here and there above the water." The two service stations that had formerly stood on either side of U.S. 101 at the north turn into flood-ravaged Klamath were gone.
Fears were voiced at one time that the bridge carrying the Redwood Highway across the Chetco, near Brookings, Oregon, was doomed. It was saved, however, and this remained the only route into Crescent City. [12]
President Lyndon B. Johnson, on Christmas Eve, declared the flood-stricken region a disaster area. By this time the rivers had crested. A survey of the Red Cross disclosed that in Del Norte County there were 3,000 homeless and that about 850 homes had been destroyed. Damage was estimated at $40,000,000. [13]
The lumber industry in Del Norte and Humboldt counties had been hard hit by the flood. A survey of the 15 mills in Del Norte County, which in 1964 had accounted for 90 percent of the business, was undertaken in mid-January. It was found that four of the mills were shut down, while three others were operating with a skeleton force. Of the 2,300 employees in these mills, 433 had been laid off.
Mill operators told a reporter for the Triplicate that although U.S. 101 north was open, the extra cost of trucking to the railroad at Coos Bay would cause additional lay-offs. [14]
As in every flood of which we have record since 1861-1862, thousands of redwood had been uprooted. On hillsides that had been denuded of timber in the years following World War II, the rains had caused frightful erosions. The wholesale removal of the ground cover by man had undoubtedly contributed to making the flood of December 1964 the worst on record.
B. THE TSUNAMI of 1964
The flood of December 1964 was not the first disaster to strike the Humboldt Coast in that year. In the last week of March, a terrific earthquake, which registered 8.8 on the Richter scale, devastated Anchorage, Alaska, and other points in Kenai Peninsula of the 49th State. Unknown to residents of the Humboldt Coast, the quake sent a tidal wave, or more properly a tsunami, racing south westward at a speed of 500 miles per hour. [15]
Shortly before midnight on March 28, a huge wave struck the Crescent City area. Houses and businesses on Front Street were first to feel the destructive force, as the water "moved into the city bringing with it logs and debris." Unlike tidal waves of the movies, the tsunami was characterized by a rapid raising of the water with smaller waves riding its crest. As the first wave subsided, officers of the Del Norte County sheriff's department and the city police advanced into the area to survey the damage, to discourage looters, and to control sightseers.
As the officers were starting to clear the downtown area, a second wave swept in. At the time of its arrival, Front Street was choked with wreckage which in places blocked traffic. The second wave struck with less force than the first, as did the third. But the fourth, a raging torrent, swept across part of the city with a violence that "litterly tore up business and private buildings, and in some instances carrying complete buildings considerable distances from their foundations." Power and communication lines went down. Automobiles were smashed, and in many cases left upside down or through store fronts. Receding, the fourth wave left in its wake a large area of "total destruction, and many families searching for loved ones." [16]
Ten-month-old William Eugene Wright was torn from his mother's arms by the surging flood sea tide, as she sought to reach safety. William and his sister Bonita Ione, age 3, were drowned. The waves, which at some points reached a height of ten feet, claimed the lives of two couples, who with three others were spending the evening in the Long Branch Tavern, near Elk Creek. Driven from the tavern by the waves, the patrons sought to escape in a small boat, which they found nearby. Of the seven, only two men escaped as the craft was swamped. The two couples, the Earl Edwardses and the William Clausens, were drowned, as was Joan Field. Adolph Arrigoni, a long-time resident, was drowned when his home on B Street was engulfed. The 30-foot combination home and shoe repair shop trailer of Jim Parks was swept from its site at Front and Battery streets and overturned, drowning the shoemaker. The body of the 11th victim, Mrs. Lavelle Hillsberry, was found later in the wreckage. [17]
Emergency Civil Defense units moved in to assist the police and sheriff's departments to organize clean-up and rescue operations. They were assisted by volunteers, employing all sorts of equipment, to remove debris and logs blocking streets and highways. Leaking butane tanks added to the danger, and emergency crews were turned out to shut them off. Fires broke out along U.S. 101 southeast of Crescent City, destroying the Huskey-Texaco bulk plant and the Union oil plant. They spread to the Nichols Pontiac Garage & Service Station and a nearby body shop. Explosions ripped the five huge storage tanks at the bulk plant, as firemen stood by, helpless. [18]
A survey showed that 150 stores, motels, and business houses had been destroyed or badly damaged. The Del Norte Triplicate's plant was wrecked, and the editor estimated damage at $100,000. The recently opened Ben Franklin Store had been smashed by a six-foot wall of water. In the Citizen's Dock area, buildings were demolished, and the Coast Guard Station swept out into the Pacific.
Hardly had the water subsided from the fourth and final wave, before scavengers appeared and commenced looting. Liquor stores and taverns were said to be hard hit. Law officers assisted by volunteers, were organized into patrols to "discourage the human vultures who seem to swarm to disaster with but one idea, and that being to gain from other's losses." The National Guard was called out by Governor Pat Brown, and, reinforced by army reserve units, cordoned off the section of Crescent City that had felt the fury of the tsunami.
By Sunday, the 29th, work crews had made "huge strides in the cleaning out the damaged buildings." Wreckage-choked roads and streets were opened. Along U.S. 101, southeast of the city, highway crews and foresters were hard at work stacking and burning giant piles of driftwood and litter that had covered two miles of highway. [19]
Crescent City was declared a disaster area by President Johnson. In the ensuing weeks and months, the devastated section of Crescent City was rebuilt in accordance with a well-thought-out master plan.
C. SHIPWRECKS, FIRES, and STRANDINGS
1. The Burning of America
Beginning with Paragon in April 1850 and Tarquin the following January, the coast of Del Norte County and that part of Humboldt County included within Redwood National Park was destined to be the scene of many maritime disasters. Sunday, June 24, 1855, was a memorable day for Crescent City. At 3:30 p.m., the big sidewheel steamboat America, A. G. Jones master, anchored in the harbor. The steamer was en route from San Francisco for Puget Sound with a battalion of the U. S. Infantry commanded by Maj. Henry Prince.
America had stopped at Crescent City to land passengers, freight, and mail. Soon after the mail had been put ashore in a lighter, one of the stokers discovered "large quantities of smoke issuing from the coal bunkers." He raised the cry of "Fire!" No flame could be seen, but "volumes of smoke and gas" soon filled the area below decks, driving out the engineers and stokers. It was impossible for anyone to go below to pinpoint the fire. [20]
Meanwhile, those ashore had observed the smoke and speculated on its cause. Soon, however, they realized the ship was afire. Lighters, boats, and canoes headed for America, while those ashore could see that Captain Jones and Major Prince had turned their men to in an effort to control the fire. Pumps were manned, as sailors and soldiers fought the flames amid suffocating gas and smoke. After about 30 minutes, Captain Jones told Major Prince to have the lighters come alongside and put most of the soldiers ashore. As soon as this was done, Captain Jones ran his ship aground, bows on, in shallow water about 150 yards from the beach. [21]
Here the crew and soldiers were reinforced by citizens. For a time, it appeared that the firefighters had gained the upper hand, but "the dense smoke gradually deepened and darkened, the efforts on board became feebler . . ., and a sheet of clear flame that tore through the black sky proclaimed the triumph of the destroyer." The ship was abandoned.
By Monday morning the flames had died, leaving "a charred, smouldering and hideous skeleton" of America. Subsequently, the hulk was examined and it was believed that it would pay to tow it to San Francisco, where the vessel would be rebuilt. Accordingly, the steamer Goliah took the hulk in tow. Off Point Reyes, she encountered heavy seas and the hawser parted, casting the hulk adrift. Efforts were made to get a line aboard America, without success, and when last seen she was shipping water badly, with the seas breaking across her. [22]
2. The Sinking of the Steamer Brother Jonathan
A frightful disaster occurred off the coast on Sunday, July 30, 1865. Two days before the sidewheel steamer Brother Jonathan, of 1,359 tons and owned by the California Steam Navigation Co., had left San Francisco bound for Portland, Oregon. She carried about 120 cabin passengers, 72 in steerage, and a crew of 50 officers and men. Among the passengers was the commander of the newly constituted Department of the Columbia, Brig. Gen. George Wright, his wife, and staff; and Paymaster E. W. Eddy with $300,000 with which to pay the troops at Fort Vancouver. [23]
Capt. S. J. DeWolf conned his ship out the Golden Gate and into a north wind. The rugged Farallones soon dropped astern, and the vessel was out of sight of land. On the morning of the 30th, the wind increased in velocity and became a howling nor'wester. Captain DeWolf, taking cognizance of the mountainous waves, determined to turn his vessel about and make for Crescent City, 16 miles to the southeastward. He would anchor in the lee of Battery Point and ride out the storm, resuming the run up the coast as soon as the storm had abated.
Off Point St. George, about four miles from land, lay St. George Reef. It was customary for steamers sailing against a nor'wester to keep close inshore, inside the reef. But Brother Jonathan, in beating her way toward Crescent City, held to a course outside the reef as laid down on the chart. Quartermaster Yates recalled that the ship was four miles due west of Point St. George, when she struck a sunken ledge. The shock sent passengers and many of the crew scrambling out on deck. DeWolf sought to back his ship off. For five minutes she wallowed helplessly. Then there was another dull thump. A section of her keel surfaced. Her foremast torn loose, dropped, punching another hole in her bottom, and came to rest with its foreyards across the rails.
The stranding was so sudden, so unexpected, so terrible that those aboard had barely recovered their wits, when the cry, "Abandon Ship!" was raised. Some women fainted, others called for help; strong men who had faced death paled. All looked to Captain DeWolf for "the means of safety and delivery." Life-preservers were passed out, two guns were fired in quick succession as a signal of distress, and the command "Lower Life boats!" was given. Three were lowered from the davits. One, crowded with women and children, was swamped. Another, filled with men, collapsed. The third, captained by 3d Mate Charles Patterson, and manned by Quartermaster Yates, a steerage steward, and 13 others, was able to beat her way clear of the doomed ship. Pulling at their oars, they soon lost sight of Brother Jonathan, and all their energies were devoted to keeping their small craft from being swamped. They reached Crescent City about 4 p.m. and sounded the alarm. [24]
A number of boats were manned, and the would-be rescuers put out into the wind-swept Pacific. High seas forced them to turn back far short of the reef. Early the next day, July 31, two boats commanded by Benjamin West and Anson Burr started out to look for survivors. They returned that evening with the report that they had seen neither wreckage nor bodies. Monday evening a boat manned by 3d Mate Patterson and others sailed for Eureka to obtain assistance. Before proceeding very far, they sighted wreckage, which Patterson identified as part of Brother Jonathan's hurricane deck, along with beds and trunks. They returned to Crescent City with this information. Meanwhile, the lifeboat which had been swamped drifted ashore on the beach, near Crescent City. [25]
On Tuesday, August 1, two men in a small boat excitedly told that they had seen people on Seal Rock. Several rescue boats were manned, and at 1 p.m. they pulled off into a heavy surf. When they reached the rock, they found, to their disappointment, that the "people" were sea lions. Because of the heavy seas and a strong head wind, they did not get back to Crescent City until 1 a.m. The hard pull and cold spray had sapped their strength and they were exhausted. [26]
Several days after the disaster, a boat went up and tried to pinpoint the site of the sinking. Quartermaster Yates pointed out a rocky ledge, a small portion of which was visible at low tide, as the one on which Brother Jonathan struck. The rock, which was not on any charts issued by the Coast Survey, was named "Brother Jonathan Rock." [27]
News of the loss of Brother Jonathan, along with 215 passengers and crew, did not reach San Francisco until Wednesday, August 2. There was no direct telegraph line connecting Crescent City with the Bay area, so a soldier from Camp Lincoln rode up the plank road to Jacksonville, Oregon, with a message addressed to Col. R. C. Drum. The dispatch read:
At 2 p.m. yesterday the steamer Brother Jonathan, struck a sunken rock and sank in less than an hour with all on board except 16 persons who escaped in a small boat, the only survivors of the ill-fated ship. No trace of the vessel is left. Gen. Wright, family, and staff are supposed to be lost.
This message was received at San Francisco late on August 1, and the next morning, when the Alta California published the news, the city was plunged into mourning. Flags hung at half-mast. Bells tolled. Buildings were draped in crepe. [28]
Nine to ten days after the sinking, the bodies of the victims began to come ashore. A patrol of soldiers from Camp Lincoln watched the beaches near Crescent City, while troops from Fort Humboldt patrolled the coast north to Trinidad. Every day three or four bodies were picked up at sea by boatmen, and a number came ashore on the beaches above and below Crescent City. As fast as they could be secured the bodies were taken to Dugan & Wall's warehouse, where an inquest was held. The 45 bodies recovered in the area were buried in the old Crescent City cemetery, near Pebble Beach. Those found south of Trinidad were laid to rest at Dows Prairie or taken to Eureka. Between Gold Bluffs and Trinidad, about 16 bodies were interred near the beach. The body of General Wright's horse and a camel—there were two camels aboard the ship destined for the Portland zoo—were found on a beach, eight miles north of Trinidad. It was said by the survivors that Captain DeWolf's Newfoundland, a superb swimmer, would certainly reach shore, but the angry sea was too strong for the dog. [29]
In the old Crescent City cemetery there is a monument encircled by markers, bearing the inscription, "Sacred to the Memory of __________, Lost on the Brother Jonathan, July 30, A.D. 1865." [30]
Each summer until the turn of the century, promoters would organize expeditions to recover the treasure that went down with Brother Jonathan. These expeditions came to naught, because they were never able to pinpoint the site of the sinking. [31]
3. Queen Christina Runs Aground
In the period 1865-1907 a number of vessels were wrecked or stranded along this coast. Amanda Alger went ashore at the Gold Bluffs in December 1871; Centennial stranded in April 1877 as she sought to cross the bar at the mouth of the Klamath; seven vessels, including California, Wall, and Elvenia, were stranded near Crescent City in the years 1878-1881. Seven more strandings were reported to the Life-Saving Service for the period 1884-1905. Several of these ships, including Dauntless, had run afoul of the Klamath Bar. [32]
On October 21, 1907, the coast of Del Norte claimed a noted victim. One of the largest freighters on the Pacific coast at this time was Queen Christina. She had been built at Newcastle, England, in 1901. Displacing 4,268 tons, she had a beam of 48 feet and a length of 360 feet. The Queen had sailed from San Francisco on Saturday, October 19, for Portland, with a cargo of wheat.
Off Point St. George on Monday, the 21st, she encountered a pea-soup-like fog. Capt. George R. Harris, believing he was holding a course seven miles off-shore, eased his ship ahead. Suddenly, there was the sickening thud of iron grating against rock. The damage control people called that the ship was hard aground and taking water badly, so Captain Harris passed the order to abandon ship. The crew made shore in two lifeboats.
At this hour the sea was smooth, but the stricken vessel would be exposed to storms bearing in from both the southeast and southwest. It was accordingly predicted that she would be pounded to pieces on the rocks by the first heavy sea.
When word of the wreck reached Crescent City, the Hobbs, Wall steam-schooner Navarro got under way. A line was sent aboard the big freighter, but Navarro was unable to pull her off the rocks. Arrangements were then made by Captain Harris to employ the Hobbs, Wall vessel to help his crew salvage as much as they could from the wreck.
Captain Harris sought to pin the blame for the disaster on the personnel manning the Point St. George Reef Light, claiming that the foghorn was not being sounded at the time his ship became stranded. The keepers' claim that it was being sounded was backed by most mariners, who pointed out that under "some conditions you can be 'right on top' of a foghorn and still not hear it." [33]
Those who said that Queen Christina would not withstand the first winter's storm had not reckoned with the quality of the workmanship of the Tyne shipbuilders. She not only took all the Pacific had to offer during the winter of 1907-1908, but she retained her lines. It was not until January 1909 that she succumbed to the breakers. The Crescent City News reported at that time that the "stranded steamer Queen Christina is a complete wreck . . . there is nothing visible of the ill-fated craft except a portion of the bridge . . . heavy seas roll over it . . . the masts have gone by the board." [34]
4. The Foundering of Magnolia
An unidentified vessel stranded on the Klamath Bar in 1908, and eight years later the small 49-ton coastal freighter Magnolia came to grief at the same point. On April 8, 1916, Magnolia sought to enter the Klamath in rough seas with a cargo of shakes. She was caught in the breakers and capsized, drowning her four-man crew. Magnolia then drifted out to sea. The Coast Guard, upon being notified of the disaster, dispatched the cutter Humboldt Bay northward. The cutter located the derelict, put a line aboard, and towed her down the coast to Eureka. [35]
5. The Disappearance of South Coast
Two vessels were lost off the coast fronting Redwood National Park in the period 1917 to 1929. On October 27, 1918, Mandalay became a victim of the sea nine miles north of the mouth of the Klamath, and six years later the motorship Sharp, a light coastal freighter, operating out of San Francisco, was wrecked offshore. A ship closely identified with Crescent City and Del Norte County, the Hobbs, Wall freighter Del Norte stranded on Point Arena on July 27, 1917. She was bound for San Francisco from Crescent City with "a valuable cargo of lumber, 80 tons of high-grade chrome ore, several tons of butter, seven passengers, and crew." [36]
The steamer South Coast was a veteran. Built in 1887 she had logged thousands of miles in the coastal trade. The 301-ton vessel had been purchased by Hobbs, Wall in 1915. In September 1930 she was chartered to haul cedar logs from Crescent City to Coos Bay, Oregon. Two trips had been made, so no apprehension was felt, when South Coast pulled away from the Crescent City wharf at 10 a.m. on the 16th. Although she carried no radio, the sea was calm, and Capt. Stanley Sorenson and his 18-man crew looked forward to a pleasant run up the coast. [37]
South Coast never reached her destination. That evening residents of Gold Beach, Oregon, saw a flash at sea, followed by a dull boom. The next day the crew of the General Petroleum Tanker Tejon sighted debris (logs, several lifeboats, and a pilothouse) 40 miles south of Cape Blanco and 30 miles to the seaward. The captain of Tejon radioed word of the disaster to officials of Hobbs, Wall and the United States Coast Guard Station at Humboldt Bay. The Coast Guard cutter Cahokia headed for the scene. No survivors were found, but the pilothouse and lifeboats were recovered and taken to Eureka. An examination of these indicated that the lifeboats had not been lowered, but had been torn from their davits, while the pilothouse had been battered from the deck. This satisfied Captain Halvorson of Cahokia that South Coast had struck Rogue River Reef in a fog, causing the cargo to shift, and capsizing the vessel. [38]
The grave of South Coast was found on July 30, 1937, as the Department of Commerce survey steamer Guide was making soundings off Port Orford. Her wire drags became entangled in the mast of a sunken ship. A diver was sent down, and returned with word that he had found the missing ship. Her position confirmed Captain Halvorson's theory that South Coast had indeed struck Rogue River Reef and had foundered there. [39]
Two vessels were wrecked off the coast in the 1940s. On November 16, 1942, Susan Olson was stranded at Crescent City, and on February 3, 1948, the 69-ton dragger Garrison went down in 128 fathoms of water off the north head of False Klamath Rock. [40]
D. AIDS to NAVIGATION
1. The Crescent City Lighthouse
In 1855, the year after Crescent City was incorporated, the California legislature passed a concurrent resolution urging the state's delegation in Congress to press for the passage of an act providing for the erection of lighthouses at "Trinidad and Crescent City." [41] On March 3, 1855, Congress appropriated $15,000 for the construction of a Crescent City lighthouse, and on December 8 President Franklin Pierce designated certain lands as reserved for lighthouse purposes. [42]
The lighthouse and keeper's quarters was constructed in 1856, and on December 10 of that year, the fourth-order light was lit for the first time by Mr. Van Court. Theophilus Magruder was named keeper on Christmas 1856.
According to the Lighthouse Board, the Crescent City light was
on the seaward extremity of an island off Battery Point . . ., latitude 41° 44' 36" north, longitude, 124° 12' 10" west; fixed white light varied by a white flash every 90 seconds; order of light 4; height of light above the ocean highwater, 77 ft.' distance visible in nautical miles 14-1/2; low white tower, rising from white dwelling with red roof and green shutters; latern, black; outbuildings, white with red roofs. [43]
The keeper's quarters by the late 1860s needed funds for its maintenance. But, as is frequently the case with bureaucracies, number of years passed before money became available for the structure's up-keep. To goad he Lighthouse Board into taking action, warnings were voiced that the station was "in a delapidated condition, and should be rebuilt if the light is to be continued." The Board, itself, was of the opinion that the light was of little consequence, because no vessel could enter Crescent City Harbor after dark, and no ship bound up or down the coast could, with safety, hold a course near enough to shore to make the light. If a first-order light were erected on Point St. George Reef, the Crescent City light should be discontinued. [44]
The station was repaired by 1879, and in the following year the color of the dwelling was changed from "a stone-color" to light buff, and the tower painted white. Mineral oil lamps replaced the lard-oil lamps in 1881. Fifteen years later, the ten acre reservation on Battery Point was subdivided and sold at public auction. Meanwhile, the fourth order constant level lamp had been replaced by a Haines mineral-oil lamp. On May 18, 1907, the lens was replaced with a new four-panel fourth-order lens. [45]
In July 1939, the United States Coast Guard assumed responsibility for the Crescent City Lighthouse. Fourteen years later, an automatic light was installed, and on November 1, 1953, the United States leased the lighthouse to the Del Norte County Historical Society. [46]
2. St. George Reef Lighthouse
The site of this lighthouse is on Northwest Seal Rock, it being the outermost danger of St. George Reef, a cluster of rocky islets and sunken rocks projecting westerly from Point St. George. Inside the reef, close under Point St. George, is a deep, wide channel navigated by northbound steamers, during the hours of daylight, when the coast is not fogbound. The Lighthouse Board, in selecting this site for a first-order light, was influenced by several factors: (a) the tragic sinking of Brother Jonathan; (b) its position midway between Capes Mendocino and Blanco; (c) its location about six miles from the mainland; and (d) the large area, about 40,000 square feet of rock, above low-water mark, available as a construction site. [47]
On April 3, 1883, a construction crew left San Francisco in the schooner La Ninfa. The party numbered 25, consisting of crew, quarrymen, stonecutters, and a blacksmith, with an outfit of provisions, fresh water, and tools. La Ninfa was towed by the wrecking steamer Whitelaw, having on board four sets of moorings. After a stormy passage, Whitelaw succeeded in making Northwest Seal Rock, on the morning of April 9. A 12,000-pound mushroom sinker was lowered. Despite a heavy sea, La Ninfa was made fast. [48]
It had been assumed that the spar buoy could be secured at 18 fathoms, but it was found that the depth was 30 fathoms, and that the spar buoys were too small. Larger ones would have to be secured. The steamer headed for Humboldt Bay, the nearest point where they could be procured. It was April 28 before Whitelaw, having secured the buoys, returned to Northwest Seal Rock to find the schooner gone and no trace of the moorings.
The weather being favorable, the ship laid the remainder of the moorings and awaited the reappearance of La Ninfa. When the schooner did not show up, Whitelaw on May 3 proceeded to Humboldt Bay. On her arrival, the crew learned from the brig Josephine that they had sighted and spoken to La Ninfa during a gale off Cape Mendocino on April 30. After taking on coal, Whitelaw was again taken out to sea, and on May 6 she found the missing schooner. From the captain, Superintendent of Construction A. Ballantyne learned that during a storm on the night of April 22, La Ninfa's line had parted, and she had been driven north, then south. Whitelaw was employed to drag for the missing moorings, but she was unsuccessful. Arrangements having been made with Hobbs, Wall for lease of Crescent City, Whitelaw was discharged. [49]
On May 9, 1883, the construction people made a landing on the rock. Ringbolts were positioned, springlines run, and the schooner made fast. The next day, the 10th, blasting powder was landed and drilling started on the north side of the rock. By the end of August, the benches, ten feet wide around the outline of the pier, had been formed by blasting, and only required to be finished off by stonecutters. In addition, space was blasted for the water supply, allowing for a storage capacity of 77,000 gallons.
By September 28 the site had been prepared and was ready to receive the masonry. The tools and men were then evacuated from the rock. The crew was paid off in San Francisco and the tools stored on Yerba Buena Island. [50]
In the fall of 1883, Ballantyne prepared drawings and specifications for a wharf, workmen's quarters, and stonecutters' shed on the North Spit at Humboldt Bay. Here the stone would be dressed, before it was shipped to the rock. James Simpson of Eureka, as low bidder, was given the contract for this work.
While in Humboldt County, Ballantyne's attention was called to a deposit of granite recently discovered near the mouth of Mad River. Visiting the quarry, he found a "deposit of granite boulders of a good quality," and in sufficient quantity to complete the structure. The stone was purchased at a royalty of four cents per cubic foot. A contract was made with the railroad to haul the stone from the quarry to the stoneyard for two dollars per ton. [51]
The spring of 1884 found work being pushed at the quarry and stoneyard, so there would be several boatloads of cut stone ready for shipment to the site. [52] About May 1 Whitelaw was chartered and dispatched to the reef with a large boom derrick and heavy backing anchors. [53] It was July 2 before the moorings were set, and the derrick positioned ashore. Meanwhile, the schooner American Boy had been chartered and outfitted in Humboldt Bay, as a quartersboat.
The appropriation act of July 7, 1884, contained only $30,000 for Northwest Seal Rock, so construction was immediately suspended and both vessels discharged, "as the work could not be carried on advantageously at an expenditure less than $15,000 per month, or $75,000 for the season." To make use of the limited funds available, Ballantyne employed a force of from 12 to 20 quarrymen and laborers and from eight to ten stonecutters in Humboldt County until October 31, 1885, when they were laid off. [54]
To guard against deterioration of the plant and possible loss of the derrick, a working party sent from Humboldt Bay spent the month of June 1885 raising all the moorings except one, which was replaced and rebuoyed. The derrick was secured against possible loss from its exposure to heavy seas. [55]
Congress on March 3, 1885, voted another $40,000 to continue the work. Ballantyne still considered the sum inadequate, ana as no appropriation was made in 1886, no work was programmed with the available funds, other than the routine care of the property.
In four years, 1883-1886, only one working season of about 100 days had been used advantageously on the rock. During a part of these four years, other attempts were made to work on the reef, but because of inadequate appropriations the plant deteriorated, and rot and rust "combined to make the first four years of work unduly expensive."
An appropriation of $120,000 having become available March 4, 1887, authority was given by the Lighthouse Board for "preparing and laying stone by hired labor, for the purchase of plant in open market, and charter of the vessels necessary on the best terms obtainable." First, crews had to be turned to removing debris that had been washed into the quarry by the winter rains; replacing the piles at the stoneyard wharf weakened by teredos; and overhauling and re-rigging the plant. The schooner Sparrow of 200 tons was chartered and fitted out as sleeping quarters for 50 workers. A large assortment of tools, rope, blocks, chain, and ironwork, together with a powerful steam winch, were shipped by the steamer Santa Maria from San Francisco on April 5.
By May 18, Ballantyne and his people had six sets of moorings positioned. The remainder of the month was spent in erecting four boom derricks and a large hoisting engine; and building a wharf for receiving materials at the rock. On June 4 the steamer Alliance reached the reef with the first cargo of building materials and stonemasons. At the close of the season's work, on October 3, the pier had been raised to a height of 18 feet. [56]
Work was resumed in April 1888, with funds appropriated the previous month. Two vessels were chartered. Whitelaw, which had sailed from San Francisco on April 19, reached the rock on the 26th with men, chains, rigging, tools, and lumber for the landing and men's quarters. By the time Del Norte arrived with her first cargo of building stone on May 26, the wharf with quarters for 50 men underneath had been finished. Before the season ended, the 13th course of masonry had been laid, raising the pier to a height of 28 feet, excluding the zero course). [57]
Congress made available $200,000 to fund the project on March 2, 1889. On April 11 Del Norte sailed for Humboldt Bay, where she took aboard men and material and proceeded to the rock. Work was commenced on the 14th course on April 30. The weather during the season was more severe than in 1888, but an improvement over 1887.
The men's quarters, although strongly built, were smashed in a May gale. None of the laborers were injured, but some of the men were washed from their bunks.
By October the pier was completed, eight courses having been laid in 1889. The walls of the boiler-room, coatrooms, and store rooms were erected and arched, while the paving of the pier was laid. With the coming of the autumn storms, work was suspended, and measures taken to secure against damage the property to be left at the site.
No attempt was made to push construction at the rock in 1890, because available funds did not warrant the effort. Work, however, was continued at the quarry and stoneyard, preparing stone for the tower. Sufficient stone having been dressed by July 1, the crew was discharged and the stoneyard placed in charge of a watchman. [58]
On September 30, 1890, $81,000 was allotted for construction. This made a total of $721,000 appropriated, which was the estimated cost of the structure. Early in 1891 plans were made to complete the station. On April 10 the steam schooner Sunol sailed from San Francisco for the reef, by way of Humboldt Bay. She reached Seal Rock on the 22d. On going ashore, Ballantyne and his 50 men found their quarters badly battered and no mooring buoys. Work was resumed on May 1, and they commenced setting flagging on top of the pier. The first stone of the tower was positioned on May 13 and the last on August 23. A four-boom derrick was rigged inside the tower for supplying masons with stone; it also served as an inside scaffold. A double hoist was erected for mortar, and the falls of both hoists were carried to steam winches.
One June 16 occurred the only serious accident during the construction of the tower. One of the riggers, while letting go a tag line of the big derrick boom, was swept over the pier to his death.
From August 23 to October 29 the crew was busy taking down scaffolding; erecting ironwork; pointing stonework; putting in concrete arches in the tower; laying concrete floors in the pier rooms and upper hallways; leveling platforms for landings, derrick seat, and hoisting-engine bed; building donkey-engine house; plastering rooms in tower; carpenter work; painting metal work; varnishing all woodwork; and setting up the foghorn signal boilers and machinery. All work was finished by October 31, but Ballantyne was unable to get his people off the rock until November 8, because of the heavy sea.
The station was left in charge of three keepers, and the construction people with tools and rigging embarked. The tools were stored at Yerba Buena and the men paid off in San Francisco on November 18, 1891. [59]
In July 1892 the lens for the lighthouse reached San Francisco from France, and in August it was taken by a tender to the station, and installed. The St. George Reef Lighthouse was finally lighted on October 20, 1892, with a first-order light, flashing alternately red and white, with 15-second intervals between flashes, illuminating the entire horizon. [60]
The hoisting engine left behind by the construction people to be used in landing supplies broke down in 1892. It was replaced by a new double-drum hoisting engine and boiler, erected on the top of the pier. A small house was built over them to protect them from the weather. [61]
On October 17, 1893, the 1st assistant keeper and the station's 18-foot boat were lost in an an angry sea. In January 1894 the station was provided with a new boat. A set of boat davits were put up on the Crescent City wharf to enable the keepers to secure their craft while ashore. [62]
A scarcity of water caused the Lighthouse Board on March 1, 1895, to change the fog signal to longer silent intervals—this would reduce the expenditure of steam. The foghorn would now give a 5-second blast to be followed by a silence of 75 seconds. [63]
One of the keepers was injured in 1901, while attempting to hoist the launch from the water. To correct this situation, a new boom, 90 feet long, was placed on the derrick and guyed to the tower. This greatly improved facilities for landing supplies and taking the launch from the water, as the boom extending farther from the side of the rock reached a point beyond a treacherous eddy which had heretofore made landing dangerous.
Probably the most violent storm experienced at this lighthouse was in 1923. Mountainous seas from a nor'wester broke on the platform of the tower, 70 feet above water, with such violence as to tear the donkey-engine house from its foundation. [64]
3. Redding Rock Light
An unattended automatic acetylene light was placed on Redding Rock in 1912. This light was on a black, steel skeleton tower, 116 feet above the ocean. It would operate for six months on one change of gas, and it cost when erected $3,800.
The six-man crew charged with installing the light was marooned on Redding Rock by bad weather and had to spend the night there. The next day they were taken off "by throwing them ropes which they tied around their waists." The men then leaped into the sea and were drawn into the tender. [65]
E. COMMENTS and RECOMMENDATIONS
One of the most valuable Park resources is the miles of rugged seacoast. From the cliffs, the visitor is rewarded with spectacular views of the ocean, rocks, pounding surf, and beaches. Here the Service will be able to interpret the story of man, the ocean, and the redwoods.
Until the mid-1920s, when the Redwood Highway and the Douglas Bridge were opened, residents of this section of California were dependent on ocean-going shipping for what they exported and imported. Besides the vessels belonging to Hobbs, Wall, a number of ships passing up and down the coast from San Francisco to Portland and the Puget Sound Cities called at Crescent City, while small coastal freighters entered the Klamath. With the opening of the Redwood Highway through Del Norte and Humboldt counties and the development of fleets of truckers, the coastal freighters went out of business. [66]
Since shipping played a vital role in the development and history of the area, the Service must interpret the maritime story with its devotion to duty, its hazards, and its tragedies. Interpretive exhibits pertaining to this facet of the Park story should be located in the Visitor Center and at overlooks south of Enderts Beach and near High Bluff. Interpretive personnel assigned to the Park should be familiar with the Brother Jonathan story and the location of the Brother Jonathan Cemetery; the history and location of the Crescent City and St. George Reef Lighthouses; and the Redding Rock Light. While these are not in the Park, they are valuable resources for interpreting the theme—man and the sea.
The Tsunami of 1964 will arouse the visitor's interest. Exhibits describing the Tsunami whould be located in both the Visitor Center and at an overlook south of Enderts Beach. From the overlook, on a clear day, the visitor can look northwest into the section of Crescent City hardest hit by this disaster.
The story of the floods should also be told at the Visitor Center and in the field. In the field the ideal site would be at the south abutment to the Douglas Bridge, where the Golden Bears stand guard. If the south abutment and the Golden Bears are included in the Park, they must be entered on the List of Classified Structures.
ENDNOTES
1. Bledsoe, History of Del Norte County, pp. 72-73.
2. Ibid., p. 74; McBeth, Lower Klamath Country, p. 40.
3. Up and Down California in 1860-1864, The Journal of William H. Brewer, Professor of Agriculture in the Sheffield Scientific School from 1864 to 1903, edited by Francis Farquhar (Berkeley, 1966), p. 495.
4. McBeth, Lower Klamath Country, p. 40.
5. Del Norte Record, Jan. 22, 1881.
6. Ibid., Feb. 8, 1890; Ernie Coan, "Klamath River, Historic, But Rugged," Del Norte Triplicate, Centennial Edition (1954), p. 3-C.
7. Del Norte Triplicate, Dec. 22, 1955.
20. Bledsoe, History of Del Norte County, p. 36; Merchant Steam Vessels of the United States 1807-1868, compiled by William M. Lytle (Mystic, 1952), p. 8. Built in 1853 in New York City by William H. Brown, America displaced 922 tons. She had been brought around Cape Horn in 1854 by Captain Mitchell. At San Francisco, she had been sold to J. T. Wright, who valued the vessel at $140,000.
21. Bledsoe, History of Del Norte County, pp. 36-37.
22. Ibid., pp. 37-38. Three brass 6-pounders were salvaged from America, and emplaced at Battery Point.
23. Ibid., pp.78-79; Frances T. McBeth, "Major Marine Disaster During Early Days of Crescent City," Del Norte Triplicate, Centennial Edition (1954), p. 6-D; Merchant Steam Vessel of the United States, p. 22. Brother Jonathan had been built in New York City in 1851.
24. Bledsoe, History of Del Norte County, pp. 79-81; McBeth, "Major Marine Disaster During Early Days of Crescent City," Del Norte Triplicate, Centennial Edition (1954), p. 6-D.
25. Bledsoe, History of Del Norte County, pp. 81-82. Subsequently, a portion of the "upper work" of the ship was found near Point St. George, along with the heel of her foremast.
26. McBeth, "Major Marine Disaster During Early Days of Crescent City," Del Norte Triplicate, Centennial Edition (1954), p. 6-D.
27. Bledsoe, History of Del Norte County, p. 82.
28. McBeth, "Major Marine Disaster During Early Days of Crescent City," Del Norte Triplicate, Centennial Edition (1954), p. 6-D.
29. Ibid.; Bledsoe, History of Del Norte County, pp. 82-83. A number of the bodies were afterwards removed by relatives and friends to family cemeteries.
30. Bledsoe, History of Del Norte County, pp. 83-84.
31. McBeth, "Major Marine Disaster During Early Days of Crescent City," Del Norte Triplicate, Centennial Edition (1954), p. 6-D.
32. Annual Reports of the United States Life-Saving Service (1875-1905).
33. Wallace E. Martin, Humboldt County Historical Society, 9, No. 1.
35. Annual Reports of the United States Coast Guard for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1916 (Washington, 1916), p. 236.
36. Ernie Coan, "Sea Takes its Toll as Death Stalks Marine History of Del Norte," Del Norte Triplicate, Centennial Edition (1954), p. 5-E. Del Norte had been built at Tiburon in 1890, displaced 450.11 tons, had a length of 158 feet, a beam of 32.2 feet, and drew 12.5 feet. A similar fate had overtaken another Hobbs, Wall freighter on January 30, 1903, when the steamer Crescent City had stranded on Fish Rock. Wallace E. Martin, "Captain's Negligence Blamed for loss of Steamer Crescent City off Mendocino Coast," Humboldt County Historical Society (1964). Crescent City had been built in 1882, and for 21 years she had been hauling redwood lumber from Del Norte County to San Francisco.
37. Del Norte Triplicate, Sept. 19, 1930.
38. Ibid., Sept. 19 & 26, 1930; Wallace E. Martin, Humboldt County Historical Society, 12, No.5.
39. Martin, Humboldt County Historical Society, 12, No. 5.
40. Coan, "Sea Takes its Toll as Death Stalks Marine History of Del Norte," Del Norte Triplicate, Centennial Edition (1954), p. 5-E.
41. Esther R. Smith, The First Crescent City Lighthouse (Crescent City, 1956), p. 1.
42. Ibid., 2. The reservation as finally established included the small island off Battery Point, and ten acres on Battery Point.
43. Ibid. The light characteristic was changed in 1907 to "flashing white every 15 seconds."
47. "Report of the Light-House Board, 1892," Appendix No. 5, NA, RG 26, Lighthouse Clipping File, St. George Reef, p. 271.
48. Ibid. Buffeted by heavy seas Whitelaw was twice compelled to return to San Francisco.
52. Each stone was cut by a gauge to fit the space it was to occupy in the finished structure. It was then marked with its number, and a record made of the time used in dressing it and the name of the person by whom dressed. The stones were dressed so as to be laid with three-sixteenth-inch joints.
53. The mast of the derrick was 20 x 20 inches by 50 feet in length; the boom of 20 inches diameter in the slings, by 90 feet long, with two stiff legs, 78 feet long.
54. Ibid., pp. 272-273; St. George Reef Light-Station, Cal., NA, Clipping File, RG 26.
55. Report of the Light-House Board, 1892, Appendix No. 5, NA, RG 26, p. 273.
56. Ibid., p. 274. When a course of stone was dressed, it was shipped to the site by steamer. Each stone, averaging in weight about two and one-half tons, was placed in a rope netting, attached simultaneously to the derrick on the steamer and to that on the structure, and landed. So careful was the crew that none of the stone was spalled or chipped. The face of the pier, when completed, was composed of 1,339 dressed-dimension stones.
60. St. George Reef Light-Station, Cal., NA, Clipping File, RG 26.
65. G. R. Putnam, Lighthouses and Lightships of the United States (Boston, 1917), 139; United States Department of Commerce, United States Coast Pilot, Pacific Coast: California, Oregon, and Washington (Washington, 1926), p. 127. Redding Rock was 94 feet high and four and one-half miles off shore.
66. Adventure Trails (Eureka, 1947). Among the coastal freighters recalled by residents of Requa were: Coaster, Berwick, Enterprise, Nanny, Copper Queen, Magnolia, Golden West, Cotata, and Martha.
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