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September, 1911 Steamer Spokane Stranded Seattle, July 31. With a patch, 24 Mm: long and 6 'ft. ain width over 4a jagged hole on her starboard side just above the tank top the excur- sion steamer Spokane, owned bythe Cal; here to undergo extensive repairs af- ter having lain almost a month in Plumper Bay, B.: GC. The Spokane, which was built in 1902 by the Union Iron Works, San Francisco, exclusive- ly for the excursion business in Alas- ka, was so badly injured in Seymour 'Narrows, B. C., late on the night of June 29 that it was with the most extreme difficulty that Capt. James E. Guptill succeeded in steering her -in- to Plumper Bay, two niles away, Pacific Coast Steamship arrived TAE MarRINe REVIEW and she went down by the head, ren- dering her almost unmanageable. To illustrate her helpless condition it is but necessary to state that the ves- sel described a complete circle while her officers were attempting to get her into peaceful Plumper bay where she was beached. The Spokane was insured both at Lloyd's and in the American market for approximately $200,000. A con- tract was signed with the British Columbia Salvage Co. which did an exceptionally clever piece of salvage work on the vessel and she returned to Seattle July 25, under her own steam and aided by the salvage tug. The cost of repairs is not yet known but it is understood that the under- writers figure on saving $40,000 of the total insurance. The salvage Excursion STEAMER SPOKANE, WRECKED IN SEYMOUR NARROWS, Bets where she was beached. The in- jured vessel is now in the dock of the Moran company, Seattle, under- going survey. Bids will be invited shortly and the Spokane will be re- paired here, it is expected, although she will not again be in service this season. Carrying 150 excursionists and a crew of fifty the Spokane was on her second excursion voyage of the 5ea- son when she struck in Seymour Narrows about 11:15 p. m. June 29. She was northward bound and inthe terrific tide rips of the narrow chan- nel she was carried off her course and dashed against the rocky shore. Immediately she began to fill. The forward hold began to take water ' cost $40,0 work was conducted under fairly fa- vorable circumstances. Divers re- moved much of the baggage and patched up the ragged hole on the starboard side abreast of the fore- mast. .The vessel was moved to a better location for making tempor- ary repairs and would have been floated some time sooner had the tides been favorable. Known as the millionaires' floating palace, the Spokane has a reputation over the entire world, as she has car- ried thousands of wealthy people to scenic Alaska. Until last' season, she had good luck, but in June, 1910, she Peril Straits, Alaska, do- o her bottom which it Her double grounded in ing damage t : 00 to repair. 339 . bottom saved her from sinking and upon her return, the Moran company did record fast work in making her ready for a return to service. This season's mishap has been much more serious and costly and it will place the vessel out of service again until next year. ay The Pacific Coast Steamship Co. has been peculiarly unfortunate this year. In January the steamer Cottage City was lost but a few miles from where the Spekane was lost. A few days: later fire aboard the steamer Queem did considerable damage and since then the same company's steamer City of Puebla had fire aboard at Seattle. The steamer Tampico of the same fleet sank in her berth in this harbor in May and lay on the bottom for a month, entailing a repair bill of close to $40,000. The steamer Santa Rosa was lost off the California coast a few days after the Spokane mishap, so that 1911 has been an unlucky year for this big company. Where the Spokane struck the rocks of the mainland is a narrow channel, with Vancouver island to the west. All vessels bound for Alaska have to pass through Seymour Narrows un- less they go via Cape Flattery and northward by sea. That the passen- gers of the Spokane had a very nar- row escape is conceded for if the ves- sel had foundered in the narrows, many lives would have been lost in the boiling, turbulent waters of the narrow passage. Shipping men agree that the Spokane was well handled. Cruise of the Arctic The report of the government expe- dition of the Dominion of Canada to the Arctic islands and Hudson strait on board the auxiliary schooner Arctic under command of Capt. J. E. Bernier has just been issued in book form by the Department of Marine and Fisheries under the title "Cruise to the Arctic." The purpose of the expedition was to increase the government's knowledge of its northern waters and annexing territory to British possessions as far west as longitude 141 degrees. The Arctic cruised in Davis strait, Baffin bay, Melville bay, Smith sound, Lan- caster sound, Barrow strait, Melville sound and McClure strait. The work is richly illustrated with a great vari- ety of photographs and is a thorough- going diary of the trip. It is, how- ever, scarcely more than a diary and, owing to the absence of variety .of treatment, is lacking in entertainment. An experienced writer could make a wonderfully interesting series of sto- ries out of Capt. Bernier's experiences. *