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Salving the Dora The Vicissitudes of a Vessel Plying in One of the World's Most Northerly Routes le the little, wooden passen- - ger and freight steamer Dora, which plies regularly on _ the 'most northerly steamship route in the world, bears a charmed existence is the generally accepted opinion along the north Pacitic » coast. After: an- other experience, during which it was feared that the vessel was about to fall prey to the elements, the Dora is back in Seattle, undergoing repairs. Shortly she will leave for Alaskan waters, there to resume her route from Seward to ports along the Aleu- tian islands and "into Bering sea in the summer. (i 217-tons net and built. at. San Francisco in 1880, the Dora has prob- ably had more narrow escapes than any other vessel on this coast. Time STEAMER DORA ASHORE WITH THE and again she has been given up for lost, but eventually she has_ reap- peared. It is.a regular occurrence for the Dora to go ashore on some of the treacherous uncharted shoals in Alaskan waters. Her most recent adventure in blowing ashore at Seward during a terrific December gale almost ended the vessel's career, but by good salvage work she was pulled off the beach and after many discouraging efforts finally made Seat- tle under her own steam, for re- pairs. : During the stormy and dreary win- ter months, when the north Pacific is a raging sea, when terrific storms sweep that wide expanse, whén the few inhabitants of the little ports on the Aleutian islands as far west as reefs or Dutch Harbor at Unimak Pass, lead- ing into Bering sea, are practically cut off from the outside world, the Dora makes monthly calls. She brings the mail and good cheer. News is distributed by her officers who -play the role of minister, doctor, mailman and many others. Oftentimes the weather is so severe that it is im- possible to land, whereupon the un- fortunate inhabitants are compelled to postpone the pleasure of hearing from the outside for another month, 'when the vessel returns. Through these raging storms, us- ually accompanied by blinding snow and bitter cold, the Dora plows her way, ice coated, battered and beaten by the elements. But Uncle Sam's mail must be delivered and the Dora ee AND: MARIPOSA: HAULING "AT ER must fulfill her contract. In the sum- mer she extends her monthly itinerary into Bering sea to call at the port of Nushagak where, during the summer, hundreds of sturdy salmon fishermen and packers are engaged in harvest- ine the annual crop. Having just completed her monthly voyage to the westward; the Dora returned to Seward in December when, during a high gale, she broke loose from the wharf and before she could be moored, was drifted upon the beach where heavy seas struck the prostrate hull and doing much damage. She took an alarming list, the steam pipes were broken and sev- eral attempts to pull her off with the: regular liners from Seattle were un- successful. Then for three weeks strenuous efforts by competent sal. vage operators followed, the Sap Francisco board of* marine under. writers sending a_ representative to Seward to superintend the work. That it was finally successful speaks wel| for the ingenuity, skill and perse- verance of the salvors for they were severely handicapped by terrific gales, unusual cold and lack of necessary equipment. For a time the vessel lay with a 40 degree list and her hulj 'was filled with water. An -- 8-inch Morris pump, weighing 5,300 Ib., was taken to the beach in sections and hauled on board with boom tackle. With this and a gas pump, operations were started, but cold weather inter- fered greatly, at times it being 3 degrees below zero, and each morn- ing it being necessary to thaw out the pumps. The frozen condition of the tackle one day caused the vessel to slip back after she had been hauled up to: six degrees 'starboard -- list Temporary repairs were made to the garboard seam, which was open for an inch for 35 ft. At low water a trench was excavated under the keel. Finally, by means of a double tackle with a coil of 4-in. rope made fast to the wharf the Dora was released. On the long passage to Seattle, the vessel leaked alarmingly, and it was necessary to frequently seek shelter and overhaul the pumps. At Sha- kaan it was necessary to replenish the water supply by buckets from shore, the water pipes in the town being frozen. The Dora reached Seat- tle, six week after she went ashore, and Pacific coast marine men agree that this was one of the best salvage jobs done in Alaska in years. Noteworthy Experience The Dora's most noteworthy ex- perience was eight years ago, when she disappeared for six weeks. While on her route to the Aleutian islands she encountered a heavy storm. Un+ able to make shelter she was driven to sea. Repeated efforts to return were unavailing until with bunkers empty and starvation facing the crew, - Capt. Zim Moore rigged up a sail and ran into Puget Sound, 2,000 miles from the Aleutian islands, after all hope had been abandoned for the ves- sel. She had made nearly 4,000 miles during the time she was lost and once was blown close to the Ha-