1875 — Nov 4, Steamers Pacific and Orpheus collide, Pacific sinks off Cape Flattery WA –250-285

–>250-285 Blanchard estimated death toll range.*

–260-300 Belyk, Robert C. Great Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast. 2001, p. 37.
— 285 Blanchard.
— 280 Blanchard.
— 276 NOAA, Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. “The Pacific Shipwreck.”
— 275 Bancroft and Victor. History of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. 1890, pp. 334-335.
— 275 Gibbs, James A. Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast. 1957, p. 15.
— 275 Gibbs, James A. Shipwrecks off Juan de Fuca. 1968, p. 40.
–~132 passengers who had secured tickets from Victoria agent. (p. 32.)
— 35 passengers “who had embarked at Puget Sound ports.” “
— <20 passengers “to whom Hyte [Purser] had sole tickets at the last minute…” -- 3 stowaways (Gibbs writes there were “several” stowaways. (p. 32.) -- 40 “forty coolies were accommodated in steerage.” (p. 33.) -- 52 Crew. (Wright. Lewis & Dryden’s Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. 1895, 224.) -- 275 McClary. “The SS Pacific Founders Off Cape Flattery…275 lives…4 Nov 1875.” -- >250 McCurdy. “Ocean Tragedies…Northwest…” Overland Monthly, 34/202, 1899, 296.
— >250 McNair-Huff. Washington Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival. 2006, 22.
— 250 Port Renfrew Online. “Shipwreck Map Guide.”
— <250 Vancouver Maritime Museum. Hidden Treasures, Wreck of Pacific -- >250 Wright. Lewis & Dryden’s Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. 1895, 225.
— 237 Nash, Jay Robert. Darkest Hours. 1977, p. 687.
— 236 Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). 1982, p. 400.
— 200 Childs. A History of the United States In Chronological Order. 1886, p. 235.
— 200 Simonds. The American Date Book. 1902, p. 101.

* Blanchard. While it appears to us that the single best death toll estimate is 275, the true number is not and cannot be known. Thus we have decided to rely on a range of deaths. We use as the low-end of our death toll estimate the number 250, which several sources use, most writing “at least” or “more than” 250. In our attempts to follow estimates of the number of passengers and crew onboard, we derive numbers of 280 and 285. We do not use 300 as the high-end of our estimated death toll range in that it appears to be based on no more than rumors at the time that as many as 300 lives were lost. Thus our range of 250-285.

Narrative Information

Bancroft and Victor: “The most shocking calamity in the way of shipwreck which has ever happened in Washington waters occurred in the loss of the old and unseaworthy ocean mail-steamer Pacific, Nov. 4, 1875. She left Victoria in the morning, and in the evening, about 40 miles south of Cape Flatter, she collided with a sailing vessel and went down in less than an hour, with 275 souls on board. Two persons only were saved. The two saved, who were picked up from floating debris 36 and 48 hours after the wreck, were a quartermaster, name unknown, and a Canadian, Henry Frederick Jelly.” (Bancroft and Victor. History of Washington, Idaho, and Montana. 1890, pp. 334-335.)

Belyk: “The ship had berths for 115 passengers in cabins and 88 in steerage, along with its complement of 50 crew members, making a total of 253 people. The cabins, though, were overbooked, with many first-class passengers sleeping on the floor. (Last-minute arrivals that had not yet bought tickets simply jumped on the ship as she was pulling away from the wharf.” (Belyk, Robert C. Great Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast. 2001, p. 43.)

Coroner’s Jury Report (excerpt): “That the said steamer Pacific sank after a collision with the American ship Orpheus, off Cape Flattery, on the night of November 4, 1875; that the Pacific struck the Orpheus on the starboard side with her stern a very light blow, the shock of which should not have damaged the Pacific if she had been a sound and substantial vessel; that the collision between them was caused by the Orpheus not keeping the approaching Pacific’s light on her port bow as when first seen, but putting the helm hard to starboard, and unjustifiably crossing the Pacific’s bow; that the watch on the deck of the Pacific at the time of the collision was not sufficient in number to keep a proper lookout, the watch consisting only of three men, namely, one at the wheel, one supposed to be on the lookout, and the third mate, a young man of doubtful experience; that the Pacific had about 238 passengers on board at the time of the collision; that she had five boats, the utmost carrying capacity of which did not exceed 160 persons; that the boats were not and could not be lowered by the undisciplined and inexperienced crew; that the captain of the Orpheus sailed away, after the collision, and did not remain by the Pacific to ascertain the damage she had sustained.” (In: Wright. Lewis & Dryden’s Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. 1895, p. 227.)

McClary: “On November 4, 1875, The SS Pacific, en route to San Francisco from Victoria, B.C. with approximately 275 passengers and crew, collides with the S/V Orpheus, 40 miles southwest of Cape Flattery. Both vessels continue on course, but the Pacific founders within 20 minutes and only two people will survive. The following day, the Orpheus will mistake the Cape Beal lighthouse on Vancouver Island for the beacon on Tatoosh Island and run aground in Barkley Sound. There are no casualties, but the ship is a total loss. In terms of fatalities, the foundering of the Pacific is among the worst maritime calamities ever recorded on the Pacific Coast.

A Vessel’s Ups and Downs

“The SS Pacific was a 876-ton side-wheel passenger steamship, 223 feet long and 33 feet six inches across the beam. The wooden-hulled vessel was built in New York in 1850 and ran for a time between the Isthmus of Panama and San Francisco during the California Gold Rush. In September 1858, the Pacific began San Francisco-to-Columbia River service for the Merchants Accommodation Line. On July 18, 1861, the ship was heading down the Columbia River, en route from Portland to Astoria, Oregon, when she struck Coffin Rock in the fog and sank. After considerable difficulty, the Pacific was raised, and the steamer Express came down from Portland with a fire truck to pump her out. The ship was repaired in San Francisco and continued in service until 1872 when she was retired and left to rot on the mudflats of San Francisco Bay.

“When gold was discovered on the Stikine River in the Cassier District of northern British Columbia in the early 1870s, the Pacific, along with every old packet ship that could float, was resurrected to carry miners and speculators to Canada. The ship was purchased in January 1875 from the Pacific Mail Line by the Goodall, Nelson and Perkins Steamship Company of San Francisco and supposedly reconditioned at a cost of $40,000. The actual extent of her restoration was mostly cosmetic, but the Pacific was proclaimed as completely rebuilt and entirely seaworthy, as certified by the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service, established by an act of Congress in 1871. The ship was licensed to carry 203 passengers, 115 in first class and 88 in second class, and had a crew of 52. But, she carried just five lifeboats with a carrying capacity of only 160 persons. Her new captain was Jefferson Davis Howell (1841-1875), a veteran of the Civil War (1861-1865) and brother-in-law of Jefferson Davis (1808-1889), president of the Confederate States. The Pacific, scheduled to run between San Francisco, Victoria B.C., Seattle, and Tacoma made her reappearance in the Pacific Northwest in April 1875.

“The S/V Orpheus was 1,100-ton, 200-foot, wooden-hulled, full-rigged sailing vessel, built in 1856 by the Rice and Mitchell shipyard at Chelsea, Massachusetts. On October 29, 1875, the Orpheus, owned by C. L. Taylor and Company of San Francisco, sailed in ballast from San Francisco to Nanaimo, B.C. to load coal. The vessel, with a crew of 21, was under the command of Captain Charles A. Sawyer, age 36, (1839-1894). The Orpheus had been trading along the Pacific Coast for several months, but it was only her second trip up the coast of Washington to Vancouver Island.
The Fateful Day

“At 9:30 a.m., Thursday, November 4, 1875, the SS Pacific steamed out of Esquimalt, her deck crammed with passengers. The exact number of people aboard was unknown. Thirty-five passengers had come on board in Puget Sound and the agent in Victoria sold tickets for another 132. On board, the purser sold tickets to more than 20 passengers whose names were never recorded by the ticketing agent, and many others scrambled aboard moments before departure. With a crew of 52, it was evident the ship departed on her last voyage with between 250 and 275 people aboard, which included many prominent Victorians, wealthy businessmen, numerous gold miners with pokes full of Cassier gold, an equestrian troupe and 41 Chinese laborers. In addition, the Pacific’s hold was laden with 2,000 sacks of oats, 300 bales of hops, 261 animal hides, 11 casks of furs, 31 barrels of cranberries, 10 cords of wood bolts, 280 tons of coal, 18 tons of general merchandise, 10 tons of sundries, six horses, two buggies, two cases of opium and a strongbox containing $79,200 in cash. The gold in private hands was estimated to be at least $100,000.

“Although seemingly an unimportant fact, the Pacific left Victoria one-half hour late. But often great calamities originate from relatively trivial events. The ship steamed slowly down the Strait of Juan de Fuca, passing Tatoosh Island at 4:00 p.m. In the open ocean, there was a freshening wind blowing from the south and a heavy swell with whitecaps, considerably slowing the Pacific’s headway. By 8:00 p.m., the steamer was about 12 miles off the Washington coast and 30 miles south of Cape Flattery.

“The night was overcast, with fine rain, and profoundly dark. The Pacific had only three crewmen on duty: the inexperienced third mate, an inexperienced helmsman, and one lookout. The overcrowded vessel had been listing heavily to starboard, making steering difficult, so Captain Howell ordered two port-side lifeboats be filled with water to set her back on an even keel. In addition, the ship was running without port and starboard lights; only the white masthead light was visible.

“Meanwhile, the Orpheus was steering north along the Washington coast, scudding with the wind at about 12 knots. At 9:30 p.m., Captain Sawyer left the bridge in charge of second mate James G. Allen, with instructions to head toward the northwest, off shore, if he saw anything. A short while later, the second mate reported the Tatoosh Island light off the port bow, but Sawyer discerned it was an approaching vessel and turned his ship hard to port to keep out it its way. The sudden maneuver left the Orpheus almost dead in the water and Captain Sawyer could only watch as the other ship advanced without altering course. At the last minute, the steamship blew her whistle and reversed her engines, but struck the Orpheus a glancing blow on her starboard side, abaft the forward rigging. The steamer ran against the sailing vessel two more times, staving in side planks, breaking 40 feet of rail, and carrying away the chain plates and most of the rigging on her starboard side.

“Just before the collision, Captain Sawyer’s wife, Lillian, came on deck and together they watched the accident unfold. He hailed the steamer to stand by, but there was no reply. Sawyer’s wife was outraged by the incident and attempted to board the offending vessel before they drifted apart, but Sawyer restrained her.

“As the steamer slowly vanished into the darkness, Captain Sawyer turned his all attention to saving the Orpheus. The carpenter reported was the ship was taking on water and sinking, so he ordered the first mate make ready the lifeboats and man the pumps. When an close inspection of the hold proved the report false, Captain Sawyer ordered all hands turn to and repair damages. With the crew concentrating on the needs of the Orpheus, no attention was paid to the steamer. After determining his ship had not been badly damaged, Captain Sawyer scanned the horizon for lights, but the mystery ship was gone.

“Onboard the Pacific, the third mate blew the steam whistle, followed a minute later by three sharp jolts. The steamer had just struck another ship a series of glancing blows on her starboard side. Captain Howell, who had retired to his cabin, rushed to the bridge. He saw the running lights of a sailing vessel off the starboard beam, drifting slowly away, and realized there had been a collision. It was soon evident the wooden hull had been breached and the Pacific was rapidly filling with water. Passengers began arriving on deck to see what had happened, adding to the general chaos.

Terrible Minutes and Hours

“Henry F. Jelley, age 22, a passenger from London, Ontario, was awakened in his cabin by the collision. He went on deck to see what had happened and saw the running lights of a large sailing vessel in the distance, off the starboard quarter. When Jelly returned to his cabin, he noticed the Pacific was listing heavily to port and went to the pilot house. The engines were still operating and the steamer was moving ahead, but no one was at the helm. He heard someone say the vessel was sinking and went to the starboard side, forward of the paddlewheel where he saw several men trying unsuccessfully to launch a lifeboat.

“Jelley went to a lifeboat on the port side, containing mostly women, and climbed in. Unfortunately, it had been partially filled with sea water earlier in the day and when the launch was cut loose from the davits, it immediately swamped and capsized. Jelley and four men manage to climb onto the bottom of the boat and could only watch as the women, weighted down by their clothes, drowned. Minutes later, the Pacific sank.

“Sometime later, Jelley and another man left the bottom the lifeboat and climbed aboard the wreckage of the pilot house. On Friday morning, the sea was running high and waves began washing over the men. But they managed to snag some life preservers floating by and used the attached lines to tie themselves to the wreckage. At about 4:00 p.m., Jelley’s companion died and was soon carried into the sea.

“By daybreak on Saturday, November 6, Jelley’s raft had drifted into the entrance of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and he could see the coast of Vancouver Island. He sighted two vessels pass by in the distance, but was too far away to attract their attention. Finally, at about 10:00 a.m., a lookout on the bark Messenger spotted Jelley clinging to the floating pilot house and he was rescued. The ship took Jelley to Port Townsend where it was learned for the first time that the Pacific had struck another vessel and foundered. The U.S. Revenue Service Cutter Oliver Wolcott, commanded by Lieutenant Lewis Harwood, was dispatched to the scene of the wreck to search for survivors.

“Severe storms had been pounding the Olympic Peninsula since the beginning of November. The telegraph lines were down and it wasn’t until Monday noon, November 8, that Port Townsend was, once again, in wire communication with the outside world. That same day Jelley, Canadian citizen, went to Victoria aboard the steamer North Pacific to give people there details of the grim tragedy.

The Ordeal of Neil O. Henly

“Quartermaster Neil O. Henly, age 21, was sleeping in his bunk in the Pacific’s forecastle when the collision occurred. He awakened to find sea water pouring into the ship’s bow, submerging the crew’s quarters. Henly rushed up to the main deck, and saw a large sailing vessel, with her starboard (green) running light, drifting away in the distance. The officers and crew were trying desperately to lower the lifeboats, but the panicky passengers were obstructing their every effort. Henly tried to help, but two of the lifeboats had been partially filled with water and rendered useless. The other boats lacked plugs and two were missing oars. Henly made ready one lifeboat and was immediately joined inside by 15 women and six men. As the boat was being lowered into the water, it struck the side of the ship and capsized, throwing its occupants into the water. Within minutes the steamer broke in two amidships and sank beneath the waves, leaving bits and pieces of wreckage and a mass of people, struggling to stay alive.

“Henly swam to a section of the hurricane deck which had seven people clinging to it: Captain Howell, the second mate, a cook and four passengers, one a young female. Within a short period of time, the wind increased and a rising sea began washing over the survivors. At about 4:00 a.m. on Friday, big waves began washing over the makeshift raft, carrying away Captain Howell and the second mate, followed by the female and one male passenger. At about 9:00 a.m., the cook died from exposure and slid into the sea. At 4:00 p. m., the weather cleared and Henly could see land some 15 miles distant.

“By Saturday morning, November 6, the other two men had died, leaving Henly alone. He saw a ship passing but it was too far away to attract attention. Henly spotted a wooden packing crate about five feet long, 18 inches wide and 12 inches deep floating by, dragged it onto the raft, and secured it to a stanchion. He used it as a shelter from the wind and waves and wedged himself inside to sleep.

“At 4:00 a.m. on Monday, November 8, 1875, Henly’s raft was drifting outside the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca when he heard a steamship nearby. He stood up and began shouting for help. A voice in the night answered his call and shortly thereafter the Revenue Cutter Oliver Wolcott hove into view. The cutter sent a longboat to investigate a large piece of flotsam and found Henly aboard, having survived an amazing 78 hours adrift on the open ocean.

The Mishap of the Orpheus

“After colliding with the Pacific, the Orpheus laid to and, in the heavy weather, managed to set a few sails allowing her to navigate. As the ship slowly sailed toward the northwest at about two knots, the crew worked throughout the night and all day Friday making repairs to the rigging. That evening the Orpheus got underway again and set sail for the Strait of Juan de Fuca. But the ship had drifted too far north and in the darkness Captain Sawyer mistook the newly established light at Cape Beal for Cape Flattery.

“At 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, November 6, the Orpheus sailed into Barkley Sound on Vancouver Island and ran aground on Tzartus Island. Fortunately, there were no casualties, but the ship proved a total loss. Upon reaching shore, Captain Sawyer, his wife, Lillian, 4-year-old daughter, Isabelle, and 20 crewmen were cared for by the Indians and by Captain Andrew D. Laing, the owner of several trading posts along Vancouver Island’s coast. They camped on the shore in shelters made from the ship’s canvas sails. Captain Sawyer hired a canoe to take his first mate to Victoria for help, but the weather was so wretched, the Indians refused to venture out. While awaiting rescue, the crew managed to strip the Orpheus of all her valuable stores and move them onto the shore.

Rescues and Failed Rescues

“After rescuing Henly, the Oliver Wolcott went cruising up the west coast of Vancouver Island. Lieutenant Harwood enlisted the aid of local Indians with canoes to search the shoreline for victims. The steamship Gussie Telfair headed south along the Olympic Peninsula coast with the same mission. Three bodies were found but no survivors.

“A gale blew all day Tuesday, November 9 and Wednesday, November 10. Nevertheless, on Wednesday morning the Oliver Wolcott set sail for Barkley Sound, 35 miles north of Cape Flattery, and that afternoon encountered a canoe with six Indians and the first mate, heading toward Victoria. The party showed the cutter where the crew of the Orpheus was patiently awaiting rescue.

“On Friday, Lieutenant Harwood took the Sawyers, the crew, and most of the stores to Port Townsend, then returned to Barkley Sound with pilot Peter Thompson to carefully examine the wreck. They confirmed Captain Sawyer’s story that the Orpheus had been struck by the Pacific just abaft the forward rigging and heavily damaged. The cutter returned to Port Townsend, reporting the Indians had found nothing pertaining to the Pacific, and a further search for castaways was suspended.
Corpses and Questions

“Vessels transiting the Strait of Juan de Fuca recovered a few floaters, but most of the bodies that were eventually found, about 20, washed up on beaches days later. On November 24, 1875, a Coroner’s Inquest was held in Victoria, B.C., to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Pacific disaster. The inquest centered on the death of one representative victim, Thomas J. Farrell from San Francisco, whose body was found in Canadian waters. Testimony was elicited from Henly and Jelley, as well as some of the crew of the Orpheus. Captain Sawyer, who was subject to arrest in Canada, chose not to appear. In addition witnesses were called from Port Townsend who testified the Pacific’s hull was rotten and she leaked badly. Lieutenant Harwood, master of the Oliver Wolcott, provided details of the damage sustained by the Orpheus. A segment of bow, found entangled in the Orpheus’s rigging, was indicative of the Pacific’s unsound condition.

“On November 26, 1875, the coroner’s jury found that the collision had been caused by the Orpheus crossing the Pacific’s bow. But the jurors censured the officers and crew of the Pacific for being negligent and incompetent in their duties. They found the steamer should not have sunk after such a light impact and must have been in an unseaworthy condition. Further, the steamer had only five improperly equipped lifeboats with a maximum capacity of 160 persons. The jury declared Captain Sawyer guilty of manslaughter for leaving the scene without trying to determine what damage had been done to the Pacific. However, nothing ever came of the verdict.
Captain Sawyer’s Troubles

“In San Francisco, Captain Sawyer was accused in federal court of barratry by “willfully casting away his vessel” on Vancouver Island to destroy evidence. A preliminary hearing was begun on January 6, 1876, and concluded on January 8, with the defense moving the case against Captain Sawyer be dismissed on the ground that no willful or corrupt act had been shown. Sawyer testified that the Cape Beal lighthouse, which had only been in operation for a few months, was not on his nautical chart and, mistaking it for Tatoosh Island, inadvertently sailed into Barkley Sound, believing it to be the entrance to the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

“His testimony was corroborated by a letter from Captain J. T. Gilkey of the bark Messenger, which saved Henry Jelley, declaring he almost made the same mistake weeks earlier. The court ruled there was insufficient evidence to sustain a conviction and dismissed the charge against Sawyer.
Inspectors Inspecting Themselves

“In conjunction with the trial, the U.S. Steamboat Inspection Service District Office in San Francisco held a secret Court of Inquiry into the Pacific disaster. Captain Robert H. Waterman, Inspector of Hulls, and James Hillman, Inspector of Boilers, presided over the hearing, which was curious because it was Waterman who had certified the old steamship as seaworthy.

“On January 11, 1876, Inspectors Waterman and Hillman published the findings of their official investigation. The press in San Francisco, which had criticized the secrecy, considered the report a blatant cover-up with Captain Sawyer as their scapegoat. As expected, the inspectors concluded the Orpheus bore most of the responsibility for the collision by steering across the Pacific’s bow. They were, however, unable to account for the failure of the steamship to evade or stop when a collision became imminent.

“The inspectors generously acquitted Captain Sawyer “of any intentional disregard of the duties of humanity,” but then went on to castigate him for his inaction after the collision, resulting in the loss of some 275 deaths. They magnanimously absolved the Steamboat Inspection Service of any responsibility stating that a few days before the “thoroughly overhauled” Pacific was put into service,” her bottom was carefully examined by the Inspector of Hulls” and she found to be “in a perfectly seaworthy condition.” When the steamship hit the stout sailing vessel, the hull breached due to her lighter and “therefore much weaker” construction. The inspectors ended the report with the self-serving conclusion that it basically made no difference whether the Pacific was old or new, the outcome would probably have been the same.

“Once the public’s interest in the Pacific disaster subsided, Captain Sawyer, a mariner from boyhood, was given command of another vessel and sailed for several more years. In the late 1880s, he retired from seafaring and settled in Port Townsend with his wife, Lillian, and daughter, Isabelle. Captain Sawyer was deeply wounded by the criticism leveled at him for not standing by and rescuing the steamer’s passengers. His colleagues, however, believed that his actions had been exactly what any master of a vessel would have done in a similar crisis. But he continued to be haunted by the guilt which cast a pall over the rest of his life. A few years after he retired, Captain Sawyer became ill and developed heart problems. He died on October 6, 1894, of congestive heart failure….” (McClary. “The SS Pacific Founders Off Cape Flattery…loss of 275 lives…4 Nov 1875.” )

McCurdy: “The most terrible marine disaster that has ever visited the Pacific Coast occurred in 1875, when the steamship Pacific went down off Cape Flattery, carrying with her to death over two hundred and fifty persons….

“The Pacific, rotten to the core, and a lasting reflection upon the inspectors who allowed her to continue in service, steamed laboriously our of Victoria harbor, November 4, 1875, for San Francisco, her hold full of freight and her decks black with passengers. She was under command of Captain Jefferson D. Howell, an experienced mariner. She had hardly reached the open ocean when she ran into the ship Orpheus. Had she been a stanch steamer, she would have cut through the Orpheus like a knife; being old and rotten, her hull opened under the force of the collision, and she went down like a stone. Out of all that gay company that had left Victoria a few hours before, only two were rescued, F.F. Jelley and Neil Henley, who were picked up after floating for many hours on pieces of wreckage. Captain Sawyer of the Orpheus has been severely censured for not standing by the Pacific to save life, but he stated before the court of inquiry that he never dreamed that the Pacific would sustain serious injury by running into his ship….” (McCurdy. “Ocean Tragedies…Northwest…” Overland Monthly, 34/202, 10-1899, p. 296.)

NOAA, OCNMS: “On November 4, 1875 the side-wheeler Pacific steamed out of Victoria headed for San Francisco. On board were 277 passengers and crew, freight, horses and buggies, and a strongbox containing nearly $80,000 in gold. That afternoon the Pacific rounded Cape Flattery Light and headed into a gale blowing from the south. At 10 p.m. everyone on board was awakened by a crash. The Pacific had struck the sailing ship Orpheus.

“Not realizing that the Pacific was in serious trouble, the crew of the Orpheus sailed on while working to repair damaged rigging and maintain control of their ship. Meanwhile, water poured into the Pacific. In a panic, passengers stormed the deck, preventing the crew from lowering lifeboats. Within minutes the ship sank. Of those fortunate enough to cling to debris, only two survived the night. Passenger Henry Jelley was rescued two days later, but died of hypothermia. Quartermaster Neil Henley was adrift for 80 hours before his rescue by the revenue cutter Oliver Wolcott.

“The Orpheus was also doomed. Several hours after the collision she ran aground off the west coast of Vancouver Island. No lives were lost, but the ship was a total loss. As pieces of the Pacific drifted to shore along the Strait of Juan de Fuca it was discovered that the ship was filled with dry rot. Records revealed that 14 years earlier she had run aground and sunk near the mouth of the Columbia River. Eventually refloated, she served for another ten years and was once again retired from service. When gold was discovered in the Cassiar district of British Columbia in 1874, the owners of the Pacific gave her a new coat of paint and promoted her as the equal of a brand new ship. They were never held accountable for the deaths of almost 300 people.

“The strongbox filled with gold has never been recovered.”(NOAA, OCNMS. “The Pacific Shipwreck.”)

Port Renfrew Online: “Sidewheeler Pacific plunged to the bottom south of Tatoosh Island. After being rammed by the ship Orpheus on the night of November 4, 1875; 250 men, women and children perished making this one of the biggest shipping tragedies in Juan de Fuca’s graveyard!” (Port Renfrew Online. “Shipwreck Map Guide.”)

Vancouver Maritime Museum: “The loss of the steamship Pacific, somewhere off Cape Flattery on November 4, 1875, is now forgotten , an historical footnote at best for some…. Pacific was a pioneer of west coast steamship service. Built in New York in 1850, the 225-foot long, 1,003-ton Pacific was one of many steamers caught up in the California Gold Rush [1848]…. Ironically, it was another gold discovery in British Columbia…in 1872 and a new rush that spanned the next few years that returned Pacific to Victoria service in 1875. Steaming to Victoria at the end of October, Pacific made a voyage down Puget Sound to Tacoma before returning to Victoria on the morning of November 4th to load cargo and passengers for the trip to San Francisco….

“Apparently both overloaded with cargo and passengers (the steamer had accommodations for 253 persons but more tickets than berths had been sold), Pacific steamed out of Victoria at 9:30 on the morning of the 4th, listing badly to starboard. To right the steamer, the crew finally filled the lifeboats on the port side with water, and the weight pulled Pacific on to a more or less even keel. The struggle to right the steamer took hours; it was not until 4 pm that Pacific passed Cape Flattery and headed out of the Straits of Juan de Fuca into the open ocean.

“Meanwhile, the ship Orpheus…was approaching Cape Flattery after sailing north from San Francisco. About 10 pm, in the darkness of the Cape, Orpheus’ officers were startled by the lights of an approaching ship….the ship, a steamer, hit Orpheus on the starboard side and kept going. Orpheus, her rigging damaged, also kept going. The steamer that struck Orpheus was Pacific. After the collision, water had poured through the hull, drowning the boiler fires. Pacific was sinking rapidly, and as passengers milled on the decks, the crew tried to launch the boats. Their efforts failed as boats overturned. Passenger Henry Jelly, aboard one boat, was thrown into the sea as his overcrowded lifeboat flipped. Only five men made it back to the surface to cling to the overturned hull.

“Pacific did not have much longer to live herself. Minutes after the collision, the ship broke apart and sank, pulling many down with it. A handful of survivors, buoyed by wreckage that had broken free of the hull, drifted off into the night. Jelly and one other man swam from their overturned boat to the top of the pilothouse, which was floating nearby, and drifted through the next day. As they rode the waves, they passed wreckage with other passengers clinging to it, but the ordeal was too much for most. Jelly’s companion died on the afternoon of the first day, and he drifted on, alone now, through another night.

“The following morning, the passing ship Messenger spotted him and rescued him, battered and exhausted, from his precarious perch. He would not have lasted much longer. Jelly arrived at Port Townsend on November 7th, just three days after Pacific had departed…. Henry Jelly’s account was doubted until another survivor, Pacific’s quartermaster, Neil Henley, was rescued. Like Jelly, he had clung to wreckage, in his case the remains of the steamer’s hurricane deck. A small group of survivors, including Pacific’s Captain, Jefferson D Howell, had joined Henley on his raft, but the sea had taken all of them.

“Near death, Henley was spotted by a passing ship, the US Revenue cutter Oliver Wolcott, and rescued four days after Pacific had sunk. Shock and disbelief gave way to indignation as bodies and debris washed ashore and the account of the two survivors showed that the aged steamer had been so rotten that her bow had crumbled with the blow to Orpheus. A Victoria coroner’s jury condemned both Pacific and Orpheus’ officers, and pointedly noted that the collision had been “A very slight blow, the shock of which should not have damaged the Pacific if she had been a sound and substantial vessel.” The wreck of Pacific, despite several searches for a Wells Fargo shipment of gold and the riches of some of her passengers, has never been found.” (Vancouver Maritime Museum. Hidden Treasures, Wreck of Pacific.)

Sources

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Belyk, Robert C. Great Shipwrecks of the Pacific Coast. NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2001.

Childs, Emery E. A History of the United States In Chronological Order From the Discovery of America in 1492 to the Year 1885. NY: Baker & Taylor, 1886. Google digitized. Accessed 9-4-2017: http://books.google.com/books?id=XLYbAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false

Cornell, James. The Great International Disaster Book (Third Edition). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1982.

Gibbs, James A. Pacific Graveyard. A Narrative of Shipwrecks Where the Columbia River Meets the Pacific Ocean. Portland, OR: Binford & Mort Publishing, 1993.

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