1885 – Oct 12, last sighting, San Fran. whaler Amethyst, St. Lawrence Isl., Bering Sea, AK–43

– 43 Alaska Shipwrecks. A Comprehensive Accounting of Alaska Shipwrecks…Losses of Life…
–38 Amethyst crew
— 5 Rainbow crew survivors onboard the Amethyst.
— 43 Good, Capt. Warren and M. Burwell. Alaska Shipwrecks 1750-2015. 2018, pp. 33-34.
–38 Amethyst crew
— 5 Rainbow crew survivors onboard the Amethyst.
— 40 U.S. Life-Saving Service. Annual Report…Fiscal Year…June 30,1887. 1888, p. 391.
— 40 The Nation. “Summary of the Week’s News,” p. 543.
–36-38 Daily Alta California, San Francisco. “The Bark ‘Amethyst.’” 12-15-1885, p. 1.
[“…sailed from here with a crew of thirty-six or thirty eight men…”
— 35 Tornfelt and Burwell. Shipwrecks of the Alaskan Shelf and Shore. 1992.

Narrative Information

Alaska Shipwrecks: “AMETHYST (1885) The 102 foot 356 ton wooden whaling bark Amethyst left San Francisco February 21, 1885 on a whaling voyage. The bark was last seen October 6, 1885 north of Saint Lawrence Island. She was leaving the whaling grounds for San Francisco. When the whaling vessel did not arrive at her destination, the Amethyst was presumed to have been crushed in ice in the Bering Sea with none of her crew of 38 men accounted for. Her value was said to have been $50,000 with cargo. The following crewmen were reported as lost when the Amethyst disappeared: [Blanchard note: the listing below totals 36. Do not know why – perhaps two names were unknown – or perhaps there were just 36 crew and the reported number of 38 is mistaken.]
1. Captain P H Coaty
2. 1st Mate Moses Walker
3. 2nd Mate Ferdinand Lee
4. 3rd Mate A W Harris
5. 4th Mate Jose Fortedo
6. Steward James K Polk
7. Cook Hollis Johnson
8. Cabin boy J H Hyers
9. Steerage boy Rudolph Aguerre
10. Cooper John Long
11. Engineer John McHughes
12. Boat steerer John Roderiguez
13. Boat steerer Lenza Foster
14. Boat steerer Emanuel Carson
15. Boat steerer George Antonio
16. Boat steerer Frank d’Avellar
17. Sailor Peter Williams
18. Sailor Robert Wackwitz
19. Sailor Michael Williams
20. Sailor J B Chromo
21. Sailor Jose Rodriguez
22. Sailor Joseph Borellos
23. Sailor Mariano Riez
24. Sailor William Andrew
25. Sailor William Dunn
26. Sailor William Boggs
27. Sailor Frank Taylor
28. Sailor J A Brown
29. Sailor William Lynch
30. Sailor Thomas Brobhy
31. Sailor H E Hagen
32. Sailor B F Christy
33. Sailor Fred Trobell
34. Sailor Eugene Tracy
35. Sailor Frank Emmanel
36. Sailor William Thurlow
“In addition to those lost from the crew of the Amethyst, the Amethyst had picked up five of the crewmembers of the whaling bark Rainbow which had wrecked in Arctic ice near Russia in the spring of 1885. In late October of 1885, the Abram Barker reported seeing an abandoned hulk thought to be the Amethyst 100 miles south of Unimak Pass. Wreckage thought to have belonged to the Amethyst was found on the north shores of Akutan Island in November of 1885 by local hunters. Hatch covers from the Amethyst were reported washed up on the beaches of Copper Island in the western Bering Sea in 1886. This was the same area that the Rainbow had been lost in the ice in 1885. The broken hulk of the Amethyst washed up on Castle Rock at the north end of the Shumagin Islands and was discovered there in September of 1887 by the sealing schooner Angel Dolly. There was no sign of crew or passengers of the Amethyst. All told 43 sailors were lost, 38 from the Amethyst and 5 from the Rainbow.

“Mapping and Location: South Central Alaska 55 17 N 159 30 W Chart 16540

“Additional Information: Tonnage 356.2, Length 102, Breadth 28, Depth 18, Built 1822 at Boston MA, ON 1157, SL HTBQ.”

“Sources: 1. Shipwrecks of the Alaskan Shelf and Shore (1992) Pg 73, 2. San Francisco Bulletin (August 27, 1886) “The Lost Amethyst” Pg 3, 3. The Daily Inter-Ocean (September 17, 1887) “A Wrecked Whaler” Pg 3, 4. Merchant Vessels of the U S (1885) Pg 73, 5. San Francisco Chronicle (February 20, 1886) “The Missing Amethyst” Pg 4, The San Francisco Bulletin (August 26, 1886) “The Whaler Amethyst” Pg 3, 6. San Francisco Bulletin (December 14, 1885) “The Bark Amethyst” Pg 1.”

The Nation: “In response to the urgent telegram from Senator Fair, the Secretary of the Treasury has decided to send a search party after the missing whaler Amethyst, supposed to have been cast away in Bering Sea. She had a crew of forty men. It is probable that either the Rush or Corwin will be sent to her relief.” (The Nation. “Summary of the Week’s News,” 12-31, 1885, p. 542.)

US Life Saving Service: “Of the lives lost [1885-1886 reporting period]…forty were lost on the bark Amethyst, of San Francisco, California, which sailed from her home port on a whaling voyage to the Arctic Ocean in the month of February, 1885. She was spoken on October 12, 1885, since which time no tidings from her have been received.” (US Life-Saving Service. Annual Report of the Operations of the [U.S.] Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1887, p. 391.)

Newspapers

Dec 15, Daily Alta California: “Considerable anxiety is felt in shipping circles as to the fate of the whaling bark Amethyst. This vessel went north during the past season, but has not yet returned to this port. The Atlantic sighted her off Cape Lisbon on October 12th or 13th off the whaling ground and supposed to be on her way to this port. Some sixty days have elapsed since then, or thirty days more than are required to make an average passage from that point to this port. The Northern Light once took fifty-four days to make the run down from Plover Bay, which is about 300 miles this side of Cape Lisbon. The Amethyst was commanded by Captain Cootey and sailed from here with a crew of thirty-six or thirty eight me, Mr. Walker being the first officer and Mr. Lee the second. Some time ago she was reported by incoming vessels to have a catch of five whales. When she was seen by the Atlantic she was not near enough to be spoken. That some accident may have befallen her is generally supposed, but if an accident happened at the North, nothing may be heard of her and her crew before next June….She was an old vessel, having been built in 1822, but was said to be perfectly sound and seaworthy….She was built originally for a packet between Boston and Havre. In 1857 she was rebuilt. She ran on this coast for several years as a collier, and was then turned into a whaler. She is owned principally by James Nolan, of California street, and is of about 350 tons….There have been heavy gales from the north, as reported by many incoming vessels, and she may be on the way in a crippled condition….” (Daily Alta California, San Francisco. “The Bark ‘Amethyst.’” 12-15-1885, p. 1.)

Jan 2, NYT: “San Francisco, Cal., Jan. 2. – The United States revenue steamer Richard Rush, Capt. Hooper commanding, sailed to-day for the arctic regions in search of the crew of the missing whaler Amethyst. She will touch at Port Townsend [WA] on her way north. The sailors have manifested much discontent over the clothing issued to them for the voyage. They say that it is inadequate to the rigors of an arctic trip, especially at this season of the year. Senator Fair proffered $500 toward the purchase of warmer clothing, but Capt. Hooper was obliged to decline the offer.” (New York Times. “Off for the Arctic.” 1-3-1886.)

Sources

Alaskashipwreck.com. Alaska Shipwrecks. A Comprehensive Accounting of Alaska Shipwrecks and Losses of Life in Alaskan Waters. Accessed 10-31-2021 at: https://alaskashipwreck.com/shipwrecks-a-z/alaska-shipwrecks-g/

Daily Alta California, San Francisco. “The Bark ‘Amethyst.’” 12-15-1885, p. 1. Accessed 11-1-2021 at: https://cdnc.ucr.edu/?a=d&d=DAC18851215.2.6&e=——-en–20–1–txt-txIN——–1

Good, Captain Warren and Michael Burwell. Alaska Shipwrecks 1750-2015. Published by Warren Good, 2018. Accessed 11-1-2021 at: https://books.google.com/books?id=ArpqDwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=true

Martha’s Vineyard Museum. Glossary. “Bark.” 2016. Accessed 11-1-2021 at: http://www.girlonawhaleship.org/jernapp/refCard.do?shortName=bark

New York Times. “Off for the Arctic.” 1-3-1886. Accessed 11-1-2021 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1886/01/03/103947355.pdf

The Nation. “Summary of the Week’s News.” 12-31-1885. Accessed 11-1-2021 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Nation/nbw2AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=amethyst

Tornfelt, Evert E. and Michael Burwell. Shipwrecks of the Alaskan Shelf and Shore. Anchorage, AK. U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Alaska OCS Region. 1992. Accessed 11-1-2021 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Shipwrecks_of_the_Alaskan_Shelf_and_Shor/8YUTAAAAYAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

United States Life-Saving Service. Annual Report of the Operations of the United States Life-Saving Service for the Fiscal Year Ending June 30, 1887. Wash.: GPO, 1888. Google digitized. Accessed 11-1-2021 at: http://books.google.com/books?id=0XkDAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_atb#v=onepage&q&f=false