1901 – Dec 2, Steamship Matteawan leaves Nanaimo, BC for San Fran., CA, lost in gale– 33

–33 Gibbs, James A. Shipwrecks off Juan de Fuca. Portland, OR: 1968, p. 185.
–33 U.S. Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report 1902, p. 25.

Narrative Information

Gibbs: “….On December 2, 1901, the sizable steam colliers Matteawan and San Mateo were loading coal at Comox, B.C., for San Francisco….The Matteawan was a steek steamship of 3,300 tons, built at South Shields, England, in 1893, as the Asturian Prince. Measuring 336 feet in length, she was elegantly fitted throughout and one of the few ships of her day fully equipped with electric lights. In command of Captain H. B. Crosscup, the vessel put to sea, holds building with five thousand tons of coal and flying the house flag of J. Jerome & Company.

“Within a few hours of the departure of the Matteawan, two other big coal carriers also departed British Columbia waters, the Wellington and the San Mateo. On word of an approaching gale, the master of the Wellington wisely took temporary refuge at Neah Bay [Clallam County, WA, a few miles east of Cape Flattery, WA].

“….There is little else to tell…the Matteawan…was [n]ever seen or heard of again….For a time it was feared that the SS San Mateo…was also a victim of that fatal gale. She went unreported for several days, having ridden out the storm by altering her course to the path of least resistance. One thing is sure though – death must have come swiftly to the thirty-three persons aboard the Matteawan….” (Gibbs, James A. Shipwrecks off Juan de Fuca. 1968, pp. 184-185.)

US Steamboat-Inspection Service: “December 2. – The Steamship Matteawan, 3,301 tons gross, H.B. Crosscup, master, left Nanaimo, British Columbia, December 2, with cargo of 4,800 tons of coal for San Francisco, Cal., and has not been heard of since and is believed to have foundered. The officers and crew numbered, all told, thirty-three persons….” (US Steamboat-Inspect. Ser. Annual Rpt. 1902, 25.)

Sources

Gibbs, James A. Shipwrecks off Juan de Fuca. Portland, OR: Binfords & Mort, 1968.

United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat-Inspection Service for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1902. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1902, 337 pages. Digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=sVYpAAAAYAAJ