❖ GOING FOR GOLD ❖ By Sail San Francisco to Alaska

Schooner FRED J. WOOD
121109
Built in 1899 by George H. Hitchings,
Mathews Yard, Hoquiam, WA
181' x 38.1' x 14'
681 G.t. 601 N.t.
Preparing for castoff from San Francisco,
July 1923.
Click image to enlarge.
Original photo from the archives of the
Saltwater People Historical Society©

"After chasing the golden rainbow, and finding no bag of gold at the end, seven modern Argonauts, including Capt. Nicholas Borgeson, members of a gold-seeking expedition which sailed from San Francisco 6 July, returned to Seattle from the Seward peninsula district of Alaska aboard the Alaska Steamship Co liner VICTORIA.
      Many men, women, and children were in the party which voyaged to the northland where they expected to find gold on the shores of the Bering Sea, but ill-fate ended their adventure and they returned disillusioned and determined never again to seek the rainbow's end.
      Just as they were ready to land on what they had been told were the 'golden beaches of Port Clarence Bay,' their ship, the schooner FRED J. WOOD, was wrecked in an 80-mile gale and they were left destitute on the barren shores of Alaska.
      Fortunately, they had been shipwrecked near an Alaska missionary station and were taken in by Elmer Dahl, who lives at this isolated spot on the coast. For 3 weeks the stranded Argonauts lived on the shores of Port Clarence Bay, and then the power schooner BOXER, Capt. S. Whitlam of the US Bureau of Education, hove in sight. She was a welcome rescue ship and the gold seekers were soon aboard the government vessel bound for Nome. All those who arrived in Seattle aboard the VICTORIA were members of the crew of the FRED J. WOOD. The other members of the expedition are aboard the steamship DUFORD of the Alaska-Siberian Navigation Co and are due in Seattle next week.
      Members who arrived are, Capt. Nicholas Borgeson, master, Mrs. Borgeson, Karl Klenke, mate, H. Anderson, Joseph Conley, John Stuth, and J. McDay, sailors.
      On 27 Sept we anchored in Port Clarence Bay to await lighters when a great storm arose. It was soon blowing 80mph and although we anchored two miles offshore, we were driven on the beach. The ship went ashore dragging her anchors, so fierce was the gale.'
      A.H. Moore of Los Angeles, head of the expedition was formerly an expressman at Nome. He went to San Francisco and Los Angeles to organize the expedition. They were all stockholders in the venture. Moore told the members that he had 50 miles of beach and 5,000 acres of gold-bearing sands and a large dredge on the bay which would net at least $40,000 per day. There were 105 adults and children in the expedition. The FRED J. WOOD was equipped with radio, phonograph, games, and carried a cow, sheep, horses, an airplane, and an automobile.
Above text; The Seattle Times 7 Nov. 1923
      
1902, 30 July: Capt. Jorgen J. Jacobsen, age 43, well-known shipmaster was stabbed to death while in command of FRED J. WOOD on the high seas on a voyage from Astoria, Oregon, to Kau Chow, China. The mixed crew of French, Portuguese, and Norwegians bestowed upon the captain their asseveration that he was unusually kind towards his men in both language and actions.
      The murderer, the ship's Japanese cabin boy, Tanbara Gusaburo, was held in custody and delivered to the authorities upon the schooner's arrival at Honolulu. Mrs. Jacobson and the crew on watch at the time of the crime were also left as witnesses, the vessel continuing her voyage in charge of the mate Henry Meyers. 
1902, 14 August: Tanbara was hanged at 12:30 for the murder of Captain Jorgen J. Jacobsen. A reprieve was granted by Gov. Dole to allow an appeal to Washington but President Roosevelt refused to exercise executive clemency. 

H.W. McCurdy's Marine History of the Pacific Northwest. Gordon Newell, editor. p. 85.
Hawaiian Star. 6 August 1902. Condensed from a gruesome full-page report.

❖ GOLD DISCOVERED AND UNDISCOVERED (Updated)

As I write about gold diggers on the
Olympic Peninsula of Washington State ...
GOLD was discovered, perhaps worth millions in Euros,
by digging at the site of a historic theatre,
Cuomo, Itlay. (Above & below.)
Reported 16 September 2018

Just discovered but not on the Olympic Peninsula.
These two photos from the Italian Ministry of Culture

It seems every pioneer community has a story of gold, perhaps not quite as exciting as these Roman coins in Italy. Often the legend is as buried as the hidden treasure. Once in the hands of successful miners, thieving pirates, or train robbers––here is a story of three Seattle businessmen who were digging for gold, turning the earth near Port Townsend, WA., in one of man's loftiest dreams––the search for buried treasure.

L-R: Leo Wendland, Dan Thumbert,
Philip W. Bailey and George G. Albert
Low res scan of an original photo from the
archives of the Saltwater People Historical Society©

      "Bright in the minds of the searchers was a vision of $60,000 in gold sovereigns supposedly buried over 100 years ago on property later occupied by Chevy Chase Inn on Discovery Bay, six miles west of Port Townsend.
      Shirts open at the throat and perspiring in the warm July day, the Seattle men labored with picks and shovels.
      Finding the treasure will entail more muscle work, for it would weigh about 265 pounds.
      Natives learned of the treasure hunt, although the optimistic searchers have made every effort to keep their toil a secret during the past week.
      They also tried––unsuccessfully to hide their identities, but too many curious persons found out that the three were:
      Leo Wendland, Dan Thumbert, and George G. Albert, all Seattle men, and all indefatigable nearby residents could not find out if Wendland, Albert, and Thumbert had occupations.
      "All we know," said the natives, "is that their business is finding gold––or at least looking for it."
But if mystery shrouded some of the activity, there was no secret about the story of the buried gold.
      Perhaps legendary, perhaps factual, the tale is included in several histories of Washington State.
      Chevy Chase Inn is owned by Phillip W. Bailey, president of a shingle company in Ballard, who gave the searchers sole rights for exploring the property.
      Mary Chase, who operated the Inn for a half century, heard the story from her stepfather, A. F. Tukey, who homesteaded the property in 1851.
      Thirteen years later, a paymaster for a railroad being built in British Columbia absconded with the monthly payroll, all in gold English sovereigns. He hired Indians from a village near Victoria to row him across the Strait of Juan de Fuca into Discovery Bay and put him ashore on the Tukey land.
      Presently the paymaster went to the Tukey farmhouse, asked for a horse to ride into Port Townsend and galloped away. At Pt. T. he boarded the night boat for Seattle.
      BC authorities meantime sent a fast cutter to Pt. Townsend and offered a reward for catching the paymaster. The Seattle-bound vessel's captain guessing he had the man aboard, headed for Victoria instead of Seattle and in no time the paymaster was in the custody of Canadian officials.
      The man died in a jail cell, never telling what became of the gold.
      A detachment of Canadian soldiers went to Discovery Bay, searched the property but found none of the treasure. 
      Throughout the years, there have been several hunts for the gold. The diligent Seattle men started excavations on the Chevy Chase golf course, worked with detecting devices and knowledge gained from history books. They are not only certain they'll find the gold, they're certain their rainbow is close at hand."
Text from The Seattle Times. 2 July 1944.



      

❖ GOLD RUSH MOSQUITO ❖ S.S. DIRIGO Aground with GOLD in the HOLD

Steam Schooner DIRIGO
157502
Built in Hoquiam, WA. 1898.
Original photo from the archives of the S.P.H.S©

"In the Gold Rush days of 1897, as a temporary measure, the Alaska Line joined forces with the Washington and Alaska Steamship Co., each contributing a boat to the Skagway run. The ROSALIE and the CITY OF SEATTLE alternated each week with sailings from the Northern Pacific Dock in Tacoma and Schwabacher's in Seattle. By July 1898, the Alaska line had chartered a second ship, the DIRIGO outright. 
      The DIRIGO was a steam schooner built at Hoquiam, WA. She was 165' x 35' x 13.50' and 843 Gross tons overall. Immediately after completion, she was placed in the Alaska trade by J.S. Kimball and Co. She was noted for her hard luck. In April 1898, she left Skagway and put in at Juneau because of condenser troubles. When she tried to come alongside the steamer CZARINA at Peoples Wharf, her engine room signals got crossed and she rammed the other vessel, badly holing her side. The CZARINA had to make a quick run to the beach at Douglas.

S.S. DIRIGO
1898-1914.
Undated original photo from the S.P.H.S.©

      On 9 March 1899, the DIRIGO was stranded with 100 passengers off Midway Island, south of Juneau, during a heavy snowstorm. She was on the rocks for 46 hours before she was re-floated. The steamer was commanded by two well-known officers Capt. George Roberts and Chief Engineer George Lent. On 12 March the DIRIGO was towed to Juneau and was later brought to Seattle. She was so badly damaged she required a new keel and garboard strakes. Repairs ran to about $30,000, more than a third of the vessel's value. Eventually Alaska Steam had her back on the run with the ROSALIE on a regular schedule.
      The DIRIGO figured in a more cheerful news story the same year. The 18 Oct. 1899 edition of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer described her return to Seattle with the largest single shipment of gold up to that time, sent by way of Lynn Canal. The metal was valued at more than $1,064,000 and weighed two tons. It consisted mostly of gold bars, melted at Dawson, that were enclosed in wooden boxes bound with steel. Two officers of the North West Mounted Police accompanied the consignment, altogether there were six armed guards standing six-hour watches. Also on board were two leather trunks containing $90,000 in gold dust from one bank and another box containing $37,000 shipped by the Alaska Commercial Co. The vessel also brought 7,500 cases of canned salmon and 78 passengers on that trip."
Above text from Alaska Steam. Lucile McDonald & the Puget Sound Maritime Historical Society. Seattle. 1984.
Some of the officers who served DIRIGO:
Capt. Gus Soderman, Capt. Charles L MacGregor, Capt. George Roberts
Chief Engineer John H. Bragdon, Capt. John A. Johnson.
1914, 11 April. Owing to increased activity in the Cook Inlet district, officials of the Alaska Steamship Co., announced they had decided to establish a regular freight and passenger route from Seward to that section of the country. To that end, steamship DIRIGO will be commissioned and pressed into service. The DIRIGO is being overhauled and will begin service in May. 
Above news clip from The Progressive. Petersburg, AK 11 April 1914.
1914, 16 November.  Commaded by Capt. John A. Johnson, foundered while in tow of the CORDOVA off Cape Spencer. The US Merchant Vessels publication lists DIRIGO was lost 40 miles east of Cape Elias. Crew safe.