An Odd English Collier Sails In, and the Wharves Fill to See Her

The steamship Crown of England, the pioneer of the Great Eastern line, connecting with the Great Northern railroad, arrived in Seattle harbor yesterday afternoon at 3 o'clock and tied up at Baker's wharf in the presence of at least 500 people. Her arrival at Port Townsend at midnight previous had been heralded in the newspapers, and the wharf was crowded with people who were curious to see the strange vessel. No sooner had her bow appeared in sight off West Point than the news spread all over the city, and when the vessel arrived nearly an hour later several of the wharves along the water front were black with spectators.

The Crown of England is under the command of Capt. A. W. Harns, who was first officer previous to the departure of the steamship from Yokohama, where Capt. Gibson, her former commander, became sick and was obliged to leave. She carries a crew of thirty-one men. Her passage over was a rough one, after a series of minor mishaps, and occupied eighteen days from Yokohama until land was first sighted off Vancouver island on Sunday, October 8. Immediately after sighting land thick fog shut down, and it was just a week before she entered the Straits of Fuca. On account of her light cargo she was very high out of water and difficult to handle. Consequently she was driven out of her course last Tuesday by the severe southeast gale which prevailed along the coast.

The vessel is built of iron and is a collier, with only one deck and no passenger accommodations. She is 300 feet long, with a tonnage of 2,574 gross and 1,658 net, and a carrying capacity of about 3,600 tons. She is less than two years old, and made her first voyage from Cardiff to Hakodate with coal for the English war vessels stationed in Japanese waters. After visiting several other Japanese ports she made the trip to Seattle, and has never been in China, although she was reported to have started from Hongkong on her present trip. After discharging her cargo here she will go into the coal trade between Nanaimo and San Francisco. In some respects she is an odd looking craft. She carries steering gear aft like a sailing ship, and another forward at the bridge, but no pilot house. The deck is of solid iron, and the whole craft has a decidedly English aspect.

The Crown of England in no sense represents the class of vessels which will ply between this port and Japan and China, so says F. C. Davidge, of Victoria, agent of Samuels & Co., who will put the steamers on the route. She was chartered for the single trip to bring over what freight could be secured. She brought 280 tons of Oriental freight, as follows: cases of kerosene, 150 rolls of matting, 177 cases of curios, 20 cases of tar, 50 packages of rice, 5 cases of sundries, 150 chests and 1,136 half-chests of tea. The freight is consigned to Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, San Francisco, Mexico and Eastern points.

When the Crown of England arrived here Customs Inspectors Snover and Brinker, of Port Townsend, were on board, but they simply accompanied the vessel and she was entered at the local custom house. The work of discharging the cargo will begin today.

Among the spectators on the dock, and who boarded the vessel as soon as she arrived, were: President Graves, Griffith Davies, R. C. Washburne, J. Loring Whittington and E. F. Wittier, of the Chamber of Commerce, but there was no ceremony of welcome. Rev. J. B. Alexander, of Tacoma, British vice consul, also boarded the vessel on her arrival at the dock, in performance of his duties.