Elleda Wilson: Shifting sands
May 4—Lewis & Dryden's History of the Pacific Northwest tells the tale of the ill-fated Capt. Paul Corno and his ship, the W. B. Scranton. On May 5, 1866, the barkentine Scranton made it across the Columbia River Bar, but the wind failed, and she ran aground on the river's shifting sands, "striking heavily."
Corno's bark Industry ran aground the previous year, near the same spot. Desperate attempts by rescuers from Fort Canby were only able to save 17 of 24 souls aboard and the ship was lost.
Fortunately, Capt. J. D. Munson, the lighthouse keeper at Cape Disappointment (and later at Point Adams) saw the Scranton in distress, and hastened to the rescue with a crew of six in an old lifeboat that Munson, who, with help, had refurbished and made seaworthy again. They were able to first rescue Captain Corno's wife and another passenger.
The crew stayed on board until night, when they were all rescued with no casualties. The barkentine was abandoned where she lay. When a swell came up the following afternoon, she broke up, less than 24 hours after grounding.
The unfortunate Capt. Corno, considered "one of the pioneers in the coasting sailing business," took this second ship loss hard, and "never regained his fortune."
