Ear: Shark

The schooner USS Shark — which had battled piracy and the slave trade on the open oceans — met its fate on Sept. 10, 1846, on the Columbia River Bar, while heading back downriver after a jaunt to Fort Vancouver.

No experienced river pilot was available to guide the captain, Lt. Neil M. Howison, across, according to a National Park Service publication. His map was inaccurate and the sands had shifted. He entered the Columbia River Bar on the wrong tide, and he was exhausted from an elk hunt.

Regardless, he impetuously insisted on proceeding because he was 10 days behind schedule. First, the tide forced him toward the breakers. He dropped anchor, but the rope snapped. Sails still up, and still losing ground, he rammed into a sandbar and got stuck, permanently.

Howison ordered the doctor, the purser and those who were sick into one of the small boats, along with the Shark’s papers, captain’s logs and an iron box holding $4,000 in gold (about $159,000 now). The boat was almost immediately swamped and sank in the heavy seas. Luckily, there was a rope dangling from the Shark, and everyone was hauled back aboard.

Trapped for hours on the Shark, with waves rolling over its sides, the men were tied to the vessel for safety. At last, the tide changed, the waves calmed, and Howison sent the remaining boats to shore. He and 24 crew members spent an ugly, wet night aboard the vessel, which had taken on a great deal of water by then. The only refuge was provided by the bowsprit and two quarterdeck houses.

At sunrise, the boats returned to retrieve everyone left on the ship. The Shark was a total loss, but all hands made it safely to shore. (Photo: Naval History and Heritage Command)