Two men had been killed outright, crushed against their ship’s iron hull, and four more — including William Begg — received injuries ranging from minor to severe.

The sailors soon found themselves on a broad sandy beach, a few miles north of Ilwaco on the Washington side of the river. They were able to find a local resident in a house nearby, and soon the alarm was out in the community and the exhausted, dripping sailors were being welcomed into warm firelit homes and plied with hot drinks.

As for Begg, his injuries were severe, and he needed more than a cup of cocoa. So he was taken to nearby Ocean Park and set up in the Taylor Hotel, where the hotel owner’s daughter, Maude, undertook to nurse him back to health.

And that was how William Begg met Maude Taylor, the love of his life. By the time he was back on his feet, it was clear that he had found a new home, and his seafaring days were over. (Columbia River Bar, Clatsop County; 1896) (For text and pictures, see http://offbeatoregon.com/1804b.william-begg-lucky-shipwreck-glenmorag-490.html)