Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-09-12

AAo ApitvNluS - q OoPg Oi e"D etsuSAii9Aas y
Captain Hudson, OF tine Golden Gate, 20 the Pa
cifs mail steamship company
GENTLEMEN have to report to you thi
total loss Of TIE Golden Gate. by fire, which oc
CURED Oh The afternoon Of the 9th instant fl
teen uiies to the westward Of Mauz snilla A
five il the afternoon, when at dinner the shil
was reported 70 be on ire / Immediately aros
from ths iable, requesting tho passengers to re
main qui5s, and proceeded to the spar-deck
when I found dense volums OF smoke coming
up from the engine room hatchwsy. All thi
iTe hose Of the snip were immediately put ia re
QUESTION and worked with ell possible energy
The ship was Row about three or four mile,
from the land. I saw 1T glance the impOssi
biliiy Of subduing the hlmes, and Immediately
put the helm mp 10 run the ship ashore. Men
women and children were now ordered forward
and probably one hundred had reached the fore
castle, Whe1 the flames spread with such rapid
~ as 10 cut Of eli communication with the aftel
part of the ship. / ordered Mr. Waddell, the
chief engineer, to keep the engine moving as
long as possible. All regular communication
with tho engine room was cus of ia few min.
engineers were still below. The feed valves Ct
the boilers and furnace doors we're opened wide
aud al precautions used 20 prevent explosion
So rapid was The spread Of tho flames, how
ever, that the engineers and their men barely
escaped with their lives, by forcing q passage
through the after freight room bulkhesd At
half past ii 7e we grJu ded about three hundred
yards from the beach aud there was heavy
surf bIeakilg- Before reaching the shore the
after boats lowered away and filed with passen-
gers, under charge Of my chietohieer, Mr. Nolan,
who remained by he ship, rendering all possi-
BE aid ia saving life la he meantime, life
,f
nature, were furnished to the passen gers, thrown
overheard after she struck.
The flames spread with such rapidity that the
hurricane deck, from the forenast sft, fell with
a tremendous crash before reaching the shore
and soon afteyWaEd the feremast went by the
board The heat had nov. become so intense as
to compel al who remained to leave the burn
ing wreck by lowering themselves in the water
with lines furnished for that purpose aud many
had thrown themselves into the water from va
Iious parts of the chip. After all had left Cap
tain Pearson aud myself dropped from the bow
spirit, and succeeded with great difficulty in
reaehing the beach. / found that about eighty
had reached the shore with life.
All that remained visible of the ship at eight
p. n, was her engines. boilers, and wheel
frames. At daylight on the following morning,
the 2Slh July, we foand aad buried sixteen
bodies, and al eight A. a., we started for Man
z suilla and a. noon we reached the terminus of
the beach, about five miles from the wreck, and
found tbe roads impossible from the density OF
chapparral or brushw0ed At 3 p NJ, bost
hove in sight, with which we communicated and
sent to M&nzauiia for relief Ga the morning Of
the 29th two OF cur boats reaehed us and re-
ported that they had saved sixty-iOur passen-
gers.
The st. Louis touching at Manzanilla early
s
came TO our assistance and rescued those who
had remained with me on the beach. We had,
on leaving San FfaacseO, two hundred and
fofy-two passengers and niRety-six crew.
There now remain ssventy-Lwo passengers, and
sixty two crew, making our loss and missing,
sone of whom may yet be found, two hundred
aud four. Captain Lapidge wiz remain at this
port till tomorrow evening, tbs Both inst, for
the purpose Of searching still further fer missing
passengers.
From the shelving beach and heavy surf
where the ship is lying there remains little or no
IN my opinion, of saving the treas
ure. / snail remain, however, as agent OF the
with portion Of my crew and
officers, for It's protection, and with the hope,
also, Of being able to save additional life. Or
ders FROM y0u will reach me through the house
cf Ostiug G. Co, of Manzanilla. / cannot say
too much OF the efficiency aud eoolness of my
officers and crew under the trying Circumstances
through which they have passed.
Very respectfully, etc, W. A HUDSON.
83essrs. Forbes & Blbcock, agents Pacific mail
steamship company, San Ffanclgco.
J. II. MTCHELLs s ACCOUNT.
was passenger on the steamer Golden
Gate The alarm Of FIRE was given while all the
passengers were at dinner There appeared to
be very little excitement at FIRST and / supposed
the FIRE would be soon extingUi5het Then
saw ths first mate GONE along, and he got out
the small one and bsf inch hose, used for
washing decks forward This was the only hose
went to work at the pumps forward
as many as could ge. at the brakes. went
from the pumps upon the hurricane deck, saw
Captain Hudson on the bridge trying to quiet
the passengers, telling them there was no danger,
tue ire would be very soon extinguished, and
not to get excited, etc.
While l was on tbe hurricane deck, which
was but few inmates, Mr.. Nolan, the first Off
Ger, came along AMI told several of the men
(psssengers) to form line and stand by to pass
buckets of water on the fire. The buckets were
at hand, and I asked where the water was to be
had. He made no reply to this, but passed on
below to the main deck. ] saw him DO more on
the steamer end supposed that ne, finding the
X
boats out (three in number) where he was &C.
lively employed in saving the passengers.
The steamer AZ this time was turned heading
toward the beach (abous three or four miles dis
tant) the wheel lashed, sad the engines kept in
motion. | was afterward told on shore by the
second engineer (frst and second engineers
were both sayed) that the engineer who was on
duty at the time of the burning Of the steamer
was lost.
By this time there was great deal of excite
ment aboafd. Many of the passengers jumped
overheard, others were throwing chairs, benches,
planks, etc, over to assist IN the effort to save
their lives The forward boat was lowered, |
believe, by some Of the passengers. 1t was
crowded. there being some twenty-five or thirty
in it, q number of them ladies'. The boat was
struck BY the wheel as it reached the water, be-
fore the tackle was cast of, and swamped. The
weather was fine; had been warm all the day.
and the sea was calm There was slight land
breeze, nothing more.
In about fifteen or twenty minutes after the
alarm was given the steamer struck the beach.
BY this time her whole upper works, from stem
to stern, was sheet Of flame, with the excep-
tion Of a small space forward of about fifteen
feet, where ths passengers who were yet on
board, to the number Of nearly one hundred,
should Judge, were crowded together, some
ciingng to the rail, 10 the chains, wherever they
could obtain q hold or a footing, At the moment
OF cur striking the beach, the wheels Of the
steamer stopped. I Sided down a rope into the
water ard swan for ths shore, about one hun
dred and fifty yards distant l picked up a tin
which assisted in buoying me up
little, but lost it sgain in the surf. There were
about twenty men who had reached the shore
ahead Of me- The number who got to land at
this point was about eighty, Of whom there was
only one woman--Mrs. Wallace. There was 3
number Of women In the crowd gathered for
ward, before mentioned. The boats that left the
steamer went of toward the port Of Manzanills,
about twelve miles distant Captain Pearson,
Captain Hudson, and the purser sll got ashore
at .ag ame place where I did.
Bftor getting safely there myself, I assisted
in getting others to land. A number were
drowned, and some thrown ashore by the action
OF the surf We buried sixteen bodies the fol-
loving morning. The steamer was burned SO
as to break to pieces by nine o'clock that even
ing The engines, beams, etc stood there black
and gaunt, like q skeleton.
We lgid on the beach huddied together the
weather growing cool before paOrning9 to keep