Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1864-09-05

According to rule, he put his wheel aport
and kept his boat off point further to the
north, making her course W. s. W. She
ran in this direction a short time, when
Captain Wetmore, perceiving that the pro-
peller light was still nearing him, put his
helm aport again and kept the Arctic of
another point to the right. This ought to |
have been enough, had the other boat done
the same, to have enabled them to pass |
completely clear of each other, with wide |
distance between them. But the captain |
ofthe Sciota, Roscoe by name, seems to |
have steered in just the wrong direction. |
Both propellers turned to the northward, |
the Arctic to her right and the Sciota to
her left, and now approached each other,
nearly at right angles. Captain Wetmore,
perceiving thatthe other propeller was near
athand ,and rapidly approaching under full
head of steam, stopped his boat, hoping in
that way to avoid a collision. He soon saw,
however, that the two boats would newt
ably strike each other, and in order to les
sen the force of the shock, started again,
putting his helm hard aport, in order that
the blow might be glancing one. This
movement of the Arctic changed the posi-
ton of the two vessels so that their courses
were almost exactly at right angles to each
other. The Arctic was, at this time, run
ming very slowly, while the sciota was ap-
parently under full head of steam. At the
moment of the collision, the Arctic was
stopped again and her engines reversed,
but too late to avoid the blow. The boats
approached, as we have said, nearly at right
angles to each other. The stern of the Arc
tic had over-lapped the course of the Sciota
only a few feet, when the latter, coming on
under full head of steam, struck the Arctic in
the port bow with terrible force. The Arc
tic received no damage whatever, the paint
being hardly rubbed off her side, but the
bow of the Sciota crumbled into fragments
at the blow, the first ten feet of it being
broken into splinters. The Sciota filed
rapidly and sunk within ten min
utes after striking. The Arctic
passed about boats length beyond her, be-
fore she could stop, and then backed up to
the wreck, having, meantime, got out two
boats, and engaged at once in picking up
the crew and passengers of the sciota.
Immediately after the collision, the Cap
tain of the Sciota, who seems not only to
have shown mismanagement in causing the
collision, but also to have displayed gross
cowardice after it had happened, got out
boat, which was Immediately filed by the
crew and passengers. We learn that the
Second Mate and Captain, unmindful of
the rule which makes it the Captains duty
to remain on his ship in time of peril until
all others have left it, were the first to de-
sert their vessel and to get into the boat. |
Among those still left on the propeller |
when the boat pushed off were the Clerk, |
and the wife of the Steward. A colored |
cook, who had swan to the boat, with |
bucket in his teeth, after it had been |
pushed off, and who, throughout, displayed
more self-possession and courage than any
other man on board, entreated them to re-
turn and add these two to their load, but /
the Captain refused, saying that if they
did SO they would be drawn into the vortex
of the sinking propeller and engulfed.
The cook used argument and entreaty, but
in vain. He even swan out to the propel-
Ter with the rope of the small boat in his
hands, and endeavored to reach the Clerk,
who was standing on the sinking vessel with
his books in his hands. The cook could
only just reach him, and entreated the
Captain to give him only three inches more
rope, but without avail, and the cook was
lost.
The Sciota sunk before the Arctic could
return to her but the officers and crew of
the latter vessel did every thing in their
power to save the lives of those on the
Seiota. Some had jumped on the, Arctic
at the time of the collision some were
in the boat; others were clinging to the
floating spars and others still to planks,
&C., thrown to them by
the Arctic In all, out of a crew
Of twenty-three or four, and passengers,
four in number, all but nine were saved.
The following were lost:
- Hickock, Clerk.
Two fremcn.
Two deck hands.
Cabin-boy, (eolored).
Stewards wife and baby, the latter only ;
hree months old.
A colored woman, a passenger, who lives
n Toledo.
The crew are mainly f1Dm Buffalo.
The officers of the Arctic took every pos
ible preeaution necessary to save life.
their boats cruised among the floating spars, l
a great number of which strewed the sur '
ace of the lake,, for two hours, and the boat
ay near the wreck till daylight Saturday
morning, and then cruised around some F
title time, in hopes to find some of the
Missing crew, but without avail. She then
ontinued her course to this port, where she
rrived Saturday afternoon, bringing with
er the survivors of the crew and passen-
ers of the sciota. II
We cannot say as much for Charles Ros-
oe the Captain of the Inflated sciota. His n
onduct seems to have been careless, cow e
rdly and selfish, throughout, and we learn a
hat even after receiving money from the a
aptsin of the Arctic, he tried to get out of a
leveland and leave his men here without
aging their fare to Buffalo. The matter
ill, however, be legally investigated, and a
1e blame of the accident fixed where it a
elongs. Y
We have had no opportunity to converse v
ith the officers and men of the sciota, as u
ley left for Buffalo on Saturday night, al
nd therefore we do not know Captain Ros- al
oe's version of the story. We understand,
owever, that his men claim that the steer
lg apparatus of the vessel was out of order NJ
nd could not be regulated. cl
We have not learned the amount of loss al
1 the vessel and cargo, nor what portion W
n 1voa covarad nv insuranca O.