Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1869-05-26
STORY OF SHTPNRECK
Loss of the Steamer sGHermann.s,

Loss of the Steamer sEHermann,',
The State Department has received from
our Consul at Kanagawa, under date of
March 1, the particulars of the loss of the
/ Pacific Mail Steamship Company's steamer
Hermann, on the evening of the 18Th of
February, together with the following fr7ll
statement by Captain Newell:
/ I was ordered to take command of the
/ Hermann as soon as that vessel should re-
turn to Yokohama from Yeddo and did so
on the morning OF the 18th inst. There
were then on board three hundred and fiftv
passengers and a crew of eighty men. The
heavy southwesterly gales which had pre-
vailed for twenty-four hours previously
had broken, the wind had. veered to
north and east, and the barometer indica-
ting better weather. proceeded to sea a.
noon bound to the Straits of Saugar. Oh
side of Cape Sagami we encounteyl q a
heavy southwesterly SWELL but wi fresh
from north and east; passed tn 1 reakers
on Mia Ledge, about six niles distant, at
half-past four o'clock = M, and then
steered northeast by cast till seven .. m.
then steered north cost by east half east one
hour; then east NJ rtheast till nine %. NJ.
/ then steered east by north half north, the
ship N k ng about seven knots per hour
a -Alnst the strong wind. These courses
! should have taken the ship about eight
miles from the land at the point of Kawatz.
but supposed the heavy southwest sea
would set her on shore, and therefore
thought the distance from land might
be about five miles. The sec
ond officer was stationed forward.
| Th night was extremely dark and hazv,
so that L saw the land very indistinctly, and
altered the ships course to the eastward in
! the manner related above, to give the Point
| tdistant abo t seyenty-fve miles from Yo-
kohoma) a wide berth; the native pi it:a.n.
! board having told me that there was reef
off the point, although it's existence was
not indicated on the chart, nor mentioned
III the sailing directions. l steered this
course, E. by n, one-half n, from seven
! till nine o'clock. [ hal then no apprehen-
sion whatever, and had just been aft to the
standard compass to examine the course
made by it, and was going forward again
when [ discovered breakers off the port
/ bow, and Immediately after saw them ahead
| then ordered the helm hard a port
! The ship at once answered the move
ment of the helm, but vas caught
! by tremendous roller and thrown
/ with great violence upon the rocks striking
| first forward and then aft when raised bV
/ the following swell Successive seas break
| forced her over the reef, the water filing
/ the ship, meanwhile, rapidly.
! The vessel thus drifted in shore, the sea
! breaking outside Of her till she had settled
| fairly upon the bottom, and to the hurri-
I cane deck; this was about 10 o'clock a. N.
4 She had by this time broken open amid
| ships; the bows We're stove in and the hull
more or less broken by the foremast. Had
concluded at once after striking that it WIS
safest for the people to cling to the wreck.
/ as no boat could live in the breakers about
! US, and [ ordered that the boats should not
/ be lowered. The life preservers, of which
there was great number, were got up, and
| the passengers shown their use [ threw
| up some signal rockets, when the people
on shore lighted fires in little bav. on
! which the town of Kawatzu is situated, At
| 1870 p. N. the port boats were swept
away, two of them being at once swampad
alongside; some of the crew jumped in
to the third one and got clear of the wreck.
but it was overwhelmed close by: soon
after [ had the starboard boats lowered.
which were quickly filed with people. In
two of them they cut the painter and at
tempted to reach the shore, but We're
swamped at q short distance from the
wreck The third and last boat cast adrift
from the vessel but remained under the
cover the wreck afforded from the breakers
for about half an hour, and then went in
toward the shore. As the wreck settled
deeper the people came upon the hurli-
cane deck. Between midnight and l a.
IN. one of the tunnels fell upon the king
rods, and thence rolling forward upon the
! hurricane deck broke it off amidshins
causing loss of life to number of people
| collected there. Before the chimney fell
the fOremast had gone
/ The sea reaching the hurricane deck.
broke up the whole of it forward, brt the
after portion of it foated off almost entire
and remained in this way alongside, and
seemed to save forty or fifty people. We
then collected on the wheel-houses and
rigging The wind and sea moderated ran
/ idly, the former veering to the southwark
| and westward, and coming off the land
| very cold and piercing. Some of the peo-
/ pie were washed off; some tried to save
themselves on pieces of the floating wreck.
The boats being mostly life buats, although
swamped, still foated, and were washed
into the small bay by the surf, and those
persons who clung to them were saved. It
! is impossible for me to estimate the loss of
| life. The ship first struck the reef at
nine P. NJ, and had not settled SO that the
sea dashed and broke up the hurricane
deck until about one A. II and those who
we're swept away in the various casualties
| happening in the interval, were carried in
shore by the surf while foated by the life
preservers or by clinging to portions of the
! wreck. We suffered greatly from the cold,
and some of those in the rigging proved
unable to endure it, At daylight ] found
the wreck lay about three-fourths of mile
| from the shore and near the bay mentioned
above. The ship was about one-fourth of
n mile further out, but was swept by the
heavy rolling seas to the spot where she
| finally settled. had little hopes from the
appearance of the coast that those who
were in the boats during the night were
saved; but as it afterwards proved MANY
of them were. About one hundred still
remained on the wreck. Soon one of the
ships boats and number of native craft
came off from shore. The latt wouldnot
come alongside, so that I was obliged to
transfer the people from the wreck to them
by means of the life-boat. When hovev-
Ell the weather moderated still more the
Japanese boats came along side and help
d to take off the balance of the people. At
2 p. m. all those who remained by the ship
during the night were safely landed on
shore. Before closing l would remark that
the behavior of the Japanese was heroic,
When the ship struck, those brave men.
suddenly aroused from sleep by the awful
crash, seemed to comprehend the situation
i'll moment. There was no stampede and
no disorder. From the first they were
quiet and cool, retaining wonderfully
their presence of mind, and calmlv
awaiting the commands of their
leader. This officer called them
/ on deck, and after consulting with me as
to the proper course to be pursued, order
ed his men to stay By the ship. On hear
ing this they retired to their rooms. where
they remained until driven from them bv
the water rising in the vessel; none Of
them attempting to leave the vessel without
permission from the officer in command,
and [ noticed that those who determined
to try swimming ashore stripped them
selves with the exception of belt about