Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1875-11-26
The Captain Of the COlIiding Vessels
Account Of the Accident-He
Heard the Halls of the
Steamer, but Could not
Make them Out.

an uSlecided manner No attention
was paid to the halls from the Pacific.
The Orpheus resumed her c-urse with.
out an Hort 70 assist her. The testi.
moDy Ct OHarloD, the rescued quarter
ma ;ter, and Jelly, passenger on the
facihc,. showed a lack of discipline on
board and want Of authority on the part
OF the officers after the collision. The
passengers crowded the boats, which
could not then be launched, and the
! crew OF The steamer were ell asleep be-
low, exoep. the helmsmsn, waJchman,
and ofticers CT the deck Their testi-
mony mainly egrees with previous re-
ports as tc details.
The Daily British C0Lonfst, of the
ninth instant, published at Victoria,
British Columbia, contains an interview
with Henry +. Jelly, the first survivor
Of the Pacific, who was picked no by
the Messen ger He gives graph, de-
! scription of some of the narrowing
scenes that came under his observation
he said that IL the crash he heard while
lying in bed was caused by a collision
with another ship, it was a very slight
one. He is positive, however, that on
gaining the deck he saw, on the star
board deck, three lights as from vessel.
he heard no hRll. The weather was not
foggy at that time. The wind wss fresh,
out the sea smooth. BE was told that
there had been collision, and that the
steamer had sustained no damage. Pre-
viOus to going on deck the first time, he
heard the bells 10 stop and then reverse
the engines. When he reached the
deck the steamer was going ahead
again. Passengers were told not TO be
alarmed, that there was no danger, and
matters quieted down. Mr.. Jelly went
back 10 his ststerOom, and was getting
into bed again, when he felt the
ship give a sudden lurch, and heard a
rush of.wster. He Weuiagain on deck
and discovered that the ship was sink !
ing. He saw Captain Howell standing |
in his room and asked him: "Where |
do you keep your red lights?n The cap
tain answered, ain the pilot-house." |
Mr.. Jelly went and found the wheel de-
serted, and the ship steering wildly, |
while the engines were still working. |
He saw boat (the' launch) into which
the women were being placed, and took
his stand there and saw Mrs. Otis Par
sons assisted in. Mrs. Parsons was be-
wailing the death of her child IA little
boy OF year and half, which she said
man had fallen on and killed instant
ly. Another lady (supposed from the
description to be Miss Alicia Vaudeville,
Mrs. Parsons sister,, stood by her and
also wept bitterly st the child's death.
Mr.. Jelly says he helped lady who,
from the description, must have been
Miss Fannie Palmer, Of this city, into
the launch. A number OF the
ships crew crowded into the boat,
which was in charge of Chief Engineer
Houston. They were demonstrated with,
and replied that they were there to look
after the ladies, and ordered all men to
get out Of the boat, but would not go |
themselves. They EejZed one mana
passenger, whose wife was in the boat,
ana threw him ont On the deck. His
wife implored them to let him stay,
saying, "Oh, my God! Save himri
But they would not allow him ID get in |
sgsin. All this time the ship was set
in her grave. Some one
'ame along at this moment and said:
Two OF the boats have got eff on the
'ther side" They then tried to let this
boat down from the davits, but they
,culd not. As the ship settled, how
,ver, the launch reached the water, and
ome brave spirit standing on the deck
ut the fastenings loose with an sx.
rhe boat rode for moment, and as the [
ca was still smooth and the boat well {
rovided with oars, it was hoped that l
he would get clesr. Unfortunately, 9
owever, the launch had been flied I
7ith water during the day (for reasons i
hat will be perfectly explaIned), and C
7ss more than half full now. The S
7eight Of water and the people, there t
)re, caused the boat to careen, and she v
Irned completely over, amid the shrieks P
the women aud the despairirg cries .
the men. Mr.. Jelly and four other L
len managed TO Chamber on the boats s.
ottOm as she came up; but the poor v
'omen, weighed down by their clothes, c
0uld not avail themselves of that for |
'rn hope and speedily disappeared. 81
bout this time our informant observed g
ne steamer settling down on the polt II
de-thst Is, the side on which he aud
he ethers were floating on the boats
Ottom, and the smOke-stack or funnel
III into the water. The steamer gave d
Vo or three luTcbes and then broke in 81
yo amidships with 3 crashing noise, Ia
ID went down, carrying with her al v
sst one hundred and fl 'ty persons, who ct
ere standing on the decks at the time. L
be Chinese, who mum bersd about fifty, al
I'd huddled near the smoke-stack, tU
hither they had dragged their bag sc
.ge, and had kept up an incess6nt and oi
I'd conversation while the ex- W
Ting scenes were being enacted. II
hen the ship broke in two and b;
nk beneath the waves, these poor @
eaiures sank with her. The surface Jt
the water was presently covered with NJ
Teckage from the lost steamer, to some in
which men and women clung with a hl
nscity which only feeling OF despair hs
n ITpnaFf nna az
is moment were dreadful. The wind oV
d sea were rising, and the poor people de
rift on old oceans melancholy waste 70
ere washed by every wave that broke Il
this moment Mr.. Jelly saw the top pa
the pilOthOuse with q man seated upon on
be made an effort and reached it. Gu
found the occupant to be large so
an, evidently an American, with full in
lck whiskers and mustache. Toe | th
o drifled away from the scene o, the tn
eek, and were soon out OF sight of the We
ler unfOItunstes. The hands employed
the dredger say that when the Pa
ic passed out on Thursday she hsd a
clded list to stsrboard, and steered go ue
1ly that the remark was made that III ~
must be wrong with her. At IN
IT Townsend, it is said, the vessel va
ked so badly that there were five feet ou
wster in her lower hold, and that the al
lin was not put down there for fear OF OF
maging il. IL this statement be cor. 90
t, the list is accounted for. an
E STORY OF THE CAPTAIN OF THE ~,
ORPHEUS. ~,
he following extracts are taken from en-
! story OF Charles Sawyer, master OF IA,
} Orpheus: He says that at half-psst seI
ie O'Clock on the evening of Novem- vs
4th, "a light was reported on the an
t bow. The second,mate, who was in 70,
srge CT the deck, altered her course to scs
'thwest 10y west, and brought the light ne
the starbosrd bow. i went on deck ba
! saw a steamers masthead light; do
ould zee no eolOred lights, but saw tn
eral saloon lights. l Kept them on thi
starbOard bow and brought the ship saI
to west southwest, with tire yards isr
isTe and the sails abafr. The secOrG tn,
te thought he could see Ted light SUI
/ could not. told the man at the ad,
eel to hard s-port,' anu before she hu
d off two points,. Il cOuntermanded ! lar