Los Angeles daily herald., 1875-11-10
REPORTED LOSS OF THE PACIFIC
$50 Lives Lost.
Statement of the Only Survivor.

| PORTLAND, NOV. 6tn.-Ine Hollow
ing is the latest special dispatch to- the
OregOnidn
PORT TOWNSEND, Nov. Sth.-Henry
f. Jelley, who is supposed to be tho
sole survivor of the steamship Pacific
was brought into this port yesterday
by the ship Messenger, Capt. Gilkie
He was in a wretched plight, his knees
being terribly lacerated and bruised
in his efforts to keep OH the raft fol
the thirty-siX hours before being
picked up. Mr.. Jelley says the Pacific
came i'm contact with another vessel
and that he saw the lights; but in his
interview with Capt. Gilkie, lasting
twelve hours, he made no mention ol
seeing the lights of a vessel, and some
think he is laborfng under halluci.
nation in. that matter.
! Captain Scannon, of the Revenue
Marine, and Captain n. L. Oliver, pi.
lot, think that it is more likely the
Pacific struck q sunken rock, as nc
sailing vessel ought 10 have been sc
near the shore. Mr.. Jelley says the
concusson was little more than that
| felt by heavy sea striking the side
of the vessel,so that there was no con-
fusion or terror exhibited among the
passengers, and that if the boats could
nave been launched and properly
manned, and the sailing comparative
! ly smooth, ali would have been saved.
He was taken charge of here by DR..
L. f. Minor, L. S. Marine Surveyor,
and to-day sent over to Victoria.
HISTORY OF THE DISASTER.
Following is the statement of Henry
L. Jelley: "My name is Henry Fred
erick Jelley; am native of Ireland,
but have lived for the last nine years
in the Dominion of Canada, and am of
the age of 20 years; took cabin pas.
sage on board the steamship Pacific,
of which J. ID. Howell was Master, on
the morning of Thursday the 4th inst,
| for voyage to San Francisco. and OH
the same morning, ut about 9:l5, the
steamer left the harbOr of Victoria, B.
c.; there were about 200 people on
board, more OF less, and we steamed
| all that day against head wind blow
ing fresh from the Southeast; during
| the day the crew were constantly
pumping water into the boats to keep
| the steamer on an even keel, first on
one side and then or the other, and
she would list to eitherside alternately
as noticed; the boats abaft the pad
dle-boxes had no oars i'm them; be-
tween 8 and 8 O'clock that evening,
| and while was in the cabin in bed, /
heard
A CRASH AND FELT A SHOCK
AS if we had struck rock or some-
thing of the kind, and heard some-
thing fall as if a lot OF rocks had broke
into and fallen in her starboard bow,
and Immediately heard the bell strike
to stop her, and then to back her, and
then to go ahead; l went on deck and
there heard voices say,'It is all right,
we have only struck vessel" and
looki ing around | saw several lights
some distance off on the starhoard
beam, i think there were three lights,
but do not think they were colored
lights, but did not pay much attention
TO them; l went back into the cabin
and was about to turn in when no.
ticed her rolling a heavy list to the
port and then Thought she was going
down, and went on deck; | heard
some one say she was
MAKING WATER VERY FAST
Forward: went forward to the pilot
house and there heard the Purser ask
the Captain what boat he would take
charge of; did not hear the answer; l
asked the Captain if there were no
blue lights or a gun aboard; he told
me I would find blue lights in the pi.
lot house; the Captain was at that
time coming out of his own room, and
/ did not see him after that; l then,
with another man whom l did not
know, went into the pilot house, found
six blue lights and set five of them off
and lost the other one; l then noticed
that the engines were still working,
but no one was at the wheel; / then
went on deck to the starboard, forward
of the paddle-box, where a number of
men were trying to get the long-boat
out, but they could not do it; then
went to see about the port boat for
ward; helped five or six ladies into it
and tried to get the boat off, but we
could not bulge it, there were about
twenty ladies in that boat; | then
heard it said that the two boats abaft
the wheel had been gotten off, but did
not see them; the boat WINS near was
pretty full of water and we could not
get her off at all; think it was about
an hour from the time the steamer
struck up to the time when she listed
to the port SO much that the port boat
was let into the water and cut loose
from the davits; was in this boat,
which, when it touched the water, be-
gan to fill and turned over; / crawled
ha Of
ed several others up with me; imme-
! diately after the steamer seemed to
break in two, fore and aft, and One-
half the smoke.stack feel to port and
struck our boat and pushed 1T away,
| and
THE STEAMSHIP PACIFIC SUNK.
l think about all the ladies were in
our boat, and when she upset they all
| fell into the water and | fear they
were drowned. This was about ten In
the evening. The night was not dark,
nor was the sea very rough, but there
was fresh breeze. l afterwards left
the bottom of our boat, and with an
other man climbed on the top of the
pilot house, which was floating near,
| and we held on to the upper wire that
came out at the top. The next morn
ing 1 got some life preservers floating
near the house, and with their ropes
lashed myself and my comrade on to
the house. l saw three rafts; the first
one had one man on, the next had
| three men and q woman, and the 9TH
er could not not make out for the
| distance except that there were human
| beings on il. / think we were thirty
or forty miles South Of the Cape when
the vessel sunk. We passed a light
on Tattoosk Island between and 3