Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1875-01-06
PERILS OF THE SEA.

Hearsrending Scenes-The Loss of the la
Plata-How Sixty People Went Down.
Thomas Clarkson, an able seaman,
who steered the boat that was saved,
and of whom all the survivors speak In
high terms, gives the following account
of the scenes which followed the loss of
the able steamer La Plata, In the Bay
Ct Biscay.
At first there was very little confusion
on board, as many of the men believed
the vessel would wear out the gale; but
when we saw our peril III reality, / and
two of my mates said we would hang
together to the last Accordingly we
got the starboard- quarter boat adrift
and got into her. tried to get key of
water, but could not lift it over the rail.
With a hawser we made a kind of
"fender," to protect the boat from stav-
ing, as she was violently dashed
against the side of the sinking
ship. I saw Captain Dudden stand
ing near the chart-room with the
chief engineer by his side. The
doctor, with the second and third
mates, was on the bridge trying to
launch one of the RATS. The captain
was cool, but appeared to realize the
danger of his position. We were In
the boat long time before we could
get clear away. The. first and second
steward, three engineers, and several
other men, making twelve in al, came
to us, andas / was appointed coxswain.
] ordered the men to seize the oars and
back away from the vessel as quickly as
possible, as she was then sinking rapid
". At this time there was a fearful
cross-sea running, and the boat was In
the greatest danger. We saw other
boats afoat. all full of men, who
had left the ship, but two of them soon
disappeared, being either stove in
against the sides of the vessel or cap
sized by the waves. Numbers of men
were desperately battling for life, rising
and falling with the sea, and piteously
shouting for help. At this time the YES
sci had sunk so much that only her
masts and sails and the top of her funnel
were visible. Many succeeded in reach
ing the masts, and to them they chung
as the last resource, while dozens of
others we're floating. We tried to save
all that came near us. One poor fellow
Bob Mackenzie, [ believe-cried out,
Gin the name of God, save me- Our
boat was then edging toward the steam
er again, and ] was obliged to bear her
off, or else we should have been capsiz-
ed Mackenzie swan close to us, and
got his hand on the g1lnwale of the
boat Again he implored me to save
him, and [ replied: 81 can not
look after you this moment, but [
will directly" As soon as I got
our boat from the wreck [ stopped,
seized hold of his monkey jacket with
my teeth, and dragged him in. Then
boy came up, wearing a life belt, and
I saved him too, as also another, who
must have succumbed in second. We
were now fifteen in all, and our little
boat was dangerously overladen. Pc
ter Hughson was the stroke oar, and
James Alexander pulled second land it
was with the greatest difficulty we sue
ceeded in getting away from the vessel.
The funnel had disappeared, and there
was only the masts and sails to be seen,
and the sea was washing over them
most furiously In second or SO we
were deafened by an explosion like a
thousand cannon being discharged at
once. The masts and sails, with num-
bers of human beings hanging to them,
were shot distance into the air, while
the sea for considerable distance was
full of wreckage of all kinds. To ade-
quately describe the scene of this mo-
ment would be simply impossible.
The falling sails carried nearly all
who were In the water be-
,noo4l III ord an1oI fboi.
troubles. The heads of many Of those
who were struggling seemed to fall on
their arms, and we saw NJ more OF
them. The force of the explosion
seemed to still the fury of the waves,
for all around the spot where the La
Plata disappeared the sea, for some
minutes, was as calm as lake. heard
the voice of a little chap calling for
help, but [ could not go to him, and
was obliged to say, You are too far
we can not get near you" [ believe
that everybody afoat was drowned i'm
mediately after the explosion, for it was
impossible that any one could have sur
vived it, so violent was the shock. The
ship went down III regular whirlpool,
stern first, and all must have been
pressed uOWu ny Vic odl1o Will u0r.
] saw one of the patent RATS
afoat, but she TUNED owe,
and foated away with the wreckage. ]
do not believe that the boilers burst
because the engine fires were extin
guished full three hours before the LS
Plata sank. Neither did the engine
break down, for they were working witt
what little steam was left until the last
She must have taken the water In some
where below; st all events L am sures h'
cid not fill from the decks, for as long
as | was there they dried between eacl
sea. Many of the men changed thel
clothes when the danger was perceived
and / recollect saying to somebody, L
will be very little use, as there will no
be much struggling ii we get into th'
water In such sea- and SO it proved
We did all we could to save our unfor
tunate shipmates, but we saw no NOR
of them. Then we fastened a buckle
on our boat to keep her head on tn