Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1877-05-31
THE LOST STEAMER.
THRILLING ACCOUNT OF THE WRECK.
One Hundred and Thirty.Seven
Passengers Dumped in the
Surf Without Baggage.
Gallant Conduct of Officers and
Crew.
SAN Francisco, May 80

dt tWO T.. NJ. Inc fdclllC MAIL stealth
er Costa Rica has just dropped an
Choir. She has on board 1877 passen-
gers Of the lost steamer, San Francis
co. Mr.. Moses Sargent, brother OF
Senator Sargent, gives the following
details: The City of San Francisco
left Panama, May 18th at 4:30, A. NJ.
with 1877 passengers 40 cabin and 81
Storage, and $50 officers and crew.
Value of the cargo, three-quarters of a
million, consisting of silks, velvets,
laces etc. On Wednesday morning,
May Is, day bright, atmosphere clear;
al 9:lS a peculiar, indescribable tremor
vas felt, the ship having struck upon
an unknown rock, cutting into her hull
Il length of 90 feet. The water rushed
in with fearful velocity. The ship was
then six miles from Tartar shoals, and
thirteen miles from shore, the Captain
having known by observation her po-
sition at s o'clock. The rock upon
which she struck is not OH any chart,
but a document sworn to before the
United States Consul at Acapulco by
one Perez and witnessed by VIM.
Land, of the gunboat Mexico, deposes
that said Perez is perfectly CONVEX
SAINT with rocks extending from Point
Mathematical in a southwest direction.
They are sharp pointed, covered with
four or five fathoms OF water and ex-
tending in nearly a straight line for u
distance of from II to IA miles from
land. The ship was at once turned to-
ward shore, gradually sinking, full
steam on, where she grounded on a
sand bank at, 1920 A. NJ, fortunate ly
three compartments not bursting. The
Captain and his officers were cool and
clear. headed. As soon as the ship
struck orders were given to get the
boats ready and life preservers IN, as
the danger OF sinking was most inn
minent. The surroundings between
the reef and sand bank showed So,
IL, 20 and % fathoms OF water. Dur
ing the fearful interval, while
the ship was evidently sinking, not
a cry was heard from the passengers.
There was little confusion, but silent,
anxious waiting, although there were
1877 passengers, 20 OF them small chill
dren, and many OF them young men
never before at sea. The boats started
for shore, thirty miles. Not a passen-
ger was allowed a pound OF baggage OF
any kind, aud on reaching shore each
BOAT was overturned and the passen-
gers thrown in the surf, causing a
scene never TO be forgotten. Kind
Providence preserved every life and all
we're safe on the Mexican shore. For
%tunately o stream of fresh water wa
found in a gorge between the mount
aims where, with the stars for a cover
ing and roots and branches of trees for
mattresses, all slept. The Captain at
once sem me of the officers to Acca-
pulco, so miles distant, but fortunately
his boat fell in with the gunboat Mexico,
Captain Lotar commanding, and, al
though under orders to get provisions
for the besieged city-the inhabitants
starving for food-the Captain at nee
steamed Off TO the relief of The ship.
wrecked passengers. They were all
taken off safely, crowding The deck of
the %gunhoat, and next day transported
to the Pacific mail steamer Costa Rica,
Capt. Whiteberry commanding. Tie
officers and crew of the United States
ships L~sckawana and Pensacola acted
most nobly, supplying the passengers
with clothing from their private ward
robes. The United States ships also
took up subscriptiunsto a large amount
for distribution among the women and
children wno were entirely destitute.
Captain Waddell and officers behaved
splendidly, brave, humane, unself>h.
Captain Waddell says seven steam
pumps Of 100 barrels of water per
minute were absolutely useless. The
whole bottom was out OF the steamer.
He has steamed over The spot repeat.
edly. Hi, conjecture is, hat the late
earthquake, which was made manifest
on the coast by a tidal wave, may have
upheaved submarine rocks. In one
hour and two minutes the ship was
under the She was going at
eleven knots when she struck. The
Captain'was on the bridge an hour be-
fore the steamer struck, and timed
everything by his watch. Twenty
minutes after she struck the fires were
out. In hat twenty minutes she was
running in shore under a full head of
steam, making a distance OF nine or
ten miles, and there grounded in thirty
feel of water on sand bottom. The
next morning a loot of the stern was
seen out of water, the whole bed of the
ship submerged, the miZzen mast gone
and the baggage of passengers, furni.
ture, ETC., constantly floating ashore.
Many of the passengers Were in the
purser's hands. The ships money aud
all the baggage was totally last.
1t was a run for life. From
interviewers with many passengers |
find there is a unanimous sentiment of
the warmest feeling toward the COM
mander and officers. Every nan says
emphatically that the officers could
have done no more. They did all that
men could do. The Captain declares
that his officers and men stood to their
duty nobly and he had none but he
roes on board. In the best drilled
men-of-war men could not have acted
with better discipline and responded to
every order with fidelity. Cap.
tain Waddell, Purser Jerome, Mr.. J..
B. Parrot, Il. Ascall, ]. Stewart and
X. Sutton go up overland, taking con-
veyance here and proceeding by rail
from Ansheim. The Costa Rica re-
mains to take on board coal and will
probably not get away from here until
to. morrow morning. She expects to
arrive in San Francisco on Monday.
The Richmond Cable.
We had an item the other day abou,