Delaware state journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1870-1883, 1880-09-09
HOW GEN. T0RBERT DIED
Graphic Account of the Sink
ing of the Vera Cruz"
THE STONY OF A SURVIVOR
General Torbert Alive When Washed
hore--Exhausted and Bleed
ing From a Wound Over
the Right Eye.
BURIED UNDER PALMETT0E 0ES
LOST At y EI.

Founderiig Of the Steamer .sCity of
Vera Cruz'' Off tiie CoHst Of Florida
Fifty-seven People Drowned -
General A. n. A. Torbert Among
the I.ost--OnIy Eight of those ON
Hoard saved How the steamer
Went Down.
Sr AUGUSTINE, Fla, Sept. 4.--The
steamer Cdy9f Vera Cras,of tue Mexican
line from New York for Havana and
Vera Ctuz, was los, in the hurricane of
this coass on Sunday morning last. The i'll
tatcd steamer fouudered Mt g. 30 o'clock on
Sunday morning, in the midst of hurri-
cano, having labored painfully for some
hours Ia heavy sea- or the 20 persons
who were on board when the steamer left
New York only Is are known to have been
saved, no that 81 souls perished. There
is very little hope that any addition will
be made to the list of survivors, for 30
long time has elapsed since the steamer
went down that 1t seems impossible for
any more to bu found alive. The hurri-
cane that oecisiont d the disaster pre- cluded
All chance of succor from other vessels.
As yet it has been impossible to CLEAN
all the particulars of the disaster, owing
partly to the fact that but few OF the crew
survived tho wreck, and both they and the
three surviving passengers are SO
exhausted by their terrible experience that
they are incapable OF giving clear and
shcciuct description of the scenes before
nnd afttr thJ founieripg of the steamer.
The following isuta, however, have
been lesrued; Ga Saturday afternoon
the steamer encountered n strong gale,
which soon Increased in fury. 1t was
then about two bells 6 p IN. J. Then the
steamer was running On her COURSE. being
III about so west longitude, and 30, 40
north latitude. Tie sea ran very high and
the Vera Ciuz lahured heavily but siurdily
for some hours.
Every effort was made 10 keep her
before the wind, but il was found necessary
at ! o'clock on Sunday morning to throw
out drag TO keep her heud about. This
secured the desired result for the time
being, but the guile had now grown to
hurricane and immense waves began
breaking over the doomed steamer
Elch succeeding wave tore away pieces
of her upper works until her dock was
finally swept clsar, even the rigging being
torn aud shattered. The drag ceased to
fulfil lis functions, aud as the seas rose
over her bows aud dsluged her decks they
soon reached the furnaces and extip-
gli4hed the fires, the hatch, having been
tbIn llbIu tutlr luhltnlHnH ny tue DlllOWB.
The fires being out soon put stop TO
tho engines. and the CIg of PeF0 Cruz
lay ut the mercy of the waves aud storm.
Not even the donkey pump could be
worked TO relieve the vessel of thu water
ahe was rapidly making in her hold In
this extremity Capt Van Sice ordered his
men 10 throw oTei board the deck load, a
task that had been begun about midnig lat.
But the Hen was too heavy to permit the
crew carrying out their captains orders,
tor, while thus engaged, several Of tho
men were cerriod of their feet by incom-
ing seas and many of them washed over.
board
Captain Van Size uud lis officers acted
courageuusly III tue performance Of their
several duties, but were Que by one washed
overheard from their stations ny the
steamer lahored in tho trough OF the sea
As near as can be ascertani the Captain
persisted fully MI hour before the vessel
finally succumbed, aud nearly all the hands
were lost.
The few remaining alive on board now
saw thai there was DO hope, no they took
10 the lie preserver], the lifeboats having
already disappeared; in fact, every boat
md lito raft wns siove in when the top
hamper went by the board. The sailors
and the passengers then seized fragments
of spars, stateroon doors or any other
movable article that would float, aud
awaited the end all knew to be ut hand.
The surviving sailors state that the
vessel was about 30 miles off shore ut this
time, the hurricane being one of terrible
fury. by the time the shipwrecked men
aud women had equipped themselves with
their impromptu buoys the final catas-
trophe occurred, ii beng then as already
stated, about $50 a. M. With one awful
and tremendous lurch the steamer sud-
denly sank into the ocean. the swirl carry
ing down many of the living. OF the 70
souls on board before the storm began,
only Is have reached the land alive.
These l3 were all men, three of them
passengers, eight deck hands, one engineer
and one oiler They were all in the
water, bufeted by the tempestuous SEQ, .or
from "a to 26 hours, and there is no doubt
tnat but for this ordeal many more would
have been saved for there can be but little
doubt that several persisted after the
tounderirR Of the steamer, through tx
bausiion.
AZ yet she nnmGs Of only two of the
survivors have been ohtsiutd They are
both sailors and their uAmts are: Mason
Talbot and James Krlly the first is a
native of England, the other was born il
Na,B Vnrb
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