The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-05-15
STEAMER STATE OF FLORIDA SUNK.
A Fearful Wreck mt sea Carries 1875 Lives
to the ISottom OF tho Occun.

QUEREC, May THE steamer Titania
did not land the rescued people from the
State of Florida at this city, m was ex.
pected, but carried them on to Montreal.
The vessel was boarded here by reporters,
who nscertained the list of those saved,
large majority OF whom were members
of the crew of the lost steamship.
| The following is the official report of
the third officer of the State Of t'i0.ida,
| now on board the Titania
| ':We left New York on the 12.h O.
| April with about one hundred and sixty.
seven passengers and crew and a. full
general cargo. All went we'll until the
night of the 18th, at 1880, when we col.
lided with the bark Ponema, of Chatham.
n. b., Capt. Hepburn. Both vessels
went down almost instantly, and out of
| the steamers passengers and crew only
II, including the stewardess, managed to
| escape in boats. Of the bark's crew of
| fifteen only the captain and two seameu
were saved. Next morning the bark
was observed bottom up. The survivors,
after having been thirty FIVE hours in the
boats without food or wnter, were rescued
by the Norwegian bark Theresa, of
Christiania, from that port bound for
Quebec. On the 22d, twenty. -four of
them were transferred ON board the sh ip
Louisa, off and from Cardiff for Quebec.
They remained cm that vessel unit! the
9th of May, when they were taken on
board the T;tania for Quebec. Il ia be.
lieved that 1876 lives were lost" -"
The third officer, James Allan, in an
interview told the following story: The
nigh. on which the disaster occurred was
clear, though mooniess, and the sea was
as smooth as glass. He (third officer)
retired to his bunk Mt o'clock, leaving
chief officer Thompson ia charge of the
deck. About ll:10 he heard signals sud.
| denly given to stop the steamers engires.
followed by fearful crash. He rus,.aa
Immediately on deck and the frs, th, .,p
ne noticed was red light pretty close on
their starboard bow. At the same mo.
ment he heard the. chief officers voice
and the cry Of collision" aud perceived
the bark which had run into them 90
down. Running to the side of his own
vessel he endeavored to ascertain the
damage, and perceiving &c immense
gaping hcle, into which Tie sss vas fast
pouring, and feeling, as he said himself.
that the steamer was ''eoner," he hur.
| ried to the captain, who at once gave
orders to get out the boats, fous of which
were down in fifteen minutes, when the
State of Florida just keeled over to mort
| aud went down stern foremost.
AS near as he could calculate the dis.
aster occurred in Lat. 49o N, Long. $50
| 30\ W., or within about ono thousand
two hundred miles Of the Irish coast. as
when their last bearing were taken on
that day they were in about Lat. 47e SOY
N, Long. 3So. 35' W. As the vessel
| went down all on deck, including the
captain, were washed off by the sea.
Allan further stated that the captain was
exceedingly cool, too cool in fact, as he
did not seem to look upon the danger as
| serious or pressing, and this, together
with tho fact that he appeared In no
hurry to save himself was possibly the
reason that more Of the passengers were
not saved. They would not take to the
boats as they. supposed when they saw
him so cool, that danger was not SO great,
and moreover the sea was so calm.
OF eight boats carried four we're aafely
launched. Two were smashed by the
collision, and Of the other two he knew
nothing, but beloved they we're washed
away when the eteo.ner. went down. he
did not believe ttat sny One had escaped
In tbs N. Ho1eyerb If they had he did
not aStts raise any ,faise hopes, his
opinion being that they never. would be
heard from again. When No. 9 boat
was being lowered the tscEle was cut too
quickly and Its, occupants, who were al,
passengers, were upset into tho sea. A
number of them, no Gays, clung to the
bost's bottom during the remainder OF
the night and were picked up in the
morning. by ,iothe2 boats. On Sunday
after. drifting thir,ytf tfiye houra We were,
picked up by the Theresa and the follow.
ing Tuesday the party now on board the
Mtania were transferred to the bark
Louise Of Cardiff while, of Bird Rocks,
but The latter being overcrowded The