Connecticut western news., 1884-05-14


 the Sen-Onc Boat with Forty-tsur Per
 sons Saved AfIer Drifting Two Days Only 10 Among S5 Passengers Rescued An Accident in CnIm sea Clear Night HOO Miles Our.
 The Donaldson line steamer Titania, from Glasgow to Montreal, touched at Quebec on Wednesday, having on board twenty-four of the survivors from the wreck of the State line steamer State of Florida.
 Among the survivors was Dr. Andrew Steele, the ships surgeon. He says that the ill-fated steamer sailed from her pier at the foot of Canal Street, New York, at 9 o'clock on the morning of April 12, bound for Glasgow. She car ried 8 passengers in her cabin, and 50 in her steerage, and crew of Sl men and one stewardess. The vessel pro- ceeded on her course, meeting with no special incident for six days.
 About 10 o'clock on the evening of April To-" says the Doctor, "I WAS sit- ting in my cabin reading. had been out on deck not long before, and mo- ticed that it was clear, starlight night Suddenly heard the clang of the gong in the engine room signaling the engi- neer to bark the engine at full speed. At the same time there was a confused tramping about the deck.
 II hastened out on deck, and there I saw plainly the spars and canvass of a big sailing ship heading directly for us Her port (red) light was distinctly visi- ble. The men about the deck yelled:
 "'Collision Collision r
 'The next moment, as our ship rolled to the starboard on a big wave, the other vessel crashed into us, striking us nearly amidships, on the starboard side. The shock completely demoralized every l one. The men cried Take to the boats, but many were too badly frightened to help themselves, even after some of the boats were safely i'll the water, and the ship was going too rapidly to enable those of the crew on deck to do much toward saving any lives.
 Miss Macfarlane, the -stewardess, was lowered into the boat, but no other woman was on deck. got into one of the boats with others, and in a very few minutes both vessels sank out of sight. Captain Hepburn and two seamen of the sailing vessel were found clinging to some of the wreck of their vessel, and were picked up by the boat I was in.
 We drifted about for two days, hay ing neither food nor water. There were forty-four of us in our boat. The weather remained tolerably fair, however, and we did not suffer very badly, except for the cold, some of the survivors being very thinly clad. In the meantime we separated from the two other boats that were launched.
 Capt. Hepburn told us that his vessel was the Pomena, Q bark belonging to the Jardine Bros, of Chatham, New Brunswick.
 ''On the 20th we succeeded in attract ing the attention of the lookout of the 1 Norwegian bark Theresa, which was bound for Quebec from Christiana, and we were all taken on board and kindly treated. Two days later we fell in with the bark Louise, of Cardiff, also bound for Quebec. We were making serious inroads into the provisions of the The resa and, accordingly twenty people were transferred to the Louise. I and my shipmates remained on the Theress until May 5, when the steamer Ttania overloaded us, and we were transferred to her, and we are here.
 The State of Florida carried out 35 cabin passengers, 50 steerage passen. gers, and d crew of about so men.
 Mir. James Allen, the third officer of the steamer, says:
 "We left New York on the 18th of April with about 167 passengers ani crew and full general cargo All went we'll until the night of the 18th, at H. when we collided with the bark Pomona, of Chatham, N. B., Capt. Heyburn. Both vessels went down almost instant ly, and out of the steamers passengers and crew, only fl, including the stew ardess, managed to escape in the boats.
 "Of the bark's crew of 15 only the Captain and two seamen were saved The next morning the bark was observed bottom up. The survivors, after having been thirty-five hours in the boats with out food or water, were rescued by the Norwegian bark Theresa, of Christiana from that port bound for Quebec.
 "On the 22d twenty-four of them were transferred on board the ship Louisa ol and from Cardiff, for Quebec. They remained on that vessel until the 9th O May, when they were taken on board the Titania, for Quebec. It Is believed that 135 lives were lost.
 The same officer, ill an interview, tol( l the disaster occurred was clear, thougl moonless, and the sea was as smooth ai glass. The third officer retired to hi bunk at s o'clock, leaving Chief Officel Thompson in charge of the deck. Abou Il 30 he heard the signal suddenly giveI to stop the steamers engines, followe, by fearful crash. He rushed imme l 6iately on deck, and the first thing h, 1 T l.zuI,2 ,1- KhsNa starboard bow.
 At the same moment he heard tn chief officers voice and a cry of "Col lision," and perceived the bark whicl had run into them go down. This bari he afterward learned from its Captain and two of its crew, who were picked ul and saved, was the Pomena of Chatham } N. B., bound from Liverpool to Mir , amichi.
 Running to the side of his own vessel he endeavored to ascertain the damag done, and perceiving an immense gap } ing hole into which the sea was fas ' pouring, and feeling, as he said to him self, that the steamer was a goner, h hurried to the Captain.
 He at once gave orders to get out tn Il boats, four of which went down ill fiji teen minutes, when the State of FIorid just keeled over to port and went dow stern foremost. As near as he coul, calculate, the disaster occurred in lati tude 49 deg. north, longitude 36 deg. 3 y min. west, or within about I,2O0 mile e of the Irish coast, as when their las bearings were taken on that day, the, were in about latitude 1T deg. 50 min north, longitude 3S deg. 8 min. west. | As the vessel went down, all on deck f including the captain, were washed ol - by the sea.
 Mir. Allen further stated that the Car tain WAS exceedingly cool-too cool, i '- fact-as he did not seem to look upo 0 the danger as serious or pressing, an h this, together with the fact that he ar