Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1884-03-10
THE GAY HEAD DISASTER

Andrew Burnham and Andrew J.
Savage, have finished their report on
the City of Columbus investigation
and forwarded it to the supervising
inspector-general in New York. They
say the evidence shows that Capt.
Wright had been in or about the
pilot-house of the steamer from the
time of her leaving Boston until her
arriving off Nobska light about 1.30
a. m. January IS, and was there when
Mr.. Fuller, the mate, who held a
first-class pilots license, left the
pilot-house. At 205 q. m. Tarpau-
lin cove light bearing west by south,
and Nobska light directly astern,
Capt. Wright gave the course south
west by west to the wheelsman, and
says he knew by the compass that he
took that course. At about 2.15 a.
IN. Tarpaulin cove light bearing west
by north, about l IA miles distant,
he gave orders to the second officer
as follows: "When Tarpaulin cove
light bears north 90 west southwest. !"
The wheelsman says he did not hear
that order and got no orders from the
second officer except to not let her 90
any to the leeward of the course he
was steering. The captain then went
to his room, which opens directly
from the pilot-house, and sat on the
floor, with his back against the steam
heater, reclining on the steps, with
his head in the pilot-house. After
this he had no clear perception of
what was going on in the pilot-house
(although he says he was not asleep
until he heard the second officer give
orders to ''port, when he instantly
jumped up, and, before looking out
of the windows, gave orders to ''hard
apo:t," and before he could cross
the pilot-house and get to the win
dows the ship struck. Capt. Wright.
true to the first impulse to get his
ship out of bad place, gave the sig
nails to the engineer to back hard
which were promptly complied with
and the ship, lifted by the high seas
before she had time to fill, backed of
Immediately, beginning to settle for
ward. In this disaster 103 lives, in
} Guiding every woman and child, were
} lost-75 of the 81 passengers and p
, of the 45 Of the crew.
After weighing the testimony care
fully, we are of the opinion that thu
ship, as she pitched in the trough o
the sea, first struck the large boulde
which two of the divers say lies abou
10 OF II feet from the starboard DO,
= and six OF seven feet high, with abou
S 20 or n feet of water over it, ant
passed on to take bottom farthe
! ahead. The ship at this time wa
l going about eight or nine miles a
| hour, but as the water was shoalin
e quite sharply, and water pouring int
/. the fore-hold, her fore foot was yer
K soon on the bottom. The backing G
4 the engine, under the circumstance
/, of this case we think was fatal mi;
!. take. AS near as we can fix I'll
e time from the testimony, the shi
f first struck at about 3.45 Il. m. an
r 40 only 20 short minutes later, a
IS was over. When the last course ws
/, given to Mate Harding by Cap
: Wright the ship was where any ord
: nary landsman could have taken b,
It safely past the fatal rocks, withol
chart OF compass. The loss of tire
If quarters of a mile in run of II CT
d only be accounted for by bad stee
a. ing allowing the ship to yaw off al
re not making allowance for the 10