Connecticut western news., 1884-01-30
THE COLUMBUS DISASTER. THE SAD AFFAIR BY WHICH OVER
 100 LIVES WE'RE LOST. What Those Who Were Rescued Have to Say-The Cause of the Disaster.
A PASSENGERS STATEMENT.

PASSENGERS STATEMENT.
 John l.. Cook, of Portland, Me-, was a passenger on the steamer City of Columbus and occupied a state-room on the deck with an elderly man, who told him he was born in Brunswick, Me-, but whose name he could not learn. At | the time the vessel struck he was awake but did not feel alarmed until he heard orders to hoist the iib anddetected signs of confusion and alarm. MT. Cook dressed himself, and fearing that the ship had struck a rock and was sinking, he went back to the state-room and alarmed his companion; the latter seemed crazed, and although Mir. Cook pulled him out of his berth twice, he could not prevail upon him to leave the room.
 Mir. Cook was at length compelled to abandon the attempt, and returned to the deck, where he climbed to the top of one of the houses, where he found | two young men named Farnsworth, Capt. Wright and a seaman named White. At about II o'clock the house was carried away, and the five men sought refuge in the foretop. All of these were saved.
 | NIT. OODh bhNb udIy Ol lue bG6ueS were heartrending. John Roach, coal heaver, dangled from the mainstay for two hours, with his hands and legs about the. mainstay, and finally dropped into the sea. A passenger was astride the stay, and clung there from 5 until nearly 10 a. m., when he relinquished the fight for life, and fell into the ocean.
 MIR. TIBBETTs' EXPERIENCE.
 Mir. J. Tibbetts, the passenger who was taken from Gay Head, tells thrill ing story of his experience on the wreck: He says: "I was awakened by the shock of the vessels striking on the rock. l hurriedIy dressed and came on deck with my room mate, civil engineer of Rox- bury, whose name I did not know. We came out together. had fastened a life preserver around me. My room mate laughed at me and said had better not wear a life preserver as it might Tfright1n the passengers. He refused to put one on. We came on deck and D. when we saw how bad the situation was we agreed to stand by each other to the last. When. the ship heeled over we wiere separated.
 l q think I was the first man on deck after the vessel struck. l saw the buoy Oh the port side and asked an officer whom | saw on deck what the matter was. He replied that the vessel would soon be over the ledge and would be all right. I went to the sailors quarters and saw them rushing up the compan- ion way. They told me the vessel was aground and things looked bad. l next went along by the cabin doors and saw some passengers dressing. Some were still asleep in their berths, and every one awake asked if there was any danger. I generally replied: Keep cool, and do your best; get your life preservers on.'
 q helped some of them to tie on life preservers. Most every one got them on back side foremost By this time the vessel had keeled over and filled. The greatest confusion then ensued women screamed and prayed shrieks could be heard above the roar of the sea. The waves were breaking clear over her. l stood for moment abaft of the after companion way and saw young woman holding up baby over her head. She was shrieking :-'0hl my baby, my darling baby ? The waves were dashing } around her and spray leaped over her head. Then a monstrous wave seized her and carried both her and her baby into the sea.
 tI saw men and women struggling with each other in the waves. It seemed as if everyone was being swept off the deck into the sea. My room mate and took to the rigging, whence I saw him drop into the sea, frozen to death. During the night, and while waiting to be rescued, the purser, Mir. Spaulding, danced jig on the maintop while some of the sailors whistled. When the life boat came out in the morning the crew shouted for us to jump into the sea. prepared to do so, but m Irishman next to me turned around and raised his arm as if to strike, saying You don't go into that boat ahead of me- I dodged the blow, and the next instant had leaped into the sea and was swimming for the boat, which boarded all right I took oars and rowed hard after six others got in, keeping myself from freezing by my exertions.
 ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
 Another account of the disaster says The wind blew a hurricane from the northwest and a tremendous sea was running at quarter to four o'clock on Friday morning, with the wind blowing south half east. The vessel struck on the reef outside the Devil Bridge buoy. She immediately filled and keeled over, the water breaking ill and flooding the port side of the saloon. Nearly all the passengers hurried to the deck. Most of them were swept into the sea and perished at once. The boats were cleared away, but swamped almost inn mediately. Seven passengers left the vessel on life raft and were not after ward heard from.
 About forty men took refuge in tbe rigging, where they remained until half- , past 10 a. m., when life-boat put oh ! from Gay Head and took away several passengers, one of whom died soon , afterward. Shortly after noon another , life-boat put off to the distressed vessel, and meanwhile the revenue cutter Dex. ter came along and sent off two boats. Twenty-one men were taken from the wreck and placed aboard the Dexter, four of whom died afterward. After all the persons on the wreck had been taken off the Dexter sailed for New Bedford, where she arrived in the evening. The total number of persons saved is twenty ' three. Five dead bodies have been re- l covered. Seventeen of the saved and four of the dead were brought to New Bedford, and six supposed to be dying and one dead are at Gay Head.
 Marriage of Frederick Douglass.