The state journal. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1883-1885, 1884-05-10
THE STATE of FLORIDA DISASTER
statements Of Third Officer allen, of the
Inflated Steamship,

statements OF Third Officer allen, of TIN
Inflated Steamship.
| QUEEEC, May 8.-The captain of til,
steamship Titania (Which was reported il
Yesterdays dispatches as having passed
Farther Point on her way in with "a o
the human freight of the Steamship STATE
OF Florida, of whose passengers and crew
1913 were lost, together with 10 from the
colliding vessel reports as follows:
May 9th, at p. NJ, while proceeding
up the gulf and when off Bird Rocks, OBJ
served a ship exhibiting two bright lights
and, thinking she wished to communicate
! bore down upon her, and took off twenty
four passengers and crew rescued from
the State Of Florida, Of Glasgow. The
| City of Rome passed the survivors on
| board the ship Lonisa, and answered her
signals, but did not stop.
The following is the official report of
Third Officer Allen of the State OF Florida:
| We left New York on the 18th of April
with about 1877 passengers and crew and
q full general cargo. All went well until
the night of the 18th at half-past eleven,
when we collided with the bark Ponema,
Of Chatham, n. B., Captain Hepburn.
Both vessels went down almost instantly,
and out of the steamers passengers and
crew only forty four, including the stew
aTdess, managed TO escape in the boats.
OF the bark's crew of fifteen, only the
captain and two seamen were saved.
The next morning the bark was seen bot
tom up. The survivors. after having been
thirty five hours in the boats without food
or water, were rescued by the Norwegian
bark Theresa, of Chlistiana, from that
ar IN hn
twenty four Of them were transferred on
board the ship Louisa, of and from Car
dit for Quebec. They remained on that
vessel until the 9Th of May, when they
were taken on board the Titania for Que
bee. 1t is believed that 1875 lives were lost
The night on which the disaster oc-
Cured was clear, though moonless, and
the sea was as smooth as glass About
half-past eleven he heard the signal sud
denly given to stop the steamer 8 engines,
followed by fearful crash. He rushed
Immediately on deck and the first thing
he noticed was red light pretty close on
their starboard bow. At the same mo
ment he heard the chief officers voice
and cry Of collision" and perceived
the bark which had run into them 90
down. This bark, he afterwards
learned from its captain and two
OF its crew, who were picked
up and saved, was Ponema, of
Chatham, N. b., bound from Liverpool
to Miramichi. Feeling that the steamer
was a goner lie at once hurried to the
captain, who gave orders to get out the
boats, four Of which were down in fifteen
minutes, when the State of Florida lust
kceled oyer to port and went down stern
foremost. AS near Us he could calculate
the disaster occurred within about 1900
miles Of the Irish coast AS the vessel
went down all On deck, including the
captain, were washed off by the sea.
Mr.. Allan further stated that the cap
tain 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 the fact that he appeared
in no hurry to save himself, was posi-.
bly, the reason that more of the passen-
gers Were not saved. They would not
take to the boats as they supposed, when
they saw him 50 COOL that the danger
was not 50 great and moreover, the sea
was SO calm, OF the eight boats carried,
four were safely launched. Two were
smashed by the collision, and of the
other two he knew nothing, but believed
they were washed away when the |
steamer went down.