Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-05-30

passenger.
Andrew Fairbairn, second-class passen-
ger.
David Struthers, second-class passenger.
Jane Patience, steerage passenger.
Jonah Hale, steerage passenger.
Eliza Churchouse, Steerage passenger.
Total-24.
mainder saved and now on their way to
Quebec OH board the Norwegian bark
Thefesa, of Christiana:
James Thompson, chief officer.
Theodore Bair, boatswain.
John Smith, boatswain's mate.
Peter Patterson, carpenter.
Henry Anderson, lamp trimmer.
john Silverblade, quartermaster. :
John Miller, quartermaster.
john Smith, able seaman.
Charles Love, able seaman.
George Armour, able m
John Beard, boatswain's yeoman.
William Lawson, able seaman.
William Hyslop, second engineer.
Edward Boyle, fireman.
John Mcdowell, fireman.
Jane Mcfarland, stewardess.
Hugh Morgan, steerage passenger.
Peter j. Renni1fg, steerage passenger.
Martin Patterson, steerage passenger.
Francis Watson, steerage passenger.
Total-2O.
STORY OF THE WRECK.
The following is the official report of the
third officer of the State of Florida: 1--WE
left New York OF the 18th of April, with
about 1877 passengers and crew and full gen.
eral cargo. All went we'll until the night Of
the 18th, when at 1880 we came in collision
with the bark Ponema, Of Chatham, N. B.,
NJ ,{o;,, I'll ofhurn Pnfh ch;r,c ~r,o,,f lo.ur
almost instantly, and out Of the steamers
ing the stewardess, managed to escape in
the boats, and out of the bark's crew Of ff-
teen only the captain and two seamen were
saved.
'NeXt morning tile bark was observed
bottom up. The survivors, after being
thirty-ive hours in the boats without food
or water, were rescued by the Norwegian
bark Theresa, of Christian, from that port
bound for Quebec. On the 22d twenty-four
of them wsre transferred on board the ship
Louisa, of and from Cardiff for Quebec,
where they remained until the 5th of May,
when they were taken On board the Titania
for @ uebec. It is believed 1876 lives were
lost"
OFFICER ALIENS. STATEMENT.
This third officer, James Allen, being in
terviewed, added that the night ON which
the disaster occurred was clear, though
moonless, and the sea was as smooth as
glass. He retired to his bunk at eight
o'clock, leaving Chief Officer Thompson in
charge of the deck. About 11:10 he heard
a signal suddenly given to stop the
steamers engines, followed by a fearful
crash. He rushed Immediately on deck
and the first thing he noticed was a red
light pretty close on the starboard bow. At
the same moment he heard the chief officers
voice cry collision" and saw the bark
which had run into them go down. This
bark, he afterward learned from its captain
and two Of its crew who were picked up
and saved, was the Ponema. of Chatham,
N. b., bound from Liverpool to Mirimichi.
Running to the side OF his own vessel he
endeavored to ascertain the damage done,
and perceiving the immense gaping hole
into which the sea was fast pouring, and
feeling, as he said to himself, that the
steamer was a ''goner," he at once
hurried to the captain, who Immediately
gave orders to get out the boats, four
of which were down in fifteen
minutss, when the State of Florida Just
keeled over to port and went down stern
foremost. As far as he could calculate the
disaster occurred in latitude %forty-nine de-
grees nogth, longitude thirty-six degrees and
thirty minutes west, or about 12O miles off
the Irish coast, rs when their last bearings
were taken that clay that day they were
about forty-seven degrees and fifty minutes
north, and thirty-eight degrees and thirty
five minutes west.