The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-04-11

jumped from the bridge into the boat head
first. He was passenger All this occurred
within a minute. When the ship went down
only one davit fall attached TO the lifeboat
had ben cut and this life-boat, which was
full of people, mostly sailors, went down
with the steamer As she sank the boatswain
a boy, coal trimmer, and fireman eapcd
from the stern into our boat We then got
out of the suction. The whole of the passen-
gers and crew were struggling in the water.
I'VE rowed through a struggling mass Of
humanity. Many of them made a grab for
our oars, but we beat them off One man
caugh hold of the boat. We tried to get him
aboard, but two or three Others were holding
on by his legs. We then let him GO He
went under, got clear of the others. came mn
again. and we then got him into the boat.
lie was an Italian passenger. ! heard people
IN the water calling for me by name to save
Them There were twelve holding on to
spar. kept clear of them We would have
attempted to save them, but the others who
appealed to us would undoubtedly have
Swamped the boat, and would all have
been lost. Those in the boat wanted to try
and land on the rocks, but | was in charge Of
the boat and refused, knowing that to do so
would be certain DEATH
At this time the people on the island were
making signals to us by fires and colored
lamps, and we were within 400 wards of the
Island. All this time, we could hear their
shouts but could not understand them. How
,'Ni; We lOllONeu Ine UBnlS ana after three
nollrS battling with the waves, surf and
breakers we followed the signal fires safely
around the island to a little cove where we
landed and were taken care of. Everybody
was on deck except the chief engineer, who
andown IN the engineroom to put on full steam
JuSU before the ship sank. | think the CAPTAIN
dld ms best under the circumstances | should
say That 1t was fully an hour and half from
the time the ship first got on the rocks until she
sank sank. 1t IS true our boat would have held
thirty people or more, but it was half-full of
water after we got i'll it, There was hole in
It, and three of us We're kept baling it ont with
hats and boots. Yes, perhaps fifteen could
nave been saved in its then condition. but
IL was every man for himself and any attempt
TO save Others simply imperiled ourselves
The stories of other survivors fully corrob-
ora0e tins mans statement, in which all the
nam facts are embodied. Although a heavy
swell prevailed the next morning at least 100
fishermen put off in boats from Sambro vii
lage, hetch Harbor and al joining settlements
10 the wreck, and dozen boats watched for
bodies
by the next day only eleven bodies had
oeen recovered Three sChooneIs with daring
crews were sent to the wreck The survivors
Oi Cne wrecked steamer were conveyed to
halllaN. Inc youngest person on board the
steamer was an infant three months old
among those drowned were young couple
who had been married before the steamer
sailed, experiencing only eighteen days of
married life. Several large families per-
lshcd all together. One of these was a Swiss
family consisting Of father, mother and eight
children, and another, a Dutch (Hollaud
family, about the same size