The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1884-01-20
THE COLUMBUS WRECK.
Additional Particulars OF the AWFUL
Catastrophe.
One Hundred and Four Lives Lost.
The Captain Goes Insane.-A Ter
rible Affair.


while the ern lies il about four fsthoms
The upper works are gone 1.-THE westhe
moderates it may be possible to sav
some part of the vessel. Nickerson
president Of the company, left Boston q
this morning on specisl train for NeI
Bedford, and will look after the save,
and take charge OF the bodies of tn
drowned.
A dispatch from Woods Shoals state
that Captain Wright has become vic
lently inesne. The tug Storm King ant
the revenue cutter Dexter are storm
bound, the former at Wooos Shoals, tn
latter at New Bedford. A driving snow
storm prevails, and the weather Is very
thick.
The City of Columbus had fifty nine
first class and twenty two Storage pas
sengers, and q crew of forty-fVe. o
those fifty five cabin and fifteen steersgt
passengers a1d thirty four officers ald
crew were lost.
The City Of Columbus was one Of the
finest vessels on the coast. She wsl
built in 1873 by John Roach & Son, Of
Chester, Pa, for the Ocean Steamship
company of New York, to run between
there and Havana, purchased by the
Boston and Savannah Steamship com.
paDy in 1880, and has since been plying
between this city and Savannah, making
fortnightly trips in alienation with her
sister, the Gate City. The Colum bus
was built of iron and thoroughly equip
ped. She was rated A l for ten yesrs,
1897 tons burden, go feet long and SO
feet beam. Captain S. E. Wright is q
seaman of long experieL ce and excellent
reputation. He has been commander of
The Boston and Savannah line since 1869.
He commanded the City OF Colum bus
since it was purchased by the line, and
never had sn accident till last Septem Der
when his vessel sunk a bark off Man.
tucket. The Boston and Savsnnsh line
has an excellent reputation. It has car
ried between 100000 and 100000 pas.
sengers and no lives were ever before
lost. T. W. Nickerson s. Co. are the
Boston agents.
Savannah, 19.-News of the wreck CT
the City Of Columbus and terrible loss eff
life is received with profound sorrow in
the city. No Savannah people were
aboard,
Haverhill, Mass, 19.-Rev. c. A.
Rand, lost on the city Of Columbus, was
rector of Trinity Church here, and wss
Just starting on vacation with his wife,
daughter, father .snd mother, who also
persisted.
Boston, l9.-Fifteen survivors of the
wrecked City of Columbus arrived this
morning from New Bedford, many Of
them in pitisble condition, and some too
dszed to give an Intelligent account of
the wreck. f. q. Fairbanks, of Cor
ham Maine, says be was in his birth, in
the Storage, awake and somewhat un.
NIB ho Ha ia
ofthe opinion that the steamer struck on
upon them finally. He noted three sue
cessive shocks, and thought it might be !
that q high ses was hurting ice
was jammed upon the rocks the
snd he scrambled out, taking q great |
part CT his clothing. AS the vessel filed
she keeied over, and he got into the rig
ging, where he clupg for hours with the
sea breaking over Inn st intervals. At
one time some of the rigging gave way
and fell upon him, and he received blow
across the forehead which stunned him,
and another in the chest, but his fngera
were then frozen to the rigging and he
was not swept Off He attributes his
safety to 8 rubber coat, the skirts of
which he had tied around him, and thus
ke,;t his clothing dry. Many more, he
thinks, would have been saved but for
the high sea running The boats could
not approach the wreck. When his turn
came he jumped into the raging water,
and after reaching the surface was swept
within reach of the rescuers. He saw two |
who msde perilous leap washed away
to death, and believes many met
the same fate. Before the rescue was |
attempted single boat, with several In |
dams in il, came from thu head, but
they could not approach the wreck.
They we're engaged picking up floating
matter. While in the rigging, the pilot
told him he fixed the course OF the vessel
and fastened the wheel, as he was very
cold, and went to the smoke-stsck to
warm himself; he remained there
twenty minutes and when he returned
to his post he found the chip had veered
around. When he sscertained that the
vessel was among the rocks and it was
probably impossible to ssve her, Re shut
her right on the shore, and ran her rs
high as he could, with the result that,
che drew seventeen feet OF
water, her fore foot was in eleven feet
Fairbanks is of the opinion that msny
passengers did not leave the cabin until
their bodies were washed out By the
waves, which soon tore off the after part
OF the deck ard carried out the bodies, /
furniture snd baggage before the eyes of
the Mortified survivors. Oscar Tsisgi
WAS in the rigging with him and he
peris he'd before aid came to hard. Not
8 woman or child was seen by him alive
after the vessel went ashore. H6 thinks
Morton, of the Boston Globe, did not
succeed in gaining the deck
New Bedford, Mass, 19.-Ihe eslly
train from Boston this morning, was
heavily laden with relatives aud friends
Of the victims Of the City of Columbus
disaster. But little Information could be
CLEANED here regarding individual vic.
tins, and they have since been wander
ing to and fro along the whsrves i'm
portuning sll they met about the wreck.
The revenue cutter Dexter sailed with the
tug Nellie for ths wreck and to search
for the bodies. ALI the bodies brought
here on the Dexter were Identified except
one. The Dexter returns this afternoon |
and until thea no further information |
can be obtained from the wreck. All |
tugs here have gone to Gsyhead.
81. a. Philips, frat assistant engineer
of the City of Columbus, states: when !
we struck, Morrison, chief engineer, ex-
claimed, The vessels ashore We shut
down right of, and the ship was backed
Ho hnIla 80 obanA