Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1886-03-17
THE OREGON.
yuarHER PARTICULARS OF THE SINK
ING OF THE BIO SHIP.
statements Of Passengers Lady's Expe-
rience--Indiyiaual Acts Of hereism-
The Turbulent stokers, &c.
fNew York Times.l

onIv pcrsons who boarded the steamer
Fuida, which had picked up the rescued
passengers Of the steamer Oregon,
while she lay outside Of the bar at San
DIV Hook on Sunday evening waiting
for the tide to rise. To them passengers
whose mouths could not be closed by
Captain Cottier's orders told the story
Of the disaster. OF all these that OF
Mrs. w. II. Hurst tells best that of the
instant Of the collision. With her hus-
band she occupied Stateroom No. "a,
which was outside and just abaft OF
the point at which the nose of the
schooner plowed through the iron side
Of the great steamer.
81 bad passed sleepless night, "
she said, "and was looking out through
the headlight into the almost impene-
trsble darkness. | could see the twink
ling Of few stars away out where sea
and sky seemed to moet. My husband
awoke jus. then, and | spoke to him
without turning my head. Suddenly
the stars were shut out from view by
some passing object. Then a brilliant
red light shot by my cabin-window,
and was calling my husbands atten-
ton to it when there was a terrible
crash at the vessels side, close to
our stateroOm. Ii was SO severe as to
nearly throw me off my feet, and it
made the vessel SILVER and tremble in
q frightfully suggestive manner. Ny
husband and hurriedly dressed, for
we knew that the steamer had been
struck, and we supposed by another
steamer. Death by drowning seemed
not only probable, but fate that was
imminent. We hutriedly threw on
enough clothing to shelter us and
started for the cabin. While we were
dressing there was a second crash, and
then a grinding noise and the crushing
of timbers. This last and most fright
full of sounds was followed by the
crash of mass Of falling tim
Der. Nv husband said, The masts
Of our vessel or the one that has
run into us have fallen. For Gods
sake hurry did hurry, and then, as
| said, we started for the dining saloon
and the deck. There was only one
stateroom between ours and the dining
saloon, and it was Immediately under
this that the great holes had been torn
in the 0regon's side. could hear the
water rushing into the hull of the
vessel, or imagined i could, and was
terribly frightened, for death seemed
to me to be very, very near. The
diniDg-saloon was comparatively empty
when we reached it and passed through
it and up on deck, for We were among
the first to get out.
How | managed to control myself
after this | don't know. The scene on
deck was something awful. The peo-
pie from the steerage were on deck,
crying, screaming, and praying. 1t was
a most aw full combination of noises,
and no one who heard it could by any
possibility ever forget 1t. But above ii
sounded for a few minutes after | got
on deck the curses and horrible oathS
OF the begrimed and half attired fire.
men and stokers. They seemed to
have mutnied, and the officers bad no
control over them. They were scat
tered all over the deck, and myself and
other ladies and some children were so
roughly pushed about that several OF
us were thrown violently to the deck.
Finally the officers were reinforced by
q number Of the gentleman cabin
passengers, and order was in some
measure restored among those rough |
men. 1t took force TO do this, though,
and the minor officers had to use slaves
and belaying-pinS and fairly club the /
men TO keep them from capturing the /,
lifeboats, our only hope Of salvation.
AS it was, one boat, the first away,
was filed with them.
II was among the passengers who
were taken off before the pilot boat
came alongside and furnished tempo
rary shelter for part Of US. From there
We saw other passengers taken from the
sinking vessel, and our hearts sank
when we saw that over half the pas.
sengers and crew were left behind, and
it seemed that no possibility Of succor
remained. The suspense was simply
horrible, while minutes seemed to grow
into hours and hours into years before
Providence sent to the rescue of
those remaining behind the schooner
Fannie A. Gorham. She, too, was
loaded until there was no room to
squeeze another person on her deck.
Then the officers and crew, and few
Of the brave passengers who remained
10 the last, filed the boats aud the life
raft, and we all drifted about waiting
to see the beautiful steamer go to the
bottom, as we knew she must, Her
gorgeous cabins weren't half so invi-
ting to us as the homely vessels whose
decks now stood between us and death.
Pilot Boat No. IL is now in my eyes
the handsomest craft in the world.
1--WE were somewhat anxious on
board, notwithstanding the assurance
given us by the officers that we were in
the path Of vessels which would surely
pick us up before nightfall, Happy we
all were when the SMOKE Of steamer
was seen, as tappy as we had pre-
yiously been disheartened when we saw
two steamers and a sailing vessel pass
and refuse to answer our signals Of
distress. A shoot Of joy rose i'm
pulsively from every lip. 1t was an
swered from the schooner and from
those in the boats lying about US. We
knew help bad come at last. We had
not long to wait before the Fulda came
up and picked US up, and Captain
Ripgk and his officers and the passen-
gers have treated us with the utmost
courtesy and kindness thus far, and /
presume will continue to do so until we
are safely landed at the dock. The last
saw Of the Oregon was from the deck
Of the fulds, when she plunged bow
first down to the bottom, her great
propeller screw being the last thing we
saw Of her."
A joyial Englishman who did not
want to be made famous by the news
papers, said: ~ have a theory about
this mishap, but ! don't dare to tell it.
vn;gbt ha do;ny en,nahodv q N ;niuctica