The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-03-16

had settled low il the water, and
soon after the capt4n had gained the
pilot-bOat he saw hid magnificent ship
go down before his dyes.
THE oRi Zoos
filled rapidly and went down head
tinst in about twelve iathoms of water.
The upper parts Of the main, miz-
zen and jigger masts remain above
water. The schooner that the Oregon
crashed into WIS seen in the wake oil
the steamship for a moment after the
collision, her bow and all her head
gear wrecked. Then she disappeared.
II is supposed she sank, and that all
her people We're lost. One Of the pas
sengers on the Orekon, whose room
adjOined the mail Room, heard all
hands ordered below TO get coffee a
few moments before the collision.
When the ahockoccsftedthe crew was
ordered on deck aglin. He ran on
deck IN his night clothes. Women
and men were rum ipg wildly about.
The officers and the. captain behaved
splendidly. Nobody seemed to be in
jured. The sea, atfiie time OF the col
lisiOn, was as smooth as bah-room
floor, and the sky was clear. The
wreck OF the Oregon h about 1--WE
miles from land, and within sixteen
miles OF the Fire Island light.
One of the sailors Of the steamship
Oregon this morning said that imme-
diately after the collision a hulk OF
the sailing vessel was seen drifting
slowly by on the port side Of the
steamer, grazing her sides as she
passed astern. II was thought that
she sank as soon as she cleared the
Oregon and as none of her crew are
on the Fulda, he presumed they were
all drowned.
THE CAPTAINS STATEMENT.
Capt. Cottier Of the Oregon gives
the following account of the disaster:
'"The Oregon left Liverpool at 20
O'Clock on Saturday morning OF last
week. We had fine weather all the
way across, and the weather was clear
at 80 o'clock Sunday morning, With
a fresh breeze from the west, when a
sailing vessel suddenly doomed up
When first noticed she showed no
light, but when she was too close to
clear Off she showed q white light.
cannot say on what part of her. The
Oregon was running under q full head
OF steam The vessel struck us amid
ships and stove big hole in the port
side. All the water-tight compart-
ments were closed at the time. The
Oregon went down about 1913
o'clock. She iloated for about
eight hours after she struck
and now lied in twenty-five fathoms
OF water, north h,lf west from Watch
Hill, l.. !. The tops of her three
masts are visible above the water, and
the vessel is upright. She went down
head first. We worked from the mo-
ment Of the collision rs ii we expected
her TO sink, but did not believe she
was going to sink. We took extreme
precautions. The pumps were of no
use, might say. We worked them,
of course, and to their full capacity,
but they had no chance against the
mass Of water which eventually car
ried her down. The usual watch was
on deck at the time OF the accident
and no time was lost in awakening
the passengers Few of them heard
or felt the shock, ms all were in bed at
the time. Soon after the accident oc-
CURED steamer passed, a National
boat think, but went on. The YES
sci that ran into us must have sunk
Immediately, as when we looked she
W s not in sight. She must have
gone down with all on board. When
| found that the vessel was sinking ]
took the necessary steps to save our
passengers. We first sent up u rocket
as a signal of distress, then the
boats were lowered, but before
g o'clock pilot boat No. II
hove in sight. She came up to us be-
tween 7 and o'clock, and two hours
later the schooner Fannie A. Gorham
of Belfast hove to. The passengers
and crew OF the Oregon were trans
ferred 10 the pilot-boa;, and the
schooner in our own boats. Four
hundred were placed ON board the
pilot-boat, and the balance, about
500, on board the schooner. All the
passengers were transferred by ii
O'clock The steamship Fulda OF the
North-German Line hove in sight
about moon or httle before. She
was within half mile from the Ore
gon when the latter sank There
were no scenes on board the Oregon.
! never expected TO see such an affair
90 off 80 easily,
THE VESSEL, AND CARGO.
The cargo OF the vessel consisted OF
1850 tons Of general merchandise,
valued at S250,000 The vessel was
valued at II 100000. Both cargo and
vessel were insured abroad. The
question which is now uppermost
among the passengers of the Oregon
is whether they can recover from the
Cunard Company the value OF their
baggage which was lost.