The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1891-03-20
THE UTOPIA DISASTER.
Completed List Of Doad-Funsral OF thI
Two saamon Who Wore Drowned.

Two seamon who Were Drowned.
GrBRAITAR, March 19.-The revised
official count OF the lost and saved pas
sengers and crew of the ill.iatsd Utopil
shows that there wore $50 souls or
board the steamer when she ran into the
Anson. The saved are 200 nteersge pas
sengers, two saloon passengers, three
Italian Interpreters and twenty:three Of
the crew, all the latter being English
men or men who had shipped at English
ports.
The funeral Of the two man-oi.war
men Albert Cotton, seaman, and Geo.
Hale's stoker, who were drowned from
the steam launch Immortale, on Tues
day night, while engaged in rescuing the
endangered passengers Of the Utopia,
took place to-day. The bands OF all the
war ships forming the British squadron,
now at anchor at Gibraltar, played dead
marches in the funeral procession.
The officers OF the Immortale, headed
by her commander, Capt. Sir VIM. Wise-
man, delegations from the crews OF the
other British ironclads and from the
Swedish man-of.war Freya, and repre-
sentation from the garrison Of Gibraltar,
were present at the funeral ceremonies.
All the ironclads fred salutes as the
bodies were lowered into the graves in
the cemetery here, and all the stores in
Gibraltar were closed as mark Of sym
pathy with the gallant blue jackets.
Captain McKeague, OF the Utopia, has
been arrested foT wrongful acts, i'm
proper conduct, negligence and mis-
management. He released on bail.
The accounts given by the divers who
are engaged in the work on the wrecked
steamer OF terrible sights which they
have witnessed on the vessel still fur
ther increased the appalling character
OF the catastrophe. These men, in de-
scribing the horrible scene, say that they
found the matches and the chart room OF
the Utopia closely packed with the
bodies Of the unfortunate passengers
who had become wedged into an almost
solid mass in their frantic rush to reach |
the decks OF the steamer after she had
crashed into the sharp ram Of the iron
clad.
The position in which the bodies
were found show that the poor people
made terrible struggle for life and that
desperate attempts were made to escape |
from the doomed vessel as the sea came
rushing in through the rent in the side.
Owing TO lack OF accommodations in
the naval hospital here many Of the
crew and the emiGrants who were
rescued have been compelled 10 encamp
on the Glacis.
The military are closely patroling the
shore for the purpose OF reecning any
more OF the bodies that may be washed
in by the waves. The inhabitants OF
this place, who from the shore witnessed
the horrifying scene OF hundreds OF
persons being swallowed up in the rag
ing waters Of the bay, are unstinted in
their praise Of the great gallantry dis.
played by the men Of the British squad.
ron anchored here, who bodily hurried
to the rescue OF the endangered passcn.
gers without stopping to consider the
risk they ran in launching their small
boats on an angry sea and in the teeth
Of heavy gale.
The inquiry into the circumstances OF
the Utopia disaster was begun to-day.
Surgeon sellar, Of the ill.isted steamer,
said the voyage had been uneventiul be-
lore the disaster. Shortly after pass.
ing Europa Point at 0 o'clock
ia the evening he heard pas.
senger excllim: ave are running
into man of war" Whilst the vessel
was sinking Surgeon sellar undressed
himself, jumped overheard and was soon
rescued. He heard the captain aud
mate ordering the boats lowered after
The collision. He had implicit conf
dence in the captain.