Los Angeles herald., 1891-03-19
The Victims Of the Utopia
Disaster.
Five Hundred and Seventy-Six
Lives Lost.
The Struggling Mass of Humanity
in the Water.
Hen, Women and Children Engulfed by
the whirlpool Caused by the
Sinking Vessel.
Associated Press Dispatches.

by the British naval authorities to
recover as many as possible of the bodies
of the passengers and crew of the
sunken steamer Utopia, have at this
hour recovered ninety bodies. Among
those saved from the sinking vessel by
the boats of the men-of-war were twenty
of the Utopia's crew, G. G. Davis OF
Boston, saloon passenger, is among
those reported missing. The officers
and crew of HI. M. S. Anson state that
the Utopia fouled with the ram of the
Anson, and thus caused the damage
which resulted in the passenger steamer
sinking. The Anson's officers assert
that no blame can be attached to the
war vessel.
SURVIVORS, STORY.
Petersen, the Swedish quartermaster
who had been steering the Utopia
short time before the collision, says just
before the vessels came together, he
went below. While there he felt the
shock of the collision and rushed from
below, but before he reached the main
deck the Utopia had gone broadside on
the sharp bow of the Anson. The COM
mander OF the Utopia, Captain Nc
Keaghe, according to Petersen, was on
the steamships bridge until the last
moment.
Peterson said further that as the Uto-
pia was crushed by the Anson's ram, he
steamships boats, and cut the ropes
holding it. He had no time, however,
to lower the boat away, as the bows OF
the Utopia had passed beneath the wa
ter, and it was evident that the steamer
was rapidly sinking. Soon after, the
boats OF the Anson having been prompt
ly lowered, one of the man-of-war's cut
ters ran along side the Utopia, and Pc
terson managed to jump into her. He
says while on board the Utopia, after
the collision, he was surrounded by
A TERRIBLE MASS OF HUMAN BEINGS.
elutching their way desperately and
savagely, regardless of sex or age, to-
wards the boats. Men, women and
children tumbled and climbed over each
other in that horrible fight for chance
of escape from drowning. One poor
woman who was rescued by the Anson's
bluejackets went raving mad when she
was convinced that her children were
drowned. There were similar distress
ing Incidents by the score, the most
awful of all occurring when the Utopia,
with final desperate lurch, sank with
her human freight clinging about her,
and drew hundreds of living persons
down with her. Many of those who
had sprung into the sea as they saw the
steamship could not float many mo-
ments longer, were then also drawn
into
THE AWFUL WHIRLPOOL
caused by the Utopia's disappearance.
Some came to the surface again for a
few moments, before sinking finally into
their watery tombs. Others, more
lucky, were able to cling to pieces Of
wreckage, floating spars, oars, gratings,
hatchways, boats, life belts, etc., and
this kept them above water until res
cued by the warships' boats. But as
usual in such cases, the weaker sue
cumbed the more readily. Shrieking,
PRAYING women sank to rise no more,
with their terrified offspring clasped to
their breasts. Children clung to their
parents so desperately as to, in several
cases, cause the death to both, where
they might nave escaped had better
judgment been used.
NEARLY SIX HUNDRED VICTIMS.
At 4 80 p. M. it was announced that
the official report OF the number of per-
sons on board the Utopia, shows that
when she left Naples she had $50 souls
on board. including the passengers and
crew. OF this number only 311 have
been saved; thus $50 of her passengers
and crew are either drowned or missing.
THE WORN. ..oF RESCUE.
The Anson's boats were lowered i'm
mediately after the collision, as were
also the boats from other vessels of the
British channel squadron. The Swedish
man-of-war Freyn and the ship Amber,
and the iron-clads, turned their powerful
electric search lights on the scene of the
disaster to assist the rescuers. On the
shore the news of the disaster spread
quickly. An enormous crowd soon
gathered ON the parade, and great ex-
citement prevailed. The sea was so
heavy that the boats OF the rescuers
could not with safety approach the
wreck. so they were compelled to lie to
ieward where they picked up ithe people
as they were swept from the deck. As
the Utopia's bows settled
TERRIBLE SCENE
was witnessed from the boats. Those
still on board the sinking steamer made
a sudden rush en- masse to the fore
rigging, struggling for their lives and
valnly seeking places of refuge. Twenty
minutes later the forecastle was sub
merged, and a large number of persons
who had gathered there and who had
not dared to leap overheard with the
hope of being picked up by the boats,
and had failed in their efforts to ascend
the rigging, were carried away by the
waves. A steam pinnace rescued
all the others who had taken refuge in
thesmain rigging, but the last ones were
not off until II o'clock at night. While
q steam pinnace belonging to the British
iron-clad Immortalite, was engaged in
the work of rescue, her screw fouled and
she drifted on the rocks. Two of her
sailors were drowned, the remainder
were rescued.
The total number of lives lost is now
placed at 576.
CAUSE OF THE DISASTER.
One account of the disaster attributes
it to the fact that the British warship
Anson was drifting before the gale, and
Tammed the Utopia abaft the funnel.
The Utopia was impaled on the spur of
the Anson's ram, and almost immedi-
9tAlV aank EvorvthinU y,Osaihla was