Omaha daily bee., 1891-03-19
ALMOST SIX HUNDRED LOST.
The Anchor Line Steamship Utopia Sunk in
Gibraltar Bay.
SHE COLuOD WITH A WARSHIP
Terrible Scenes as the Great Vessel
WENT tO the iiOtt with Seven
Hundred Italian Eui-
grants on Board.


Spanish shore.
\ later account Of thodisaster attributes
1t to the fact that the British war ship
Auson was drifting before the gale and
rammed the Utopia abait the funnel. Tho
Utopia was iiupalcd on the spur OF tho An
sons ram and almost immcdiatcly sank.
Eycrythlng L possible was done 10y the oili-
GERS aud scamcn. Fourscamn were washed
overheard and drowned from one Of the war
ships steam launches while taking part in
tn res cue.
The scene after the collision was frightful.
On one side of tho SINKING steamshi y we're
crowded the 700 immigmu Is sh ricking with
terror. AT the III ght and lcitO Of the sinking
vessel were thc monster battlcship5 Rodney
and Anson pouring the ightO of their power
full electric rciicCtors upon tho disabled
steamship. Here and there were thcwdr-
ships, small boats, manned by blue Jackets,
who strained every nerve as thcy bent TO the
oars in the heavy sea, striving gallanuy TO
reach the drowning passengers.
The rescued PASSENGERS estimated tonum.
berabout two hundred POSSIBLY mOre) were
cared for on the warships or taken ashore
and dhoused in ngovcrnmcnt buildings
The officers and crew of II. Nj =. AnsOn
state that the Utopia fouled with the ram of
the AnsOn ANA thus caused the damage which
resulted IN the pass cngcr steamer sinking
within few minutes after being struck,
The n uSOn' = Ohi Gers assert that no blame can
beattuched TO the war vessel
Peterson, the SWGd ish quartz ter VINO
had been stcering = the Utopiaa short time be.
fore the collision, says that just before the
vessels came together he went below. While
there hc felt the shock of the collision and
rushed from below but before he reached
the main deck the Utopia had gone, broad.
side on, upon the spur of the Anson's ram,
The commander Ofthe Utopia, Captain Nc.
heague accordingto Peterson, was on the
steamships bridge until tho last mO Oment
Peterson adds thataS the Utopia was crush ed
by the AusOn's ram he clambered up he dav.
ITS of one of the steamships boats and cut
the ropes hoding Z it, He had no time, how.
ever, follower the boat away as the bows of
the L topia had passed beneath the war ship
and it was evident that the passenger
steamer was rapidly sinking. Soon after
the boats of the Arson having been promptly
lowered, one of the man.ot-war' cutters ran
alongside the Utopia and Peterson
that while on board the Utopia
after tho collision he was SurrOuD dCd by q
terri blo mass of human beings, fighting their
way desperately and savagely, regardless Of
sex or age, towards the boats, Men. women
aud children climbed over each other in that
horri ble fight for chance of escape from
downing. One poor woman who was res
,Ged by the Anson's blue jackets went ray
Ing mad when she was convinced that her
children Were drowned. There was similar
distressing incidents by the score, the III ost
awful of all occurring when the Utopia, with
final des perate lurch, sank with her human
freight clingng about her and drew h un
drcdS OF living personSdown with her, Many
oithosc who had sprung into the sea as tney
saw the hip could not float many mo
ments longer Were then also drawn down in
the awful whirlpool caused by the UtOpias
disappearance Some came to the surface
again for a few moments before sin king
finally IN Their WOtcry tomb. Others, more
lucky, were able to cling to pieces Of
wrcckage, Hoating spars, 'gratings, hatch
ways, boats, life belts, etc and thus kept
themselves above water until rescued by the
war ships boats. But as usual in such
cases, the weaker suCcurnbed more readily
ShriCking, praying women sank to rise no
morc with their terI'if fed offspring claSped to
their breasts. Children cluug to their
parents SO dcspemtelyas TO, in several cases,
cause deathto both where they might have
escaped had better judgment been used,
AT $3.50 p NJ. 1T was announced that the
ohlcial report of the NUN Der of persons on
board the Utopia Sh owed that when she left
Naples the steamship had $50 souls on board,
Including passengers and crew. OF this
number only3l had bcon saved, Thus j69
OF her pnssen gers and crew are either
drowned ormissing.
The Anson's boats were lowered immcdi.
Ncly after the collision, as We're also boats
from other vessels Of tho b ritish channel
squadron. the Swcd iSh manOt- war E'rcya and
the ship Amber and the irOnclads tn rncd
their powerful electric search lights on the
scene of the disaster to assist the reSCuers.
On shore the news of the disaster spread
quickly, An enormous crowd soon gathered
on the parade and great excitement prcvallei.
The sea was 5 heavy that the boats of the
rescuers could not with safety approach the
wreck, so they were compelled to lie to lee
ward, where they picked up people as they
were swept from the wreck Asthc Utopas
bows settled q terrible scene was wit
messed from the boats. Those still on board
the sinking steamer made a sud den rush
en- masse 10 the forerigging. strug gglinE for
their lives and vainly seeking places OF
refuge. Twenty minutes later the fOrecastle
was submerged, and the large mum Der of per-
sons gat cred there, who had not dared tC
leap over board with the hope ofbcing picked
up by the boats and who had failed in their
efforts to ascend the rigging, were carried
away by the waves. A steam plunacC
rescued all the others who had taken re fuge
in the main rigging, but The last ones were
not taken OF until | o'clock at night
hle the steam pinnaCe belonging to the
British irOnclad dlmmOrtalite was ngNged in
the work Of rescue her screw fOuled and she
driftcd on the rocks. Two of the sailors Were
drowned. The remainder we're rescued.
The total number of lives lost is now
placed at SO.
Officers Of the Utopia, in talking about the
catastrophe, say they Will never forget the
scenes that followed the COLI sion. The Ital,
ians were thrown into a state oicompetc and
cowardly panic. They yelled frantically and
IuuEhl IldulN lOTtstCu lut lOFtCaStie a lew
Of the married men blou ght their wives with
them, but the majority of the Italians acted
more like beasts than men, The fOrccastle
and rigging Were soon crowded and the YES
sci began to settle down. Presently an Cx
plosiOn with deatening report occurred in the
forecastle, killing many and throwing Others
into the sea Luckiy, thcmastS held and re
mained some yards above water as the veSSe
touched the bottom. From forty 20 fifty per
sons were res Cued from the masts.
Among the acts of fvalorat the height o
the gale WAS that of the Irish mildly, wht
put of alone ina dingy for the purpose o
rendcriu = NssistanCeto persons clhgiug Il
the wreck AnOth herowaS a seaman OF
the iron clad Rodney,who boldly plunged int
the sea, and after a des perate struggle sue
ceodcd in saving Of the women floating
III the water.
Divers who went down today report that
theroarc hundreds of bodies in thesteerag,
and between decks, Many bodies cam
ashore today.
Excited Over the Disaster.
New York. March lS.--The news of tn