Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-03-19
OVER 800 DROWNED
In the Terrible Disaster That Over.
took the Passenger Steam
ship Utopia.
STORY OF A SURVIVING SAILOR.
The Awful Scene Of Hundreds Fighting
Against Death in the Waves After
the Fatal Collision.
STORY OF A SURVIVING SAILOR.
BRAVE WORK oFTHE wARSHIPS CREWS
In Their Hsroc Efforts at Saving Many Lives During
the Preysiling Gale.
LEY puN1AP,s CABLE COMPANY. l


gram to the Anchor line Office from Gibral
tar reports that 290 steerage, saloon pas
sengers and 25 seamen were saved. TIL.
rest, it is feared, are lost A sailor named
Tom Peterson, who was at the wheel of the
Utopia from till o'clock, when she was
passing Europa Point, says:
81 went below for tea, but hearing some.
thing wrong, I opened port and saw that
a collision was inevitable. 1 then rushed
on deck, but before reaching it the q topia
had gone broadside on. The Captain was
on the bridge till the last 1 clambered to
the davits and cut the ropes, but too late to
launch the boats. The bow of the Utopis
passed under the man-of-war while sink
ing.
The cutter of the man-of-war came along
side, and 1 jumped into her with others.
We rescued lady passenger and steward.
We were surrounded by mass of human
beings, fighting for the boats. The Utopia
was struck at GAS and went down in five
minutes One woman went mad at the loss
of her children"
Crushed by the Ram.
press dispatch from Gibraltar says:
Peterson, a Swedish Quartermaster, who
had been steering the Utopia q short time
before the collision, says that 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 broad
side on upon the spur of the Anson's ram.
The commander of the Utopia, Captain Nc
Keague, according to Peterson, was on the
steamships bridge until the last moment.
Peterson adds that as the Utopia was
crushed by the Anson's ram he clambered
up the davits of one of the 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 warship, and it was evident
that the passenger steamer was rapidly sink
ing. Soon after the boats of the Anson having
been promptly lowered. one of the men-of-
wars cutters ran alongside the Utopia and
Peterson managed to jump into her. He says
that while on board the Utopia after the col.
lision, he was surrounded by a terrible mass OF
human beings, fighting their way desperately
and savagely regardless OF sex or age, toward
the boats.
Hundreds Sank With the Vessel
Men, women and children tumbled and
climbed over each other in that horrible fight
for a chance of escape from drowning. One
poor woman, rescued by the Anson Blue Jack
cts. went raving mad when she was convinced
that her children were drowned. There were
similar distressing incidents by the score. The
most awful occurring was when the Utopia,
with final desperate lurch, sank with her hu-
man freight clinging about her and drew hum
dreds of living persons down with her.
Many of those who had sprung into the sea as
they saw that the steamship could not float
many moments longer, were also drawn down
in the whirlpool caused by the Utopia's disap-
pearance. Some came to the surface again for
a few moments before sinking finally into their
watery tomb. Others, more lucky. were able
to cling to pieces of wreckage, floating spars,
oars, gratings, hatchways, boats life belts, etc..
and thus kept themselves above water until
rescued by the warship's boats. l
But as usual in such cases, the weaker sue
cumbed moro 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 of both, where
they might have escaped had better judgment
been used.
Over Five Hundred Lost.
Husbands and wives sank while grasping
each other in frantic efforts to keep each other
afoat and many a good swimmer went down
with some Mortified, fear-maddened person
clinging to him with the tenacity of the desper-
alton of death. At 4:30 P. N. it was announced
that the official report of the number of per-
sons on board the Utopia shows that when she
left Naples the steamship had $50 souls on
board, including passengers and crew. Of this
number only 3l1 have been saved Thus 500 of
her passengers and crew are either drowned or
missing.
Everything possible was done by the officers
and .seamen of the British warships In their
efforts to save the lives of the unfortunate peo-
pie on board the Utopia. So much so that four
seamen were washed overheard and drowned
from one of the warship's steam launches
while taking part in the work of rescue.
The scene has probably never before been
witnessed in the history of maritime disasters
On one side was the sinking passenger steam
ship, the air filed with wild appeals for help
n ha dc
rustled furiously, driven along by the strong
southwestern gale which had been one of the
causes Of the calamity. Right and lett of the
sinking vessel were the two monster battle
ships, the Rodney and the Anson, huge speci-
mems OF Britain's most powerful fighting ships |
pouring the light of their powerful electric re.
Electors upon the disabled steamship lighting |
up the agony of her passengers.
Here and there were the warships small |
boats manned by sturdy blue jackets, who |
strained every nerve as they bent to their oars |
in that heavy sea while striving gallantly to be
first 70 reach the drowning passengers OF the !
Utopia.