Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1893-06-30
Great Naval Disaster.

l down, ana also 10 close nol uulkHcduc, oue
while at their work the top-heavy vessel
| turned over and they were caught in trap
4 from which there was no escape.
| A model of the great vessel now at the
| Worlds Fair has attracted the attention OF
| thousands siuce the disaster.
\ Rear Admiral Albert II. Markham, OF
\ the Trafalgar, the flagship of the Rear Ad-
miral in the Mediterranean, telegraphed to
the Admiralty from Tripoli, Syria, as fol-
lows:
| / regret to report that while maneuver-
1 ing off Tripoli this afternoon the Victoria
and Camperdown collided. The Victoria
| sank in fifteen minutes in eighteen fsthoms
of water SIZE lies bottom uppermost.
The Camperdovn's ram struck forward OF
the turret on the starboard side. Twenty.
one officers were drowned. Two hundred
and fifty-five men were saved. The injury
TO the Camperdown has not yet been fully
ascertained. but il is serious and will ne
| cessitate her going on dock for repairs.
propose to send the survivors to Malta.
The Victoria was a twin screw battle
ship of about 10, 40 tons and Il, 900 horse
mower. mounting Is guns. She had on
board Gil officers and men and lOI mar
ines.
DETAILS oP THB DIsAsTHR.
There was a smashing of wood and iron
plates, and the ram and eight feet OF the
bow of the Camperdown crashed twenty
| feet into the bowels Of the Victoria. The
Camperdown was halted by the heavy ar
NOR of the Victoria, and as her screws
were reversed she ut once began to back
away.
| AS all the other vessels were moving to
get into double line behind the two leaders,
| thew were bearing down upon the entan-
| gled ships, and catastrophe involving al
the ironclads was imminent. Only the
GOODNESS and prompt action OF the other
commanders prevented a general disaster;
| The Victoria's bow was now pointed tull
toward the shore. 1t seems that Admiral
lTyron did not realize the extent of the
| damage to the Victoria. As no accident
of exactly this kind has happened before
he could not know what the effect of the
hole in the compartment was to be.
| He no doubt thought that as only one
compartment was damaged the others
would keep his ship afoat, so when the
| Csmperdown and the other ships signaled
offers of boats he replied that he did not
need them.
| The Victoria began to forge straight tor
| the shore under full steam. 1t is one OF
| the rules of the British navy that if ship
| is in danger OF sinking and shore is not lar
| away she must be got into shallow water,
| so that if she goes down she may be raised
| again. SO Admiral Tyron was making for
| the shore and was widening the distance
between the Victoria and other ships.
When the Camperdown's ram struck the
Victoria, Admiral Tyron, the navigatin 6
officer, two signal officers, and the men
at the wheel were all upon the bridge,
either in full view or in the chart-house.
Most of the crew was on the forward deck.
lounging about, trying to keep cool under
the blazing sun Of the clear CALM day.
With the crash they rushed into the bat
terry and as far aft as possible. bnt when
the two vessels separated all returned to
their places.
Discipline was perfect. The admiral
and officers remained steadfast upon the
bridge, setting an example. So good was
the discipline that within fiye minutes af-
ter the blow diving suit had been brought
on deck and diver was getting into 1t to
obey the order to GO below and find out
the extent of the damage.
The untangling and getting under full
headway had taken some little time.
About ten minutes after the blow the Vic
toria, having got something like two miles
nearer shore from the scene of the collision
all at once leaned away over to stsrboard
and with great roll and plunge buried
her bow beneath the calm surface OF the
sea. 1t was almost instantaneous.
There was only a chance for few wild
cries and the Victoria was almost hall sub
merged bow foremost, with her swiftly re-
volving screws whirling clear of the water
and high in the air.
Those on deck were plunged immedia-
tely into the water.
The men forward and below had no time
to rush to the deck, but found themselves
cropping for doors of rooms filled with wa
ter and compressed air. There was lit
tie more time for those in the officers quar-
ters. They heard the shouts and warning
cries aud rushed to the almost perpendicu-
lar deck.
The huge hull was drawing in the water
as it went down and several hundred men
suddenly hurled into the water, fully
dressed, had to battle against the increas-
ing suction. A moment more and new
peril, more horrible, descended upon them.
The great engine deep in the heart of the
hull and inclosed in water-tight compart
ments was still throbbing at full speed and
the great steel fanges of the twin screws
were whirling around up in the air. AS
the vessel sank these screws came nearer
to the water and descended into the midst
Of struggling human beings.
The vessel sank slowly and when the
screws were low enough to begin to whirl
in the water again the suction had increas-
ed until there was deepening vortex like
a maelstrom.
At the bottom of this maelstrom the
screws were revolving like circular knives.
The poor creatures battled in vain against
the suction. They were drawn down and
thrown against the swift blades.
Then came a scene which made the OH
GERS on the decks of the warships OF the
feet turn away, sick with horror. Screams
and shrieks arose, and in the white foam
appeared Redeemed arms and legs and
wrenched and torn bodies. Headless
trunks were tossed out Of the vortex to
linger moment on the surface and SINK
out Of sight. All within reach OF that vor-
tex lost their presence of mind. Men who
knew how to swim ceased swimming and
fought with the waters. Men clutched
each other in frenzy and struck each other
off. The deep cone of whirling waters
bodies at the bottom OF it, was horror to
daunt the bravest.
One man who escaped says that he saw
in this great vortex at least fifty of his fel-
lows fighting with each other and with IN
eyitable death. In q moment or 80 the
knives disappeared and the vortex began
to close up.
The ship was beneath the surface just as
the whirl was Swallowed almost to the sur
face. Then there were o muffied sound OF
thunder, the waters were tossed up and
steam burst upon them.
Again the shrieks and screams burst
from the swimmers. The boilers had ex-
ploded, the sea had rushed into the fur
naces and the swimmers were beating
waves Of scaiding water.
Thus in less than ten minutes death IN
three awful forms attacked the officers and
crews of the Victoria-death by drowning,
death by the knife-like screws and death
by scalding water.
With the first underplungc of the Vic
toria all the boats were called away from
ali the other ships and came straining over
the calm sea to save the stragglers.
These boats were soon picking up those
fortunate ones who had got out of the
reach OF the terrible vortex. So long as
the vortex was there the boats dared not
venture near, but they did lift from the
scalding wLter several wretched sailors
who were horribly burned. It-is thought
that more than half Of those drowned got
out Of the ship, but were caught in the
vortex or scalded 10 death by the boiling
water.
Admiral:Tyron stuck ON the bridge and
refused to leave it. Just before the Vic
toria made her underplunge he saw what
was about 10 happen and issued an order
for each man to save himself, but the or
der never got beyond the bridge, for ruin
"A IL