St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-06-27

merged bow foremost, with her swiftling
revolving screws whirling clear of the
water and high in the air. Those on
deck were immediately plunged into the
water. The men forward and below had
no time to rush to the deck, and found
themselves cropping for doors of rooms
filled with water and compressed air.
There was little more time for those
in officers quarters. They heard the
shouts and warning cries and rushed to
the almost perpendicular deck. Com
mander Jellico, lying in his birth sick
ithfeyer, started up and dashed to the
deck in pagamas to find himself strug-
Cling i'll water. A lieutenant swan up
TO him, put his arm around him and
despite the handicap of supporting
helpless man was able to get away from
the side of the sinking ship. 1t took a
strong, skillful swimmer in full posses
ion Of his senses to do this.
MangIed by Screws.
The huge hull was drawing on the
water as IL went down, and several hun
dred men hurled suddenly into the
water fully dressed had to do battle
against the increasing suction. A mo-
ment more and new peril more horri
bic descended upon them. The great
engine deep in the heart of the hull
and incloSed in waterrtght compart-
ments, was still throbbng at full speed.
and the great steel phlanges of the
twin screws were Whirling round up in
the air. AS the vessel sank the screws
came nearer and nearer to the water,
and descended into the midst of strUg
Cling human beings. The vessel sank
slowly. and, when the screws were low
4, hnr- 70 ~ 81 . hAx tnr.
again, the suction had increased until
there was a deepening vortex like a
maelStrom. At the bottom of this mael-
strom 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 scene which made the
officers on the decks of the other war
ships 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 Oh the sur
face and sink out of sight. All within
reach of that vortex lost their presence
of mind. Men who knew how to swim
ceased swimming and
Fought With the Waters
Men clutched each other in frenzy.
ana struck each other off. The deep
cone of whirling water, with the swift
knives chopping human bodies all to
the bottom oft, was horror to daunt
the brayeSt.
One man who was saved says be saw
in this great vortex at least fifty of his
fellows fighting with each other and
with inevitable death. In moment OF
so the knives disappeared, and the
vortex began TO close up. The ship was
beneath the surface just as the whirl
was shadowed almost 10 the surface.
Then there was muffied sound of
thunderS, the waters we're tossed up
and steam burst from them. Again the
ShriekS and screams burst from the
swimmers. The boilers had exploded,
the sea had rushed into the furnaces
and the swimmers were beating waves
of Scading water Thus in less than
ten minutes death in these awful forms
attacked the officers and crew of the
Victoria-death by drowning, death by
the knife-like screws and death by
scalding water.
With the first underplupge of the
Victoria all the boats were called away
from all the other ships and came
straining over the calm sea to save the
strugglerS. These boats were soon
picking up those fortunate ones who
had got out of reach of the terrible vor-
tex. So long as the vortex was there
the boats dared not venture near, but
they did lift from
The Scaldfng Water
Several wretched sailors who were hor-
ribly burned, 1t is thought that more
than half of those drowned got out of
the ship. but were caught in the vortex
or scalded to death by the boiling
water.
Admiral Tryon stuck on the bridge
and refused 10 leave it. Just before the
Victoria made her under plunge he saw
what was about to happen and issued
an order for each man to save himself.
but the order never got beyond the
bridge, for ruin descended straightway.
The diver whom he had ordered below
to look into the damage was still Oh
deck, and dressed for his descent eX-
cept his helmet. He would have been
dragged to the bottom by his
heavy lead-soled shoes had it
not been for seaman. who
stopped to cut him loose from
his heavy clothes. The diver was
odNVu, Jul INV III al WIN Cue 'iiii iioO
was drowned. There were many acts
of heroism, self-forgetfulness and dar-
ing. The peril of those in the water
was increased by the fact that the sea
hereabouts is infested with sharks.
1t is the duty of the marines when a
collision occurs to immediately go
teiow and close all the watertight COM
partments. When the Camperdown
struck the Victoria the Victoria'S men
went below for their duty, and. as re-
suit. out of 100 marines on the Victoria
ninety-nine were lost.