The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-07-04
HOW SHE WENT DOWN.

Admiral Markham official dispatches
make it now possible to form clear opin-
ion of the cause of the collision with the
Victoria. The fleet was being Unanswered
by Admiral Tryon, and an order he gave
was onsidered so doubtful by Admiral
Markham that for a minute or two he dis
obeyed IT, and was asked by signal what
he was waiting for. he had evidently the
belief IN his mind that the order could u OF
be executed and was prepared to ask for
further instructions, but the inquiry by
the comm ander-in-chief was sufficient to
silence his apprehensions. Perhaps he
concluded that something else was In
tended than complete change of columns.
and from the deck of the Camperdown he
watched the movements of the Victoria
carefully. while obeying the order.
The two columns of the fleet were six
cables length apart, or 1920 feet, fully two
thirds of nautical mile. The order was
to change the positions OF the vessels so
that the columns would cross one another.
Being at the head of their respective COL
umns, the Victoria and Camperdown had
first TO execute the movement, the one
turning sixteen points with the helm star
boarded and the other sixteen points with
the helm ported. The remaining vessels
of the feet would follow this movement.
Both TryOn and Markham's seamanShip
stands high. yet the one had no scruple or
hesitation in ordering the change of col
umns and the other seems almost to have
cons idered it madness. A distance of fully
four-ffths of a land mile seems sufficiently
wide berth for the purpose. but in the &C.
tual execution the danger was apparent to
the one commander and not to the other.
A twin-prOpeller vessel can turn circle al
most within its own length by going ahead
with one engine and astern with the other.
To reduce bis circle as the flagship ap-
preached, Markham drove the starboard
engines full speed astern. and afterward
went astern full speed with both propel-
lers. No responding movement seems
to have been made by the Victoria until
the last moment. when collision could not
be averted. The other vessels had not exc
cuted or could only have begun the move
ment, and there was no disaster in their
case. What their captains think of the
order will be important evidence at the
court-martial. The captain of the Victoria
reported to Admiral Tryon that he thought
the Camperd own too close, and got permits
sion to reverse first the port screw and
then the other.
In another respect the disaster is extra
ordinary. After the accident, and when it
should have been known that the Victoria
was sinking, Admiral Trvon distinctly sig
nailed TO the rest of the fleet not to lower
boats. The Camperdown's boats were
ready but were stopped in lowering. The
signal not to lower boats was made gen.
eral. This peremptory refusal to sanction
precautions is eminently characteristic CT
a man who has supreme con fidence in his
own judgment Admiral Tryon assumed
that there would be no collision, and when
there was. he assumed that the Victoria
could not sink, yet in two or three minutes
she was at the bottom in 500 feet of water.
AS to the bulkheads of the Victoria, Cap
tain Bourke gave the order to close the
doors, and he says some one reported that
they were tight. There is melancholy
proof that they were not closed. 1t is too
soon to apportion the blame precisely, but
blame there is for this appalling catastro-
phe. The inquiry will have great value
for the navies of all countries.