The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-08-31

l. was then Monday and all that
day was spent by the pas
sengers on deck. The day was
beautiful one, brightand sunny. Expect
ing succor from Savannah or Port Royal
any hour of the day, the passengers made
the best of their deplorable situation.
The women and children slept ON deck.
LAY ON HER SIDE.
The stranded steamer lay on her star
board side, the port side, of course, being
uppermost, on which the passengers made
themselves as comfortable as possible in
the pas5age-way between the line state
rooms and the bulwarl1s. There were sixty
five of them all huddled together including
the officers and crew As night came on sig
nails of distress were sent up and colored
lights were burned. No assistance coming
to them that day or night, nearly all hands
took to the rigging, where they lashed
themselves, and the rest of them shell
tered themselves on the port side of the
vessel, in the most convenient places to
be found.
Early on Monday morning two quarter
masters and a boatswain launched one of
the life-boats and tried to reach shore
to procure assistance. They were unable
to return to the wreck and it was feared
they were lost, but it was afterwards as
certained that they saved themselves.
PUT on THF LIFE BOATS.
On Tuesday morning, after spending a
horrible night in the rigging and on deck
all Of the women and children on board
were transferred to two of the life-boats,
with a crew sufficient to man them, and
under command of the first and second
officers respectively, set out for the
shore. The distance was so great, the mist
so thick, and the seas so high that those
remaining on the wreck were unable to
learn whether the boats did or did not
reach land. 1t was not until they arrived
in the city last night that they learned
that the wanderers were safe and sound
on st. Helena Island
From the moment the steamer stranded
she began rapidly to disintegrate, The
plates were starting, the woodwork
breaking, and the cargo in the hold, be-
coming dislodged, began to drift away.
The hold was filed with water the star
board side was completely wrenched out,
and she began to break amidships.
TOOK TO THE RIGGING.
Tuesday night, all the women and
children being away in the two lifeboats,
the men remaining took to the rigging
and lashed themselves there. They were
in n 4 al Is.,A
the starboard rigging that night, and in
spite of their detection and suffering,
some of the passengers went to sleep
lashed fast to the rigging, many of them
so low-splrited that they did not care
whether they ever woke again. This
state of affairs was caused by the strange,
unaccountable, and apparently inhuman
conduct of the master of a tug boat how
ering in that vicinity.
About o'clock on Tuesday aft
ernoon a tug boat, whose smoke
stack was encircled with white
band, apparently from Port Royal, came
toward the wreck with flags
flying, with all the outward
evidence of coming to the assistance
of the castaways. So confident were
they that this tug boat would rescue
them that everybody on deck collected
his little baggage together and made
preparations to leave. All was Joy and
the experience of the preceding night and
day We're talked over and made light of.
WANTED THE CAPTAINS AUTOGRAPH.
A little incident that happened at this
time viii show how the captain felt, and
the captain reflected the feelings of every
man. Mr.. Connell during the day found
drifting with the flotsam one of Honore
Balzac's works, "The Comedy of Human
Life,' little piece of irony. Mr.. Con
nell, while in the rigging passed away
some Of the dreary hours in reading this
work, and desiring to retain it as a
souvenir of thrilling episode in his
career, passed it to Capt. Savage with the
request that he write his autograph on
the fly leaf. Capt. Savage wrote in pen
Gil in the place indicated his name and
underneath, Wrecked off st. Helena
Island, August 2S, 1893" To intelli-
gently understand the actions of the
tugboat master the surroundings of
the wreck must be known What was
left of the City of Savannah was resting
in blight with the breakers on both her
starboard and port sides and at the stern
Leading to her bow there was clear and
safe channel cut to the sea with a least
depth of "A feet. The tugboat circled
around the breakers, raising the hopes of
the shipwrecked men 10 the highest pitch,
and finally sailed away to the northward,
leaving those behind to their fate. The
tugboat never got nearer TO the wreck
than two miles.
THEIR HOPES DASHED.
The hopes already raised were
dashed away by the retreat Of
the tugboat, and every one gave up in
despair Captain Savage, who kept up his
courage to the highest pitch
up to this moment, abandoned all
Of being rescued, as the yes
sci was then rapidly going to pieces andit
was doubtful whether she could survive
the night.
Tuesday about sundown the City of
was sighted coming from
the northward and Capt. Savage signaled
her. Capt. Berg responded by casting
anchor at safe distance and sending a
boat containing four men, in charge Of
First Officer johnson. with the informa-