Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1895-06-05
STORIES OF SURVIVORS.

L L
San FRANCISCO, Cal, June Ian Tx
| aminer's special from Nazatlan says that
| the steamer San Juan has arrived there
| with the twenty-one passengers picked up
| on Tuesday from the wreck Of the Colima.
| All the rescued are badly bruised. They
| were all picked up from pieces of wreck
| age and RATS, with the exception of A. j.
| Sutherland who had chung to a boat aft
| er it had capsized five times and drowned
oil the other occupants.
| The steamer was heavily laden and had
| a large deckload of lumber. When the
storm struck her she made bad weather
| OF 1t, the captain having great difficulty
| in keeping her head to the sea. The wind
| increased in fury until it is said to have
been the fercest storm known along this
coast in twenty years. The sea rose rapid
| ly, waves washed the vessel and started
| the deckload AS the waves rose and the
| storm increased the managing of the
| steamer became impossible. At last, her
| head could no longer be kept up, and she
| preached to.
Wave Strikes Her.
Once in the trough of the sea a mighty
! wave struck her and she was thrown on
her beam ends. This wave struck her
with such force that the steamer trem-
bled as if she had run upon a reef and
most of the passengers thought this the
cause of the shock. This gave rise to
the first report that the ship had struck
on reef Whether because of the heavy
deckload, the shifting Of the coal and
cargo. or the force of the storm. the
steamer would not right herself. The
passengers were pretty badly stunned by
being pitched about, but rushed upon deck
III panic. Here they met another dan
ger. The gale tore part of the deckload
OF lumber from its fastenings and whirled
the heavy plank with great violence.
CT IIct- OVID
one passenger was killed Gy having his
head crushed by one Of the flying timbers
In their terror the passengers made few
mental notes of their surroundings at this
juncture. The survivors say however,
that the officers of the steamer were
upon the bridge, his first officer. D. e.
Grifiths, with him. At an order Crit
hths rushed aft to superintend the launch
ing of lifeboat No. ). Second Officer
le.nghOrn was at lifeboat No. 3 and sue
ceeded in getting it launched and filled
with passengers.
Captain Dies at His Post
Then down went the ship and Lang
horns boat was capsized All in the
boats were supposed to have been drowned
Capt Taylor went down with the shin.
sticking to his post. AS the ship pitched
downward he blew three blasts on the
whistle, supposedly as a signal of good
bye. Then he disappeared beneath the
waves. Down went the engineers and
tremen at their posts. Freight Clerk
Berry was in his room at the time of the
final plunge
Third Officer Henson was saved. AS
the steamer sank, he cut some of the
lashings of the deck lumber. Then he
jumped or was thrown overheard on the
weather side of the vessel and reached
the top of the deckhouse. This had
fory1 off aud Id
great wave which threw the Colima on
her beam. Thomas Henson was tossed
about for twenty-four hours. Henson
says that as the steamer foundered her
boilers burst. Ten other men were thrown
into the sea with him. The bursting of
the boilers tore off the deck and threw
part Of it over at least dozen men who
were struggling in the water drowning
them all. Flying debris hit others. Hen
son says the deck fairly burst under his
feet as he left the ship.
Two life RATS were seen to be afloat.
On one were three men and on another
six, including J. A Childburg of Seattle.
Wash, who seemed to have been a leader
in the work of launching the raft. Those
IN position to take notice of their sur
roundings saw many who chung to bits
of wreckage and the lumber from the
deckload. The gale caught this wreckage
from the crests of the great waves and
Prof. Writings Heroic Effort.
Prof. Harold Whiting of the California
university made a heroic effort to save
his wife and four children and the nurse,
He got into a boat in which were A j.
Sutherland and others The boat was
soon swamped. Five times she was right.
ed after being overturned The women
were soon drowned despite all efforts to
save them. Some were killed or stunned
by the flying debris At last only Suther-
land was left He climbed upon the seats
while the hfeboat was overturned and SO
hoated with the bottom of the boat serv
ing him as protecting shield He says
he was on the weather side of the steam
er when she went on her beam ends, but
slid over to the side and fell into boat
AS the steamer went down a mast or
part of the rigging took the boat under
water. When it came to the surface
Sutherland crawled in again. Then he
picked up Prof. Whiting, Mrs. Irving and
another lady supposed to be Mrs. Whit,
ing. Almost Immediately the boat cap
sized again and, as has been reported, went
over no less than five times, drowning
Prof. Whiting and the two women. Then
1t was that Sutherland came up under the
boat and remained there protected as he
tells from the flying timbers and dashins
debris. Many of those saved were badly
hurt by the Wreckage and lumber. The
survivors drifted about for twenty-four
hours in what Capt. Pitts of the San
Juan says was the hardest storm ex.
perienced on the coast in twenty years.
Of course none but the stoutest could
survive The weaker ones succumbed
from hour to hour. Among those most
injured was young Gushing Of Oakland.
He and another man foated about on an
improvised raft. His brother was
drowned. His injuries are severe. Some
Of the others are in pitiable condition.
MISS ANNIE CAMERON WEBS.