Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1895-06-06
The Story as Told by One of
the Survivors.
MANY KILLED BY THE WRECKAGE
Children Drowned In the
Cabins of the Steamer.


y
| Mazatan, gives some additional particu.
] lars of the Colina wreck obtained from
| Third Officer Hansen, who escaped on
| the deck house, and A. J. Sutherland,
who chung to the seats Of an overturned
lifeboat.
The heaviest squat of all those expert
| cnceG came after the steamer had foun'
dered and while the passengers and crew
were struggling in the water. The force Of
| the gale At this time was dreadful. Many
were washed from the wreckage to which
| they chung. Some were killed or ren1
dered unconscious by being struck by
timbcrs, which were dashed about with
resistless fury. Rats and boats were
overturned. Had it not been for this
squat many more undoubtedly would
| have been saved.
The gale drove RATS and wrockage
before it with great rapidity. Mr. Han
sen saw q raft pass at $50 p. m. on the
| day of the disaster. On IL were three
soon lost to view. He also saw raft
on which were Mr.. Chilbcrg and six
| Others These men had two oars and
seemed to be making for shore. Mr..
! Hansen also saw boat in which was
First Officer Grltliths and four or five
men. When last seen this boat WAS
trying to pick up the purser, but it was
not seen again and is supposed to have
been swamped in the heavy sea.
| Every one of the survivors except
| Sutherland is badly bruised by being
struck by the wreckage. He was pro-
tected by being under the lfeboat after
it had overturned five times with him.
He says he saw two ladies alive and
then saw them drown without being
able TO render them any aid. Sulher-
land and Hansen say the wind would
catch planks and lumber from the deck.
load, hurl them in the air with furious
force and dash them down upon those
in the water.
! 1t is reported that Just as the steamer
went down Captain Taylor was washed
from the bridge into the sea and that
there he was struck by piece of
wreckage and killed or so stunned that
he was unable TO make further effort to
save himself. lie had attempted TO
heavc.to under the slow. bell, but could
not get the vessels head up to sea-
Then he tried gong ahead at full speed
two or three times. but the wind threw
her off and She fell into the trough of
the sea. Some of the survivors say the
engines could not drive the steamer in
the teeth OF the gale or else they were
disabled.
sutherland and Hansen both tell har.
rowing stories of the misery they wit
messed while keeping themselves atloat.
Many Of the bodies which iloated past
them were entirely nude.
Either the clothing had been torn off
Ly the fury of the wind and waves, or
the victims had been too i'll or too terri
fed to leave their beds until the last,
and had then rushed upon deck clad
only in their chamber robes. Apparently
tho children were all drowned in the
cabins.
1t was the t2Olh trip of the Colima
She had on board $4,000 OF treasure,
shipped TO Mazatlan from the house OF
MelchoirS, Echegueven q Co. 1t is In,
surcd in London and Germany.
Until the depth of the water In which
the steamer went down was positively
hnown two diving plants and two
steamers belonging to Hidago d Co.
and the COrnego Co. of In Paz, were
kept waiting To attempt the recovery OF
this treasure
have myself been held here waiting
for full particulars before acting fur.
ther have learned that the names OF
. passengers who boarded the Colima al
this port for the southern trip were:
Carlottl G. ID. Gomez, Lucas j. Bel.
tran, Thomas Sarabia saved, Santos
Leon, G.. NJ Posten.
According to the passenger list when
the steamer left Alazatlan there were 81
cabin and "a Storage passengers from
! San Francisco, five from Muzatlan and
/ n crew Of 80, making total of 200
souls on board. Other passengers may
have been taken on at San Bias and
Manzanlllo and some may have left the
steamer, so the exact number on the
ship when she f0uudered is not known
here,
SEARCHING FOR SURVIVORS,.
SAN Francisco, CAL, June "a:
Eftmtaer special from the City o.
! Mexico says regcuing parties are il
search OF survivors of the Coima dis
asler. Land parties, mounted and afOnt
are operating in the vicinity of Iltlanu
acan, Laruta, Zacatula, and as far soutl
Nuevos, while the people all along the
coast of Acapulco have Information o.
the disaster AID have been asked It
take particular care to patrol the beach
: whenever possible.
Not only are the sea and coast line!
to be rigidly secured but other partie!
arc operating on horseback MS far in
t land as 10 miles, in hopes Of encounter.
: ing more Of the still living who may
9 have found shelter in some OF the small
i villages. 1t is believed that number
OF the passengers, mad from thei
I terrible experiences and keen bereave
Q ments, on reaching land have gont
Y wandering about the country. A!
5 many OF the passengers were unable t.
r speak in Spanish, they could not max,
known their position and SO would bt
/ entirely helpless among tue simple but
I kindly Indians along the coast country
! 1t would not be strange if some inlanC
e rescues arc made during the early par
2 Of the present week.
The survivors who have reached Man
aanlllo say that Capt, Pitts OF the steam
snip san Juan should have cruised al
least two days longer on the discover,
, OF the wreck, and believe that a gooC
q many others could have been picked vi
. that have since persisted. There are
/ hopes that others may have reached
! shore at Port Zan Telmo.
The steamer Mazatlan returned tc
Manzanllio from the wreck Yesterday
: On May 3lst she discovered d party o.
: survivors on the beach from the seconC
lie raft, and sent boat to bring then
on. IL was capslzed in the high surf
:. The men are supposed to have reached
9 shore. The wires are down between
here and Coahusyano, and IL man haI
. Deen sent on horseback 60 miles dowI
N1tF.k IA. e.. Al