The herald., 1895-06-07

fore she went down that any real signs
of alarm could be seen among the passen-
gers and crew.
Professor Whiting was the worst
worked up man in the cabin ana we
young fellows kept 'josbing' him about
his fears. Why. really five minutes before
the wreck diu not realize the danger.
Something like two minutes before the
ship listed the captain told me it was all
"; We're ding down, saiG he. "A cy-
clone is com ing upon us.
Both he and the offers were expect
ing a terrible storm and made all prepa-
ratons tor it. The glass fell down all
at once-so fast it frightened them-and
they took the plugs out OF the steering
apparatus SO as to be ready to steer from
the storm. lashed down everything Sc
curely and took in the awnings. Just at
the time of the collapse it got very dark
but the real darkness came on when we
were on the wreckage floating about.
That was the most awful hurricane ever
saw and ] nave been through Kansas cy-
clones. | never saw anything like it be
fore. Some things tore loose from the
stern and they were lashed fast by sailors
at imm minent risk of their lives.
The whole thing went to pieces at
once-say from three to five minutes
from the timesthe steamer listed until she
SANK. As she rolled. all the while listing
were filed with water by every successive
sea that swept over us. The women and
children were in the rooms holding onto
something to save themselves from being
battered to death by the pitching and
rolling. 1t was utterly impossible to keep
our feet even while holding fast with our
hands to the railing or whatever we
could grasp.
after we took the last fatal list the
cabins started. and | climbed up to the
top OF the hurricane deck. l realized
then we were gone. Both roofs of cabins
and everything above the hull crumbled
away like bit OF soft brick in
ships hanging on 10 a rail behind the
stays OF rope or ropes that stay the
nlasts, and scram bled into a hfeboat.
From that point | saw the deck houses
and two rows of state rooms go over
board. A mast fell onto the boat and
showed it into the water. Then | was off
the ship. The cabins were coming toward
me, churnlng and crunching into splint-
ers and crushing the people who were
ashed away with them. Above the
roar and the gale | could hear the
screams and yells. The wreckuge and
frightful mass as the timbers were
crushing out lives before my ewes. No
one could have escaped from that awful
mass of broken timbers thar kept on
churning and smashing in the waves.
The Explosion
'Only the bare hull was left with masts
sticking up for everything above the
iron was swept away. During the list
ing even the hull was filling up with
water, but she kept afloat though very far
down. Suddenly there was an explosion.
The masts raised back out OF the water
and the hull lifted up and then she tilted
and went down in an instant, stern first.
don t think there can be anv question
but that the boilers exploded. | learned
tnat there were explosives stored far
aft, but the explosion was amidships. 1t
tore the hull to pieces, and the Colima
sank like a rock.
There were a mum ber of WON en- ana
children down N the steerage WHO would
not be let up on deck, and they never got
out alive. Every one of them went down
with the explosion in the hull.
1.-The first one | saw near me was Mrs.
Irving. and then stout lady who came
up near the lifeboat which / was lucky
enough 20 be thrown up against.
pulled Mrs. living into the boat. and after
her the other lady. They had teen taken
from their stateroom little while pre-
vously by officers. as the partitions had
been smashed by the waves leaving an
opening into the dining room. 1t was
only by that mere accident that they
were not ground to death III the wreck
age of the cabins. Twice these ladies were
thrown out of the boat, and twice got
came up alongside and pulled him INTO
the boat. We tipped over repeatedly,
Mr. Whiting and | turning the boat over
once in attempting to drag the stout wo-
man in; but we got in again, and when
we came right Mi. feters was hanging on
the stern. | went TO save Peters, when
again the boat turned over in an awful
sea. 1t was then lost sight of Whiting.
The large lady was struck by wIeckage
and Disappeared. | never saw either of
them again. Mrs. Irving held on to the
boat for half an hour later with marvel
GUS tenacity. 1t kept turning over. but
every time came up found her hang
helped her all | could. Once ! got astride
the keel and held her up by leaning over
to one side and holding her firmly by the
hand. But this could not be sustained
long, and as the boat tipped | went over.
As came up l tried to tip the boat on
sank from sheer exhaustion after noble
battle for life. Peters sank, too, but
never saw him again. though he was
saved.
In a Cyclone
When we were in the water the worst
trouble began, for it was only then tnat
the hurricane struck us with its full
rain fell in solid masses. 1t was not
cyclone but circular whirlwind that
caught us in lts very center and would
draw the wreckage together in circle
for a great distance. Yet, bodies, strug-
CLING men and women. life RATS ahd
battered boats all went into the dreadful
vortex. Then tremendous wave would
rise from underneath, like a mountain
bursting forth, ana scatter the wreckage
everywhere around 1t was i'll this vortex
that those who escaped from the ship
were stunned or killed outright from be-
ing literally ground to death by drift
W ood.
"iow did | escape? If saw log or
a mass of W reckage coming down upon
my head ten feet above me | umped
from my boat and dived, The only thing
to do TO avoid being cut or killed was to
dive and then come up again and swim
for your raft.
THE water was extremely buoyant and
would come up anyhow, though at one
time / thought it would be better tu die
All night long | sat in the submerged
boat. and when | got cold | would crawl
down into the water between the seats.
Fortunately the water was very warm
and comfortable. ] was about twenty
three hours in the water when picked up
by the San Juan. About an hour or two
before sundown the ocean wds calm as an
island lake. all strewn with bits of the
lost Colima. At one time | WAS close to
the shore and could see the rocks dis
tincty. put at daylight the next morning
found TO my reliet that | was drifting
far ont to sea with only dim outline Of
where the coast was.
n i -