The herald., 1895-07-06
I Official Report Of the San
Francisco Inspector
NO CAUSE FOR THE DISASTER
There Was No Inkling of Danger Until
She Sank
That Was Not Already Known
N Long Before
A..ociated Press srecial wire. .

Annotated Press Special Wire.
WASHINGTON, July 5.-General Du-
mont. supervising inspector of steam ves-
sells, has received from the inspector at
San francisco district the following re-
port on the Pacific Mail steamship Co.
Il lima:
s'SAN FRANCISCO, July 5.-Sir: We
have to report that the Pacific Mail
Steamship company's steamship Colima,
J. F.. Taylor commander, which left here
\ on May II last for Panama and way ports
of Mexico and Central America, with
forty-one cabin and eighty-two ,steerage
passengers and crew of eighty persons
all told. and 100 tons of cargo, foundered
in violent gale of wino about 10:45 a.
M, May 27, about forty miles south from
Manzanillo. taking down with her all
who were on board, excepting, as far as
! known, twenty-seven passengers and
I twelve of the crew. who were fortunate
enough to have been able to struggle and
save themselves by swimming and cling
ing to the floating wreckage. Some OF
these were picked up by that company S
steamer San Juan, and others drifted to
the beach. We have investigated the ma
ture of this de eplorable disaster, taking the
testimony of a number of Surviving pas
Z sengers and crew. including that of Third
Officer 0. g. Hansen, who is the only
officer saved, and also of Others who were
com petent to speak of the vessel herself.
I'VE find from the testimony that moth
ing unusual occurred on the voyage from
San Francisco to the way ports OF Mazat-
Ian, San Bias and Manzanillo, and that
: she gave no evidence or indication what
ever of being crank or tender from the
time she left San Francisco and crossed
the bar, which was rough, until the
morning she was lost. at the way ports
above named several passengers left the
ship and others boarded her for ports
south. and at the same time about 100
tons of cargo were discharged and an
equal amount received on board. The
Colima left Manzanillo at 4 O'Clock May
rs. A strong breeze sprung up at q D. m.
from east southeast with southeast swell
and continued throughout the night un-
til the morning of May 81, when it blew
gale, which, at about 10 80 on this same
morning, suddenly increased to what is
described as a hurricane by some of the
survivors, in which the steamer was
Knocked down on her beam enus and
filed and sank. From the evidence there
appears to have beer no danger antici-
pated until five or ten minutes before the
ship went down.
1t appears that there was good dis
cipline maintained on board in the deck
and engine departments, all orders hav-
ing been obeyed. We therefore can attach
no blame to Third Officer Hansen. Cap
tain Taylor was in charge ON the bridge
of the steamer all morning on May 9th
until she foundered, and it may be that
he was attempting to keep her off before
the sea, or wear her around on the other
tack when she was caught in the trough
of the sea and thrown on her beam ends,
but without his testimony or that of his
first officer and chief engineer of the
steamer it is impossible to decide the
true cause of the disaster.
With regard to the steamer Colima,
there can be no doubt that she was a
staunch and seaworthy vessel She was
and boilers and equipments found to be
dry dock May H. 1895. and her bottom
was found in good condition and new
blades put on her propeller. She was
classed ''33 in Bureau Veritas.' which
is the highest class which that society
awards to steam vessels. The Colima
was an iron vessel built in 1873 at Ches-
ter. Pa, and new boilers were put in IN
1887 at San Francisco. Her tonnage was
2905.6 tons gross. S5 tons net She
was valued at $3.50 The exact num-
ber OF lives lost is not obtainable at pres
ent for the reason that the mum Der of
way passengers received is not yet re-
ported by the agents to the com pany's
Office at San Francisco. The number
80 far as known with any degree of Ger
tainty is eighty-five passengers and sixty
eight crew.
Very respectfully. W. E. Talbot.
(elgned W. A. Phillips, United States
local inspector.)