The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-06-12
A TALE OF HORROR.

y I1IE VI IlUlttOlt,
SURVIVORS OF THE COLIMA TELL
HOW THE SHIP WAS LOST.
In Hurricane For Twenty-Six Hours
Sunk in Ten Minutes Time--Pas-
sengers Drowned Like Rats in a
Cage.
San FRANCISCO, Cal. June 6.-The
steamer San Juan arrived this after
noon from Panama and way ports with
the survivors of the wrecked Pacific
mail steamship Colima. AS soon asthe
marine observer reported. the ship two
miles out, the water front became a
scene of excitement. The Pacific mail
dock was beseiged by a curious crowd
that blocked the street. As the reve-
nue. cutter bearing the customs officers
and newspaper men neared the ship,
some of the Colima's S rescued passen-
gers with bandaged heads We're seen
leaning on the bow rail- Just prior to
the arrival of the reporters, however,
the Pacific Mail Company S tug, Milan
Griffith, came alongside the San Juan
and took third mate Hansen ofthe lost
ship, who more than any one else could
throw light on the cause of the wreck.
There was general disinclination
among the surviving passengers to
give information, the only reason Civ
en- for their refusal to be interviewed
being that under the circumstances
they did not feel disposed to talk.
Geo. D. Ross, formerly boatswain S
mate on the cruiser Olympia, who was
on his way to his home in New York,
gave the United Press representative
the following graphic account of the
wreck:
We LETT Mazatlan Sunday, May 26,
at 4oc!ock p. M, with fair breeze
blowing. Toward 9 clock in the even
ing the Wind increased little and con-
tinued blowing pretty fresh all night.
Next morning at 6 o'clock the wind
moderated considerably until . clock,
when it again began to blow and stead.
ily continued to gain in violence until
it acquired the proportions of hurri-
cane. The wind blew in great gusts,
causing the ship to list badly to star.
board. The Colima labored heavily
and it was evident that we were in a
very precarious predicament. The
greatest excitemeutprevailed on board
and the faces of passengers plainly
showed that they were keenly alive to
their perilous position.
Unfortunately, just at the last mo.
ment fatal blunder was committed
by the third officer, who cut the lash
ings of deck load consisting of 80, 600
feet of lumber. Some of this was
washed into the sea, and what remain
ed on deck was driven about, knock
ing down and manning those whom it
struck. \ particularly heavy sea
struck the ship, tuInbling the fore
mast and smokestack. Shortly before
this, however, a succession of huge
waves had punched hole in our star.
board bow, through which the sea
poured. Women screamed, and rushed
up the common way imploring the
men to save them. The ship gave
couple of heavy reels and an enor-
nous sea climbed on US. smashing the
hurricane deck, and with one mighty
lurch the ship went down. As she was
her last lurch dived into the
sea, and when came up she was out
of sight. People were floating around
clinging to all sorts of wreckage, and
some sinking under our very eyes.
Some who had managed to grasp hold
of boxes or planks were knocked
senseless and drowned. The force and
effect of this floating mass Of lumber
cannot be described. 1t caused the
death Of many who might otherwise
have been saved
1T is difficult matter to say to what
cause of the wreck OF the ship Colima
is attributable She must certainly
have shifted her cargo, as her strong
list to port showed. l firmly believe
that but for the shifting of the cargo
the ship would have road out Of the
gale. I had been in the water some
little time clinging to one object or
another, when finally l managed to
get hold of good-sized piece of hurri-
cane deck, upon which L climbed. |
drifted about for some time, when l
observed rather etfeminate looking
fellow on another piece of wreckage
close to me. He seemed about done
UP. so I seized his raft and hauled him
on to mine. We madethe rest of the
trip towards the shore together. He
turned out to be Thornton. We were
the closest in shore of any of the sur
vivors, and were picked up blythe first
officers boat of the San Juan after be-
ing twenty-three hours IN the water"
Ross was severely y cut about the head
by floating wreckage, and had numer-
Gus other cuts about the body.
T. J. Oriel, an electrician on his way
to Mexico, gave about the same version
of the commencement of the storm.
He said the Colima during the height
of the storm listed SO badly after each
succeeding rush of waves that she did
not recover. About 8 o'clock on the
morning of the wreck" he said, Il
went below to the steerage quarters
and noticed water coming into the
starboard scuppers Shortly after
ward quartermaster came down, say
ing the captain wanted to see the en-
gineer. The latter went Oh deck, but
returned to the engine room in three
or four minutes looking like dead
man. His face was ashy pale. That
was the last seen Of him.
While Oriel was telling this part of
the story relative Of the engineer who
had boarded the steamer with the re-
porters, broke into tears and shook
convulsively. BY this time" Oriel
went on, the steerage passengers had
all gone below when the seven men-of-
war men from the American cruisers
Olympia and Philadelphia, tried to
console those around them. One Of