Evening star., 1895-05-29
Foundering Of the Big Pacific Mail
Steamship.
MEAGER INFORMATION OF THE DISASTER
Only One of the Boats Heard From
so ar.
LIST OF THE p ASSEM- ERS

the coast of Mexico Monday. Fourteen
passengers and five members of the crew
reached Manzanita, Mexico, yesterday and
gave the first information of the vessels
fate. Whether the remainder of the pass
engers and crew escaped in small boats or
went down with the ship is not known.
Definite, but meager. information of the
disaster was received at u o'clock last
night by R. H. Schwerin, general manager
and vice president of the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company, to which corporation
the ship belonged.
A telegram informed Mr.. Schwerin that
boat containing fourteen passengers and
five members of the crew Of the steamer
reached Manzan.ta yesterday and gave the
startling information that the Colima had
foundered the day before not far from the
port. The names of the passengers and
seamen in the small boat were not given
in the dispatch. Neither was there any in
formation about the remainder of the pass
engerS and crew.
The Colima sailed from San Francisco
on the 18th instant for Panama and way
ports. She carried 112 passengers, 40 in
the cabin and 36 whites and 46 Chinese in
the steerage. The officers and crew num-
bered 40. making in all 1S2 people on board
the steamer.
Alexander Center, general agent of the
company, says he is confident that other
boats will come in, but if there was any
loss of life, it will be impossible to give
full list of the dead as on her way down
the vessel doubtless picked up other pass
engers in addition to what she took from
this city.
The Passenger List.
Following is the list of passengers and
destination:
In the cabin-C. H. E. Orme, New York
]. E. Roberts, New York; Mrs. J. E. Rob-
erts, New York; Prof. Harold Whiting,
New York, Mrs. Whiting and four children,
Miss Helen Muller, New York; w. H. AL
der, New York; w. H. Bryan, New York;
C. II. Gushing, San Jose, Guatemala; Geo.
5. Gushing, San Jose, Guatemala: John n.
Thornton, San Jose, Guatemala; Miss Jessie
Davis, San Jose, Guatemala: j. E. Chill
borg Acajutla Lang Chong and wife. Aca-
jutla; Domingo Abban of San JCse; Charles
Stuckman, San jose; j. w; {. Maxwell,
Mazatldn; S. NJ. A. Muller. Mazatlan; Ma
tilda Phelps Callao; T. F. Bell, Mazatlan;
George V. Gray, MaZatlan; A. j. Suther-
land. San Jose; Ricardo Merlos, Acajutla !;
5. r. Grisby, MaZatlan; {. irving. San
Benito; Mrs. l.. r. Brewer and family Zone
servant and children), San Benito; Alfred
Alonzo, San Benito.
In the steerage-H. V. Uniona, w. P.
Buckley, Johannes J. Monwens. John w.
Crew, Gustave A. Lewis, c. d. Ross, C.
Wolsk. ]. H. W. Smith, L. L. Sangaree
Dennis Carri, J. Schoenfelt, J. W. Boys, &.
l.. Coolidge, D. Constantinesco, r. Torevo
G. Rowan, teter GOlataS, bClaledn, JOnn
Keller Albert Morton. Charles Romein
Allen McMorrill. Mrs. May McMorrill, for
New York; George Farrell, Mrs. A. Clock
and two children, John Stein, for San JoSe
Jose Antonio Saliz, Jose Merel, Breno
Cerda, Felix Silver, all for Panama; c. w.
McCuthen, San Bias; Mrs. Diaze ManZanil-
la, T. J. O'Refll, San Bonito.
Officers of the COlfma.
The names and ranks of the officers of
the Colima are follows: ]. F. Taylor,
captain; D. E. Griffiths. first officer Geo.
Langbourde, second officer; o. Hanson,
third officer; w. T. Kirby. surgeon; VIM.
Wolfer purser; T. E. Berdy, freight clerk;
o. K. Richardson, storekeeper; VIM. A.
Smith, chief engineer; E. d. Reardon, first
assistant engineer: H. Finley, second as
sistant engineer; A. Tommerg, third as
sistant engineer.
News of the Wreck.
The first information of the loss of the
steamer reached this city in dispatch
received by H. E. Alfred Railton, a book
keeper in the Office of the Pacific Mail
Steamship Company. The dispatch con-
tanned the following brief statement:
Saved; wire father.
(Signed) RICHARDSON"
Richardson was the storekeeper on the
Colima, and was one of the few men at
this time known to have escaped from the
sinking vessel alive. He is a close friend
of Bookkeeper Railton, and sent the dis
patch to Railton, as he knew better than
any one else in this city how to COM
municate the tidings to his father.
When Railton received the dispatch he
went to the merchants exchange to cor
roborate the news of the vessels loss, but
failed to obtain any information there.
The merchants exchange had received no
advices from Manzanilla, and the informa-
ton contained in the dispatch received by
the Pacific Mail bookkeeper was regarded
as a most startling piece of information.
A few moments later a telegram was re-
ceived from the company's agent at Man.
camilla to the effect that the ship had gone
down and that fourteen passengers and
five of the crew had reached shore in a
small boat.
Just how many of the passengers were
aboard the vessels when the accident oc-
Cured which sent her to the bottom cannot
be ascertaned at present. The vessel stops
at Mazatlan and San Bias before reaching
Manzanilla, and passengers were landed
and taken on at both places.
The corrected passenger list can be made
out only after the names Of the passengers
who went ashore or boarded the vessel
al these two points are received by tele-
graph.
Various Spcculntions.
The Colima was due at Manzanilla on
Sunday, the 26th instant The dispatches
show that the vessel foundered Monday.
the 2Ith, off Manzanilla, which would in
dicate that some accident to. the machinery
occurred which retarded the progress of
the vessel and prevented her from reach
ing the port of Manzanilla before she foun-
dered.
The officers of the Pacific Mail Steamship
Company do not believe the vessel struck
hidden ledge. They are more inclined to
think that the cause the disaster was
an accident to the machinery. They are
sure that the officers and crew did their
duty when the trying moment came and
believe that the loss of life will prove to
be much less than is at present feared.
The vessel had life boats. which hung
from davits ready to be launched at a mo-
ment's notice, and it is thought that all
of these could have been launched, no
matter how rapidly the vessel sank.
The telegram received by Mrs. Schwerin
only accounts for one boat, and the fact
that more had not arrived at Manzanlla
at the time the dispatch was sent is the
only indication that the loss of life may
have been very great.
The Colima was a single-screw propeller
with an iron hull. She was built in 1873, at
Chester, Pa, by John Roach & Sons Her
tonnage was 2,909 gross and 2144 net, her
horsepower LOO and her speed eleven
knots. This was her one hundred and
twenty-nnth voyage to Panama. She car
ried about 1000 tons of cargo and was VAL