Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1895-06-06
THE COLIMA DISAST
Some Particulars Of the Awful
Wreck Are Given.
The Big Steamer Was Badly Overioad~d
-Omcers We're Brave and Stuck
to Their Posts-Strugglo
Il for Life. Sd

SAN FRANCISCO, June IA special
telegsm from Maztlan says:
..The steamer San Juan has arrived here.
with the twenty-one passengers picked
up Tuesday from tho wreck OF the c.
lima. All the rescued people are
badly bruised. They were picked up from
pieces Of wreckage and RATS They.
are not In condition to tell q connected story
OF the wreck and the experiences Of their
escape but many interesting particulars have
been obtained. s.
1.-THE steamer was heavily laden and had q
large deck load Of lumber. When the storm
struck her she made bad weather of it. the cap
tain having great difficulty In keeping her head
TO the sea. The wind increased In fury until
known along this coast In twenty years.
Waves washed the vessel and started
the deck load. The gale tore part
of the deck load Of lumber from its
fastenings and whirled the heavy planks about
with appalling violence. Many people We're
struck and MANNED. As least one passenger
was killed by having his head crushed by one
of the flying timbers. 81
IN their terror the passengers made few
mental notes OF their surroundings at this
juncture. The survivors say, however. that
the officers of the steamer were brave
and active. Capt. Taylor stood upon
the bridge. his hrst otacer, q E Grif-
hths, with him. At an order Grifnths
rushed aft to superintend the launching Of
liteboat No 5. Second Onicer Langhorn was
at lifeboat No. 3, and succeeded In getting 1t
launched and filed with passengers Then
do IN went the shin and I4anRhnrn's boat was
capsized. All In the boats were supposed to
have been drowned. sss
capt. Taylor went down with the
ship. AS the ship pitched downward he
blew three blasts OF the whistle, sup
posedly as q signal OF good-bys Then
he disappeared beneath the waves. The
engineers and firemen remained at their posts.
Freight Clerk Berry was in his room at the
time of the final plunge Third Ofncer
sunk he cut some of the lashings of
the deck lumber. Then he jumped or
was thrown overheard on the weather
side OF the vessel and reached the top of the
deck house. This had been torn OF and washed
away There Hanson chung for twenty-one
hours He saw men and women sink about him
but was powerless to aid them. Hanson says
that IS the steamer foundered the boilers
burst. The deck blew out under his feet as he
|, left the ship. Ten other men were thrown into
the sea with him. The bursting OF her boilers
tore OF the deck and threw part of it over at
( least dozen men who were struggling In the
wpter. killing them all.
1.-Two life RATS were seen to be afl0at. On
one were eight men and on another six, includ-
ing j. A. Childburg, OF Seattle. Wash, who
seemed TO have been q leader in the
work 4 Of launching the d RATS. There
was no hope for women or children and
small chance for men in su9h storm. Many
of the women and children must have re-
NAMED in their cabins The completely nude
bodies OF the stewardess and two other women
came floating by the deckhouse some time
after the steamer sunk
'Prof. Harold Whiting of the California uni
versity made heroic but futile effort to save
his wife and four children and the nurse. He
got into boat in which were A. J. Sutherland
and others. The boat was soon swamped
Then it was righted. but again went over
Five times she was righted after being over
turned. The women and Prof. Whiting we're
soon drowned, despite all efforts to save them
Sutherland foated with the bottom of the
boat serving him as protecting shield.
''The survivors drifted about for twenty-four
hours in what Capt. Pitts, OF the San Juan
says was the hardest storm experienced on the
coast In twenty years, OF course, none but
the stoutest could survive Many OF those
saved were badly. hurt by the wreckage and
lumber. Among those most severely injured
Is c. s. Cushing, Jr, OF Oakland His brother
was drowned.
1.-The Colima Is in 600 fathoms OF water. The
location where she went down is given as IS de-
grees SO minutes latitude, longitude 1Oa degrees
II minutes west Though the direct cause OF the
disaster was the tremendous sea and the fear
full southeast gale, it is generally believed that
the Colima was badly overloaded All the pas
sengers praise the captain for his GOODNESS and
harnism The last thau SAW nf him me- stood.
at his DOS" 2tssEs