River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1895-06-06
THE COLIMA DISASTER
Some Particulars of the Awful
Wreck Are Given.
The Big Steamer Was Badly Overloaded
-Omcers Were brave and Stuck
to Their Posts-Struggle
for Life.
SAN Francisco, June A special

SAN FRANCISCO, June "A special
telegram from Maztlan says:
The steamer san Juan has arrived here
with the twenty-one passengers picked
up Tuesday from the wreck OF the G.
lima All the rescued people are
badly bruised They we're picked up from
pieces OF wreckage and RATS T1ey
are not In condition 10 tell a connected story
OF the wreck and the experiences OF their
escape, but many interesting particulars have
been obtained
'The steamer was heavily laden and had
large deck load Of lumber. When the storm
struck her she made bad weather OF IL. the cap
tain having great difficulty in keeping her head
TO the sea The wind increased in fury until
ii is said 10 have been the hercest storm
known along this coast in twenty years.
Waves washed the vessel aud 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 were
struck and manned. AS least one passenger
was killed by having his head crushed by one
OF the flying timbers
In their terror the passengers made few
mental notes OF their surroundings at this
iuncture. The survivors say. however, that
the officers OF the steamer were brave
and active, Capt Taylor stood upon
the bridge, his first Officer, ID L Grit
hths, with hun. At an order Griffiths
rushed aft TO superintend the launching OF
nfeboat No. s. Second Osicer Langhorn was
at ufeboat No 3, and succeeded in getting II
launched and hlled with passengers. Then
do went the ship and Langhorn's boat was
capized All In the boats we're supposed to
have been drowned.
Capt. Taylor went down with the
ship. As the ship pitched downward he
blew three blasts OF the whistle. sup
posedly as a signal OF good by Then
he disappeared beneath the waves The
engineers and hremen remained at their posts.
Freight Clerk Berry in MS room at the
time of the final plunge Third officer
Hanson was saved. As the steamer
sunk he cut some OF the lashings OF
the deck lnmber. Then he jumped OF
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 aud women sink about him
but was powerless TO aid them. Hanson says
that as the steamer foundered the boilers
burst The deck blew out under his feet as he
left the ship. Ten other men we're thrown into
the sea with him The bursting OF her boilers
tore of the deck aud threw part of IL over at
least q dozen men who were struggling In the
wster, killing them a..
Two life RATS were seen to be afioat On
one were eight men and on another six, includ-
ing J. A. Childhurg, of Seattle. Wash, who
seemed TO have been leader in the
was no hope for women or children and
small chance for men in such storm. Many
OF the women and children must have re
manned 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 a heroic but futile effort to save
his wife and four children and the nurse. He
got into a 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 righted after being over
turned. The women and Prof. Whiting were
soon drowned. despite all efforts to save them
Sutherland foated with the bottom OF the
boat serving him as a protecting shield
The survivors drifted about for twenty -four
hours in what c. pit. 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 we're badly hurt by the wreckage and
lumber. Among those most severely injured
Is c. 8. Cushing, Jr., OF Oakland His brother
was drowned.
The Colima is In 600 fathoms OF water. The
location where she went down is given as rs de-
grees SO minutes latitude, longitude l04 degrees
"a minutes west Though the direct cause OF the
disaster was the tremendous sea and the fear
full southeast gale, IL is generally believed that
the Colima was badly overloaded All the pas
sengers praise the captain for his GOODNESS and
heroism. The last they saw OF him he stood
at his most