The herald., 1895-06-02
THROWNON HER BEAM END
Details of the Loss of the
Steamship COlima
THE BOILERS EXPLODED
Captain Taylor of the Vessel
Died at His Post
THE SHIP SWEPT BY GREAT SEAS
A Heavy Deck.Load Made the Craft
UnmanageabIe
THE SHIP SWEPT BY GREAT SEAS
Thrilling Stories Related by Some OF the
Survivors
A Great Gale Was Met With and the III-Fated
Ship Foundered-Over One Hundred
People 1et Death In the Angry
Waters--Heroic Officers
Associated Press Special Wire.

Associated Press Special Wire.
SAN FRANCISCO, June IAN Ex-
amner special from Mazatan says:
Tho steamer San Juan arrived here
with the twenty-one passengers picked up
on Tuesday from the wreck OF the Colima.
From them your correspondent has
learned some of the particulars Of the
dreadful disaster, which they say hap
pened on Monday at noon when the
Coima was about twenty eight miles out
of Manzanillo and ten miles from shore.
All the rescued are badly bruised.
They were all picked up from pieces of
wreckage and RATS with the exception of
A. ]. Sutherland, who had clung to a
boat after it had oapsized five times and
drowned all the other occupants.
As all were a1oat, lashed by the tiercest
gale for years and buffeted by the angry
seas for twenty-four hours, they are hard
ly yet in condition to tell connected
story of the wreck and the experiences
OF their escape, but many interesting par
ticulars have been obtained. The steamer
was heavily laden and had a large deck
load of lumber. When the storm struck
her she made bad weather of 1T, the cap
her head to the sea. The wind increased
in fury until it is said to have been the
tiercest storm known along this coast n
twenty years. The sea rose rapidly.
Waves dashed over the yes ,el and started
the deck load.
AS the waves rose and the storm in
creased the managing of the steamer be-
came impossible. at last about noon her
head could no longer be kept up and she
broached to. Once in the trough Of the
sea mighty wave struck her ana she
was thrown on her beam ends.
This wave struck her with such force
that the steamer trsmbled as If she mad
run upon reef ana most of the passen-
gers thought this the cause of the shock.
This gave rise to the report that the ship
had struck on a reef.
Whether because of the heavy deckload,
the shifting of coal and cargo or the
force of the storm. the seteamer would
not right herself. The passengers were
pretty bally stunned by being pitc he'd
about but rushed upon deck in a panic.
Here they met another danger. The gale
tore parts OF the deck loa! f lumber
from is fastenngs and whirlcd the heavy
r;anks about with appalling violence.
Many were struck and manned. At least
one passenger was killed by having his
head crushed by one of the flying bers.
In their terror the passengers made few
mental notes of their surroundings at
this juncture. The survivors say how
ever, that the officers of the steamer
were brave and active. Captain Taylor
stood upon the bridge. his first officer,
II ~ 80
Grifiths rushed aft to superintend the
launching of lfeboat No. 5. Second
Officer George Langhorne was at feboat
No. 3. anu succeeded in getting it launch
cd and filled with passengers. Then
down went the ship, and Lanhgolne's
boat v as capsized.
All IN the boat are supposed to have
been drowned.
Captain Taylor went down With the
ship, sticking to his post. AS the ship
pitched downward he blew three blasts
on the whistle, supposedly as sign of
"good-by." Then he disappeared be-
meath he waves.
Down went the engineers and iiremen
at their posts. Freight Clerk Berry was
in his room at tho time OF the final
plunge.
Third Officer Hanson was saved. As
the steamer sank he cut some OF the LASH
ings of the deck lumber. Then he
jumped or was thrown overheard on the
weather side of the vessel AMI reached
the top side of the deck house This bad
been washed off by the great wave that
threw the ship one her beam. There
Hanson hung. washed and putfeted, for
ftyrn
women sink about him, but was power
less TO help them.
Hanson says that as the steamer
foundered her boilers burst. The deck
burst under his feet as he left the sh in.
Ten other men were thrown into the sea
with him. The bursting of the boilers
tore off the deck and threw part of it
over at least a dozen men who were strug-
CLING in the water. drowning them all.
Flying debris hit others.
Two life-rafts were seen to be afioat.
On one were there men and on another
six, including }. e. Chilberg of Seattle,
who seemed to have been a leader IN the
work of launching the raft.
Those in any position to take notice of
the surroundings saw many VINO clung to
bits Of wreckage and the lumber from the
deckload. The gale caught this wreckage
from the crests of the great waves and
feat the struggling unfortunates with it.
One mans skull was crushed by whirl-
ing plank as he was about to Chamber
upon life raft. The dash of the sea
made each timber a menace as we'll as a
hope.
So the fight for life began. Thcre was