The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1895-02-01

you see, have been a military man and
obeyed orders"
"Where did you server"
"In the Fifteenth Prussian Uhlans for
three years"
s'Were you married in Germany?"
mo, in America. My wife was only q
wears of age. She was a good woman, sir.
She was born in Nebraska Of German par
ents. Her mother is now at Grand Island.
1t was all so sudden. We had all been so
happy the night before. There was young
fellow from Berlin who was going to Mo-
bile, Ala, in order to buy cotton-seed oil.
He was comical, sang songs and told funny
Jokes in the saloon. When the boat got
away with great deal of trouble, the Elbe
being right on top of us, we had hardly got
a hundred yards from the ship when saw
a woman floating in the water. l tried to
throw something to her, but somebody
shouted No, save ourselves / could not
do that, sir. Finally they got the boat
up to her and with the help of
another man 1 drew her into the
boat, which was an ordinary ships
boat about fifteen feet long. afterward
found that her name was Annie Blocker.
Poor girl, she was almost dead with fright
and cold. We put her in the bottom of
the boat and did all we could TO help her.
We were all wet and water was pouring
in at our collars and descending to our
boots. We first tried to row. but we found
we made no Roadway and therefore rugged
up sort of mast with a small sail and
tried to keep the bow of the boat to the
wind and seas. After a while we saw a
smack and did all we could to signal her.
although we failed to attract her attention.
We had cut piece of canvas and made a
small flag, which we used for signaling
and soon afterward, having failed to let
the smack know of our distress, this flag
blew away and the smack sailed off, causing
us despair.
1--WE made a new flag with our hand
kerchiefs and an undershirt which some
body pulled off. l held them up against
the mast and we eventually sighted the
Wildhower, but long terrible hour elapsed
before we were taken aboard. She had her
nets out and it was difficult to approach
her on account of the heavy seas. After
five of the persons in our boat had been
transferred to the smack the ifeboat
seemed to slide back into the water and it
appeared as if the others must be lost, but
a rope was thrown to US from the smack's
stern and gradually we were hauled up
and all OF us were transferred to the Wild
flower.
"When 1 reached her deck 1 fell down
exhausted and offered up prayer to God
for my dead darlings and thanked him for
having saved me. Oh sir, they were so
l. ! Il
were only rough fishermen. They had
some hot tea ready and covered us up
with everything warm they could lay
hands on. Why, one Of those poor fisher
men actually gave me the only shirt he
had and l have it on, God bless him. AS
for poor Miss Blocker, have tended her
as a mother might have DONE
Mr.. Hoffman concluded with asking
whether anything has been heard of the
other boat, his eyes shooting as piteous ap
pealing glance at the reporter as ever the
latter beheld, and then the poor man sank
back upon his pillow, exclaiming:
'Oh, for some kilograms, but she is dead,
and so is my darling boy, and 1 cannot go
to their graves"
Miss Anna Blocker, the only lady sur
vivor of the Elbe, is the heroine of the
hour. She is besieged with visitors anxious
to provide her with money and clothing.
In conversation with the correspondent of
the Associated Press this afternoon, she
said:
~ cannot remember feeling afraid after
the collision. What felt when I came on
deck was the terrible cold. l and another
lady kept on the port side of the ship
which was the lee side. The majority of
the passengers crowded to the starboard
side, however, while high wind was rag
ing. | do not know who ordered them
there; 1 did not hear the captain give any
such order. But the officers did their best
to reassure us, saying that there was plenty
of room for every one in the boats"
The captain of the Wildiower, which
picked up the survivors of the Elbe, said in
an interview:
"The Wildfower was east-southeast OF
Lowestoft with our TRAVELLING gear down at
IL A. NJ. on Wednesday, when we sighted a
ships boat with something fluttering from
its masts. l could see water breaking into
the boat. When we got near enough we
threw them ropes end, but the men in
the boat were so numb with cold that they
could not hold on to it. We finally made
fast to them and hauled the boat up to the
smack. When half of the persons rescued
had jumped on board, the rope parted and
the remainder of them were again adrift in
the heavy sea. After much difficulty an
other line was made fast to the boat, and
all on board of her were taken aboard the
Wildhower. There was woman lying in
the bottom of the boat with a long coat on
and no shoes on her feet. She had no
dress underneath the coat and was terribly
cold. l am sure that in another hour sew
eral of the persons we rescued would have
been frozen stiff.ns
HOW THEY HERE SAVED.
Gallant Work Done by the CreW of an
English IrdsUIer.
LowEsToFT, Jan. 31.-The Wildfower is
not distinguishable from the thousands OF
smacks belonging to the herring feet, of
which she is No. 377. She has the usual
two masts of the North Sea trawlers,
carries immense nets and has steam