The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-06-07

vs-a~sf MANAGER tha. he was 1s3 miles
sourh 81 the place where the Coiiua foun-
aa-es3 when the fearfu! hurricane struck
the san Juan. He reached the place oi
+ra disaster about eighteen hours after
ne caurna had been sunk. See.ng The
x~ackare. re 6egun TIE search for sar-
,-ivors and rruiSe8 for seven houTs, going
as far as twenty-five miles TO leeTard CT
fha rlarA where tire wreck occurred until
ne had PASSED al the wreckage.
~ S~hvve-fn says be is satisfied from
cant Pitts statement that he d,d al that
h could 20 rescue the survivors. and was
d{lf,arr ia the search. Capt Pitts de-
s-rjbeI the storm as the most severe ne
has ever experienced in his twenty-five
years az sea
Tae can. in its account OF the wreck
OF the Collma as told by the surviving
passengers. says:
The ship was overloaded. badly loaded.
tor-heavily loaded. all agree TO that
when the gale struck her she wesihered
Il but badly. Then she ca-eened. There
was a list 70 s;arboar3, and she did not
right again Men called out 10 the captain
70 cut away the deekl0ading CO heavy
spars. The captain was obdurate- he
knew his business. dr fzncied thar he did.
and would brook no suggestions from what
he called the terrified and panicstrtcken
passengers And they probably were ali
that he called them, for ihey could see
death staring them In the face while the
CAPTAIN remained blind. The pity OF that
blindness: il cost more than Ia lives. that
blindness. that obdarateness-
The ship listed more and more With
apprehenSion everybody waited, held their
breath. tin she should bear up and right
again. but she did not right She listed
still more Tsen she lost her steering
power. The captain rang for more steam
and would not cut loose the deck load.
that might have saved her. Steam could
not save her. The engines were taxed 70
their utmost: stlH the vessel listed. The
panic on board grew worse. the fear OF
death more intense. Then the captain
gave orders for the crew 10 keep the pass
engers within bounds Whether these or
de-s went so far as TO withhold life pre-
servers from the passengers and to pre-
vent those who sought 10 do so 10 come on
deck. where they might have had a
chance of battling with the waves. is not
known ar this time. Perhaps some fur
ther investigation will shed some light on
the point.
At all events. the effects Of those or
ders were 10 turn the crew and subaltern
officers into a band OF tyrants. who acted
as though they sought to prevent any one
from escaping the doom that yawued be
fore them Steerage and cabin passen-
servers and we're forcibiy restrained from
doing so. Down in the sieerage a guard
was posted at the companionway door.
and those who escaped to the deck in
time 10 cast themselves into the sea be-
fore the vessel went down did so by main
force. by kicking and fighting their way
past the guard.
Those who were saved are some Of
those who Iere wiser than the captain.
who could see their peril more clearly,
and had wit enough 10 throw themselves
into the fOaming sea before the COlima
gave her last list 10 starboard. AS she
did this the captains whistle sounded TO
cut loose the deck load of spars 1t was
too late then. one Of the rescued ones
tells the scene which followed very
graphically:
1 stayed upon the ship until the last
moment, be says. and when ] came 10 the
surface after my plunge in the seething
waves. ! looked back and the Colima was
not ia sight. As quickly as that she went
down. and scores were drowned in the
steerage and cabin. | caught floating
piece OF timber and held fast. All around
me the sea was covered with wreckage,
and every now and then a human body
1oated by. Sometimes II was woman.
sometimes a man. but their faces were all
turned upward. All that day those of us
who found a foothold on the hurricane
were all dead
Under the laws OF the land II appears
TO have been a catastrophe against which
no damages may lie IL law. although from
the stories of the suryivors-and they are
all Of the same tenor-it is plain that nr-
man skill and foresight might have pre-
vented IL.
But this was not all one OF the res
cued passengers charges that Capt. Pitts.
OF the San Juan. was TOO hasty III leaving
the scene Of the disaster on the morning
OF the 18th uIt.. after he had rescued
number Of the shipWre9ked men; and this
statement IS orT3boratcd by Capt. Long,
OF the steamer Willamette. who was
passenger on board the san Juan. The
captain was not satisfied with the efforts
that were being made 20 search for the
shipwrecked people He raised volun-
tary crew on board and asked Capt. Pitts
- let him take one of The San Juan's
boats and 20 out IN search Capt PITTS
refused Capt Long went 20 the purSer
Of The San Juan. After mu9h pleading
the purser told him 10 go ahead Capt
Long ehen took s. upon himself 70 have
me of the boats lowered. He and his
r.reO- came hack with six more OF the
shIpwrpcke1 men These six, in all prob
ability. from the sts,ements made hy
Nr. OrieI and Capt Long,
would Do- have been saved but
~ar+ PIES II was clock Tuesday
morning when the first shipwrecked man
vas r,lcked up A. IA.i5. tR-O hours ana
+A-as-cuarters later. Capt Pics. IN his
,,-sao-nIv haste. steamed away from the
scene Perhaps there were others 70 save
perhaps thers were not
! sutherland. OF Seattle. who vas
one of The heroes OF the Colima disaster.
.sus a very thrilling and graphic story OF
+te avDa-iar,ces during the hurricane that
suaDt the steamer from the seas
T-hronrhout the hours of anxiety anc
dread he preserved his mental faculties
and observed all that passed around him
with an extraordinary calmness.
.,F,vervthfng was quiet when We were
Ga RrarzariI1o harbor said he 'Tbut IN
r,.1is-eIv we went oar 70 sea 81 began 20
blow and became rough. Two hours oul
the wind began 10 iU~rease steadily N
fury. and kept on gsttinc worse untl tHe
steamer collapsed. During the night the
sea was growing more terrible. but yet
f. caused no great excitement aboard ex-
cent among some nervous passengers il
was only an hour or two before We went
down that any real signs of alarm CoulG
l,a seen among the passengers and crew.
Prof whiting was ERE worst worked
-.-, man IN the cabin ard ve young fellows
kept 5oehing' him about bis fears. Why.
~eaIlv. i've minutes before the wreck
fy4 rot realize tha danger Something
Ike Two minutes before the ship listed the
ra7-ain told me II was all up.
90 We are going down said ne - cy-
r7an, rs coming upon Us.
roth 10 and the officers we're expect
t~.- a terrible storm and made all prepa-
r.tiars for II. TIE glass fell down all AZ
rr~..-S1 fas, II frightened them-aad they
ro,k -he plugs ont ~ cae steering appa-