The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-06-02

rrr1v Sutherland was left To avoid the
s-rf-fs-v z7rs-kage he climbed upon the
azsts v-hse tAs l3fshoat was overturned,
sra 50 aoa-ed. with ehe BORON 81 the
hoat se~y inE him as q fsroTecttns sEassid-
AIR eau ne 10 MIN through tha broken ss1es
- +s,a h,at Sutherland says ne Vas
~, 80 -~aashsr side oz tae steamer when
sNa went On her beam ends. but sid ever
~ the lee side and fell into a boat As
,he steamer wsat down mast or part o.
the rigging took the boat under water.
wh-n il came 70 the surface sutherland
c-awl44 irto II again. Then ne picked
~, prof Wa7iting. Mrs G. Irving AMI an
,,ss,e- la5,- s7irQcsed 70 be Mrs. Whiting
Asr,oS- frTrner .atsly the boat capsizsd
ss-.ir ara as Aas been related. went over
no lass m five times, drowning Prof.
Whiting AMI the two women. Then Il
vas that Sutherland came up under the
bca- and remained there. protected, as
ne tells. from the flying t9rnbers and dash
ing dsaEts-
The survivors drifted about for twenty
ro7,~ bo,,rs in what Capt. Pitts. of the San
Imam saws was the hardest storm expert
enced on the coast for twenty years of
course none but the stoutest could survive
The weaker ones succunbed from hour 70
hour Many OF those saved were badly
hurt By the wreckage and lumber. Among
those most injured is young c. III. Cush-
ing. fr.. OF Oakland. With another man he
foafed about on an inalW Wed raft. bat
his brother was drowned. His Injuries are
severe. Some OF the others are in piti-
able condition. The appearance of the san
Juan kept up the spirits Of those who were
about ready 30 give up the unequal strng-
gle as hopeless. The first notion Of trouble
came To the first officer Of the San Juan.
who noticed great quantity or wreckage
and reported the probability of a great
disaster during the storm. Capt. Pitts i'm
mediately sent some men aiof,. and soor
some OF the survivors were sighted. All
the twenty-one picked up were found
within a radius OF two or three miles.
The CoIirna is in coo fathoms OF water.
The location where she went down is given
at Is degrees D minutes latitude. lopgi-
tude l04 Il west. Though the direct cause
OF the disaster was the tremendous sea
and the fearful southwest gale. IL is gen.
orally believed that the CoiiIna was badly
overloaded. She refused three lighters OF
freight here, already having all she could
carry. II is supposed that at Nanzanillo
she discharged some freight. but she
transferred some from the hold TO the
decks. making her topheaVy and una BILE 10
withstand the headwind and cross sea.
Then too. it is thought the cargo was
badly slowed. and that II shifted as soon
as the steamer began TO heel over. 1t is
time Capt. Taylor gave his heroic fare
well blast OF the whistle the steamer had
entirely disappeared All the passengers
praise the captain for his GOODNESS and
heroism. The last they saw Of him he
stood at his post. the waves and winds
dashing water and debris all about him.
and the wall OF that whistle will sound
through the dreams of many for years to
come
0F he mt
outs in the mastheads and crulsed through
and around the floating debris for eight
hours and then continued on her trip
north. calling at Manzanillo and leaving
four Of the passengers from the wreck.
-Four more survivors drifted ashore at
Coahuryana. sixty miles south from here
YESTERDAY They are: J. f. Chilberg
Louis II. Peters and Enrique Wider, cabin
passengers: Fred Johnson. seaman, and
Robert Gonzales, a messboy. They were
thirty hours on liferaft without food or
water. They saw the steamship San Juan,
but were not seer by ff1e lookcuts. Capt
Pitts was first attracted by seeing the sea
covered with wTeckage in which were
found the survivors, all of whom were
nearly naked. Their account was heart
rending. Every attention was given them.
4 peculiar circumstance in connection
with the disaster is the fact that Prof.
on the Colima, drew up two wills. In one
he provided that in case the steamer went
down and he was drowned. his estate
should revert TO the surviving members
of his family. In the other he provided
that in the event of the death of his en-
tire family his property should revert TO
his surviving relatives in the East. After
executing the two wills and but few
days before starting on his sea voyage,
the professor mailed the testaments 10
Attorney Brewster. Of Cambridge, who
was a classmate at Harvard with both
Profs. Whiting and Stringham.
city of Mexico. June John NJ. Thorn
ton. one Of the survivors of the Colima
wreck. says:
After leaving the harbor of Manzanillo
on Sunday afternoon we encountered a
heavy sea and head winds. which con-
tinued all night. The passengers. of whom
there were about ffty-six. including chill
dren and servants. first-class. and about
eighty second class. we're kept inside.
During the night the steamer continued
on her course with only speed enough TO
give her steeragcway. Shortly after day
light on the 21th was on the deck, and
the mountains at the entrance to the
harbor OF Manzanillo bay were still in
sight l went aft and found Second on
Ger Langhorne rigging up a temporary
steering gear. But few passengers ap-
peared ia the saloon FOR their coffee At
$50 the gong sounded for breakfast. but
7 saw only two or three men in the
saloon From daylight on the waves con-
tinued 10 increase in size and the wind
in velocity. About 10 the storm reached
its height. the wind blowing a gale and
the waves running mountain high. About
this time the ship seemed 10 be in the
trough Of the sea, the waves one after
another striking her on the port side and
keeling her over 70 starboard Every
time she listed she seemed 20 recover less
and less About II o'clock the storm
seemed At its worst. and the ship was
lying over 10 tarboari. and 7 left the
deck and stood in the passa geway talk
Ing 20 Mrs. Thornton.
While standing here a sailor. who was
bailing out the cabins. PASSED bv and
asked me the time l looked at my watch.
u was fl.lo. I asked the man what he
thought OF our chances. He replied: she
IS a good hull and II she can stand n until
noon when the wind viii be down, we NAV
get ont OF H. Almost az this instant
heavy sea broke over the ships bow
crashing through the main saloon and
st8rboard cabin and wrecklug them as
though they were made of cigar hoxes
then with some difficulty opened the door
above ne. for the ship was now lying
nearly on her side, and climbed on deck
As soon as was outside forced open the
window Of my sister-jn-law's stateroorn
and found her and her maid together. with
thei- life preservers on. : told her 10 give
me her hand and / Toul} help her out. but
before I could touch her great wave
struck the ship. II seemed 10 carry away
an the ictertor partitions % the stateroo1s
as though they were card houses. and al
rnost AZ the same instant wave from the
ste~n. washed over ne. Before this wave