The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-06-02
THE STORY
Pitiful Tales Related By Survivors of
the Ocean Disaster.
TRYING TO SAVE THE WOMEN
After the Boilers Burst the Scene
Was an Appalling One Brave
Officers Signalling Their Last
Farewell-Terriflc Gale.

liner special from Mazatlan says: The
steamer San Juan has arrived with 81
passengers picked up on Tuesday from
the wreck of the Colima. AS all were
afloat, lashed by the fiercest gale of
years and buffeted by angry seas for
about "a hours, they are hardly yet in
a condition to tell a connected story.
The steamer was heavily laden, and
had large deck load of lumber. When
the storm struck her she made bad
weather of it. The wind increased in
| fury until it is said to have been the
| fiercest storm known along the coast
| in 20 years. The sea rose rapidly.
Wares washed over the vessel and
| started the deck load. AS the waves
rose and the storm increased, manag-
ing of the steamer became impossible.
At last, about noon, her head could no
| longer be kept up, and she broached
to. Once in the trough of the sea, a
| mighty wave struck her and she was
| thrown on her beam ends. This wave
| struck her with such force that the
| steamer trembled as if she had run
upon a reef, and most of the passen-
| gers thought this the cause of the
| shocks. The gale tore part of the deck
| load of lumber from its fastenings,
| and hurled the heavy planks about
with appalling violence. Many were
| struck and MANNED. In their terror
the passengers made few mental notes
| of their surroundings at this juncture.
| The survivors say the officers of the
| steamer were brave and active. Cap
| tain Taylor stood upon the bridge, his
| first officer d. f. Griffiths, with him.
At an order. Griffiths rushed aft to
| superintend the launching of life boat
| No. 5. Second officer George Lang
| horne was at life boat No. 3, and sue
ceeded in getting it launched and
| filled with passengers. Then down
went the ship, and Langhorne's boat
was capsized. All in the boat are sup
| posed 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 his whistle, supposedly as a
/ signal of good bye. Then he disap-
peared beneath the waves. Down went
the engineers and firemen at their
posts. Freight Clerk Berry was in his
room at the time of the final plunge.
Third officer Hansen was saved. Han
sen says the steamer foundered when
her boilers burst. The deck burst un-
der his feat as he left the ship. 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
| struggling in the water, drowning
| them all. Two life RATS were seen to
be afloat. On one were three men and
| on another six, including J. A. Chill
berg of Seattle. who seemed to have
been a leader in the work of launching
| the raft.
So the fight for life began. There
| was no hope for women and children
and small chances for men in such a
storm. Many of the women and chill
| dren remained in their cabins. Prof.
| Harold Whiting of the California uni
versity made an heroic effort to save
| his wife and four hildren and nurse.
| He got into a boat in which were A.
| j. Sutherland and others. The boat
| was soon swamped. Then ii was right
ed, but went over again. Five times
| she was righted after being overturn-
| ed. The women were soon drowned,
despite all efforts to save them. Some
| were killed or stunned by flying debris.
At last only Sutherland was left. To
avoid the swirling wreckage he climbed
upon the seats while the lifeboat was
overturned and so floated with the
/
| protecting shield. Air came to him
| through the broken sides of the boat.
| Survivors drifted about for "a hours in
| what Captain Pitts of the San Juan
says was the hardest storm experienced
on the coast in 20 years.
| City of Mexico, June John NJ
| Thornton, the railroad contractor, one
| of the survivors of the Colima wreck
| gives the following account of the dis
aster and rescue:
after leaving the harbor of Man
zanillo Sunday afternoon we encoun-
| tered heavy sea and head winds,
which continued all night. The pas
sengers were kept inside. About 10
| O'Clock that night the storm reached
| its height and the wind was blowing a
| gale and the waves running mount
| aims high. The ship seemed to be in
! the trough of the sea, the waves strik-
ing her on the port side and keeling
| her over to starboard. At about IL
o'clock the storm seemed at its worst
and the ship was lying over to STAR
| board, and 1 left the deck and stood in
the passageway talking to Mrs. Thorn
ton. The deck seemed to have an in
| clination of about 45 degrees, and
| every wave washed over the deck.
| flooding the state rooms to depth of
two or three inches. a heavy sea broke
| over the ships bow, crashing through
the main saloon and starboard cabin
| and wrecking them as though they
| were made Of cigar box boards. 1 then
| climbed out on the deck. AS soon as I
was outside / forced open the window
of my sister-in-law's room and found
her and her maid with life preservers
Q 4-1T erfr he hu IA
but before / could touch her a great
wave struck the ship. A huge wave
washed over me and l noticed four or
five men on the upper deck above me,
but 10 seconds later not a soul was in
sight and then everything under me
. apueared TO melt away What / re-
IL / --.Ir =