The San Francisco call., 1896-11-25
GOING
TO PIECES
Nothing Can Be Saved From
the Unfortunate San
BenitO.
WRECKING CREW LEAVE
THE VESSEL.
High Winds and a Heavy Sea
Will Soon Complete Its
Demolition.
DEEDS CT HEROIsM AFTER THE
DISASTER.
Sacrifcial Attempt cf One of the Crew
to Save His Companions
Lives.
DEEDS CF HEROISM AFTER THE
DISASTER.
Sacrifcial Attempt cf One of the Crew
to Save His Companions
Lives.

POINT ARENA. CAL, Nov. 24-About
as hopeless wreck as was ever seen on
the Pacific Coast is the San Benito to-
night, as her forward half lays listed to
seaward with her starboard broaoside to
the shore and her after-nalf stern to the
beach. Seas that measure the distance to
her mastheads and even higher and pour
down her funnel are leaping over her.
Her pilot-house and other upper works
are going to pieces. When the sun sank
this evening into q tempest-tossed sea
only the firm bed that the forward half
has in the sinking sand prevented those
terrible seas from rolling her over and
over and casting her far up on the beach,
scrapiron for the farmers.
Scrapiron is all the steamer amounts to
now, and if the northwester which blows
terrible sea into the blight in the land
where she met her doom does not abate
soon even the scrapiron will disappear
The wrecker Whitelaw, which left San
Francisco Sunday night, gave her up as
hopeless job and Strengthened away this
evening on the home cruise. A telegram
from Vice-President Schwerin of the Pa
cific Improvement Company called her in.
After the first excitement subsided it
has now been learned that the steamer
was wreck thirty minutes after she
struck the shore. She struck bow on, and
/ every heavy sea that came In lifted high
her stern and dropped her nard onto the
/ sand ridge just where the water suddenly
deepens. She broke off amidsnips be-
tween the boiler and engine rooms, just
abaft the smokestack, as cleanly as a
knife cuts an apple in halves. The after
half lies with her gaping rents to the sea,
which rushes into the open compartments
With terrible velocity, threatening mo-
mentarily to slip her open. The water
also rushes furiously into the interior of
| the forward half and with such a nor
wester as has been blowing all day-for
there have been mountains of water and
| whitecaps since early morni1g-it seems
marvellous that she has held together SO
| long. When the clouds clear away mo-
mentarily tonight the two parts of the
wreck seem like mountains of spray.
Chief Officer R. Zolling and Chief En-
gineer l. w. Wood drove down from Mem
docino this afternoon and arrived at the
hotel this evening. They came to look
after any bodies that might be found,
| "For we have friends among the lost"
said he So far the sea has not given up
its dead. No bodies have yet been
washed ashore. Mr.. Zolling is reticent.
He said:
There is nothing more to be said that
know Of You know it all. But it is a
wonder that more of us are not dead. The
captain has made statement AMI that is
all that is necessary"
The steamer Point Arena Oh her trip to
San Francisco tomorrow, will put in here
off H,,lIf or,J
Scott and six other survivors here-C.
Jansen, George Christopher, II. F. Elm,
H. Jackson, N. Leyva and L. E. Foster.
She will have on board the other twenty
nine members of the crew, including Cap
tain Smith, who were taken off the San
Benito yesterday morning by the Point
Arena. The Point Arena is due in San
Francisco early Thursday morning.
Captain Smith remarked while clinging
to the rigging, Survivor Jansen says, that
he could stand the strain only two or
three hours longer. That was on Sunday
afternoon. About this time happy
thought struck one Of the crew. Watch.
! ing his chance, he rushed across the deck
between seas and seized an ak that hung
| in cleats on the ships side below the pilot
house Others joined him, and together
they cut hole through the bridge deck
| into a storeroom below. 1t warm in
/ the storeroom and there was plenty to eat.
| The captain ana others OF the crew got
down through the hole, warmed them
| selves and ate. Every man made trip
| to it when he could. 1t was this lucky
| thought and good fortune that strength
ened the then hopeless men and kept
them alive until the next morning.
| Captain Smith was the last man but one
to leave the ship. The captain was very
weak and had to have assistance from
above in getting into the Point Arenas
| small boat.
| Captain Walvig of the steamer Alcatraz
lay at Greenwood, fifteen miles above