The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-07-29
TOLD BY THE SURVIVORS
HOW THE BARKENIINE FLORENCE WENT DOWN IN NINETF PATRONS.

the Steamer Scandinavian-Captain
 Heroic but Futile Efforts to Save His
 Wife.
 Boston, July 2s.-The Allan Line steamer Scandinavian arrived this af- ternoon from Glasgow, and brought with her the four survivors of the crew of the British barkentine Florence, Cap- tain Olsen, which was sunk in col- lision with the Scandinavian last Satur- day while in a dense fog twenty miles south of Cape Race. Four members of the crew were drowned, together with the wife of Captain Olsen. The Flor ence was bound from Sydney to St. Johns, N. F., with a cargo of coal
 The names of the men who lost their lives were Noah Norris. cook, aged ffty-one years, of St. Johns, N. F., who leaves an invalid wife and two chill dren; William Yahsley. aged twenty five years, nephew of the captains wife, single; James Norman, seaman. aged thirty-two years. single, both of St. Johns. N. F.. and William Fry, thirty-three years of age. seaman, be- longing tn Poole, Eng.
 The story of the sad disaster Is best told in the words of Captain Henry Ol- sen. He said: We left port on Tues- day, the 20th instant, for St. Johns. N. F. Saturday, after being nearly three days in the fog and standing in all that time in the direction of Cape Race, N. F., thinking we were approaching land. l ordered the vessel put about on tha starboard tack. At 1920 p. m. the shrilI blast or a steamers whistle was heard right aheam, and before the sound died away there loomed up, making directly for us the huge hull of an ocean steamer.
 T was below when the first intima- tion came of the steamers approach, but was hurriedly called on deck by the lookout. On the way out of the cabin ! called to my wife and she in turn aroused First Mate Edward Brodnick. who had come off watch at noon, and was asleep in his bunk HardIy had lie reached the deck when the steamer. which proved to be the Scandinavian. was upon us. She struck us on the port side between the main and mizzen rigging, and before her headway was stopped she went halY way through us. While the vessels were locked together we were in no immediate danger except from falling spars, which were drop- ping all about us on the decks.
 The order to reverse the steamers engines, which had beengiven when we were first sighted, soon had the effect of breaking her away from us, and in about three minutes after she pulled her sharp bow out of the gaping hole in the side of our vessel the Florence went down, stern first, in ninety fathoms of water. Of the vessels crew Norris, the cook and Norman were never seen after the steamer struck us. and they were probably asleep in the forecastle.
 When the impact came Ole Olsen, the boatswain, and Seaman Robert Es- sens jumped into the main rigging and were soon followed by Mate Brodnick and all three men swung themselves onto the steamers deck by means of the lower guard, being assisted in do- ing so by the carpenter of the steamer. Poor Fry appeared at the side of the vessel just before she went down. A rope was thrown him by his shipmates on board the steamer, and he was pulled half way up the steamers side, when he relaxed his hold, fell back into the water and was never seen again;
 The captain was too much overcome ito tell of the drowning of his wife and Mate Brodniok took up the thread Of the captains narrative. After telling of his being summoned from his bunk by the captains wife and jumping on deck, clad only in his shirt and trous- CTS, he said: Immediately after reach- ing the deck of the Scandinavian, |, got a. coll of rope and threw 1t to Cap- tain Olsen, who was standing near the; galley on the barkentine with his arms around his wife. Mrs. Olsen was cry- ing and heard the captain say that if need be they would die together. The captain secured the end of the rope and attempted to make 1t fast about his wife, but the rope was not long enough, and the steamer just then gave a. lurch and pulled the line from his hands. I called to those on the steamer to lower the life-boat and Olsen, Es- sens and myself took hold and assisted the crew in getting the boat out of tho chucks. In the excitement and confu- sion no one seemed to know just what to do. No knife could be found to cut the lashings of the life boat, and final- ly the carpenter was obliged to sever the grips with hetchet. All this was valuable time lost, and before the hfe- boat had gotten into the water the vessel had gone down.
 "When the vessel took her last plunge the captain became separated from his wife They were both drawn into the vortex caused by the sinking craft, and Mrs. Olsen never re-appeared above the water. The captain soon
 came to the surface and swam to life buoy thrown from the steamer, and this, with life-belt which he after wards secured and adjusted, kept him afloat until the Hfe-boat, manned by
 the second officer of the steamer and three of her crew, reached lrim. He was completely exhausted and incon- solable at the loss of his wife. When 1t was found that there was no hope for the remainder of the crew, the steamers bow was headed west and she continued on her way to Boston," The Florence was rather a small ves- sel for barkentine. Sse registered on- ly 199 tons net and her dimensions were HAS feet, breadth 24.5 feet and
 depth of hold 131 feet She was built
 at Brixham, England, in 1873, and at