Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1897-05-14
STRUCK ON THE ROCKS
TWO STEAMERS RUTH AND GWEN
DOLINE MEET DISASTER.
Passengers Transferred to the Rocks
and Thence Taken to an Island
A Brave Woman.

Jennings, Mont, May 10.-By the loss of
the steamer Ruth, and the additional loss
of the steamer Gwendoline, which fol-
lowed Immediately upon the wreck of the
Ruth the International Transportation
Company suffers a property loss of be-
| tween sac, 600 and $4,000. and Is left with
out boat. There was no insurance. The
company is now building a new steamer
at this point, of the same length as the
Ruth, but six feet wider. Work will be
pushed upon it night and day, and the
officers say it will make it's first run
within 20 or % days. The double wreck
occurred Friday evening in the canyon,
five miles from this place.
Charles Thies of Spokane, who was on
the Ruth, says of the disaster:
ut was $40 o'clock in the evening
when the accident occurred. The Ruth,
on which l was a passenger, had gone
through the half mile of rapids, with the
exception of a space about as wide as
a street. The wreck was caused by logs
catching in the rudder, tn ereby prevent
ing the steering of the boat past the
large boulders, little to the right of the
center Of the channel. The river at
this point is deep and rapid, particularly
so now, owing to the extreme high wa
ter. Up to the time of the log clogging
the rudder Captain Sanborn had com
plete control of the boat, and would GER
tainly have pulled her through had it not
been for this accident AS soon as the
master found that his rudder would not
work he signalled the engineer for full
steam, and attempted to shoot past the
boulder, but the current was too strong,
and the steamer struck the rock almost
in the middle, and after rolling for few
moments settled against the rock.
I'm the meantime Captain Sanborn or
dered the crew ito provide the passengers
with life preservers, and to man the
small boat. There were only two small
boats to start with, one of which was
thrown from the ship when she struck.
The passengers were then transferred to
the rocks, and from there taken to an
island some 800 yards away.
when about one-half the people had
been transferred, the steamer Gwendo-
line, Captain Armstrong in charge, which
was not expected until the following day,
came around the bend and in a moment
was in the rapids. Captain Armstrong
seemed to grasp instantly the perilous
situation, ard attempted to swing his
boat Ito the right, through the wider pas
Says, but owing to the rapid water was
washed broadside against the Ruth, the
two remaining fast together. The Gwen
doline's small boats were both saved,
and aided in transferring she passengers
from the two wrecked steamers to the
island near the shore. 1t was 10 o'clock
before the last passenger and member of
the crew had been saved, and Mrs. Cap
tain Sanborn was in the last boat 1t
was bitterly cold on the rock and even
we men could hardly stand it, and urged
her to be among the first to go ashore,
but she CALAMITY refused, preferring to
stay with her husband. A few provisions
were also saved, and Mrs. Sanborn pre-
pared supper for the men as best she
could"