The record-union., 1897-08-12
The Crew and Some of the PaSSen-
gers Arrive at Seattle.
Captain Thomas Relates the Story Of the
Disaster.
ish in a Fire at Arlington, Ore
gOn-Fata1 Shooting ARRAY in
MADEIRA County.

SEATTLE CWash.), Aug. 1.-THE
Captain, crew and some of the pas
sengers of the steamer Mexico, which
was wrecked Thursday near Sitka, ar
rived here this morning.
They were brought to this port by
the steamer Topeka, which picked them
up on her way from Alaska
Captain Thomas of the Mexico was
not inclined to talk for publication.
There will be an investigation. he
said, "and when 1 am called on 10 make
my statement l shall do so to those
who conduct the inquiry"
Were you on deck when the wreck
occurred Captain?'
81 was not. The accident occurred
early in the morning-about 430
o'clock, in fact, and 1 was abed There
was no way of preventing the wreck;
cannot possibly see how we could have
escaped.
when my ship struck the force of
the collision threw me out of my berth
l went on deck, to find that we were
over almost on the beam ends. Follow
ing me came the crew and passengers,
and I doubt if there ever was a more
orderly and self-controlled body of peo-
pie faced by impending death as gath
cred around me.
When I found the extent of the
damage and after consultation with
Pilot Connell, who believed there was
no way of saving the ship, l ordered
the boats out and the passengers got
handbags and satchels and climbed
OVPTbOQ r6 There pxaifcY1o nj
Some of the people wanted to take all
their baggage but on being shown that
that was impossible, they took what
they thought they would need and
dropped into the boat alongside
never saw such self-control in my life.
1.-TWO hours after the Mexico struck
she heaved forward and went down in
eighty fathoms of water. Connell and
We're the last to leave the Mexico. I
don't see that any blame could attach
to any one. The whole story will be
told at the investigation
The investigation will be held this af-
ternoon by Inspector W. j. Bryant, but
it is not likely that anything will de-
velop that Captain Thomas did not tell
Percy Higgerbotham, who went up
on the Mexico as far as Dyea and came
back on the Topeka to-day, describes in
a graphic manner the sinking of the
Inflated vessel. He says:
THE vessel went on a rock early in
the morning, and when the officers said
that the passengers had better take to
the life boats, every one was cool and
calm, and the ladies, when going down
the ladder over the side of the steamer.
to get in the small boats, sang Christ
ian Endeavor songs. The Captain was
cool, but could not realize that his boat
was doomed. Some one rushed to him
and asked: Can 1 get my baggage in
a small boat?'
Calm YOURSELF said Captain Thom-
as. You had better get in the small
boat yourself, and leave your baggage
to take care of itself. 1t is impossible
that the Mexico will sink
Some other passengers rushed to
him for advice later, and the Captain
said: Take no chances, but get into
the boat. 1 am going to save my ship
if [ can She will not sink, she can
not sink
Within twenty minutes after the
shock the steamers hold was filled with
water, and baggage was floating
around. We could hear the swish of
water, and could feel the steamer set
ting.
Just two hours and ten minutes af-
ter the rock was struck the Mexicos
bow sank out Of sight, then the bow
bobbed up again, and her stern sank.
Suddenly the bow shot upward in a
perpendicular line, and the Mexico went
to the bottom like. d shot, stern first.
The life-boats then pulled for Percy
Island, thirteen miles distant, where the
passengers We're landed on a rock and
had something to eat Then the long
row was renewed, and the passengers
were landed at Metlakatla, seventeen
miles from the island and thirty miles
from the point where the vessel went
down, and there all remained until he
arrival of the steamer City of Topeka.
bound SOUTH
SEATTLE, Aug. lit will require
an inquiry by the Government Inspec-
tor of Hulls to determine the facts and
circumstances of the wrecking of the
Pacific Coast Steamship Company's
Mexico at the entrance to Dixon's
'~C0AAN CtA liz VI August OLD.
Various tales have been told of the
accident, and several theories have been
advanced. It was stated with SEEM
ing authority that the rock which was
the cause of the Mexico's undoing was
West Devil Rock, and that it shows on
the charts
The first accounts of the disaster sent
out from Victoria are to the effect that
the rock was hidden beneath the waves
and was not down on the charts. Dix
on's Sound is on the inside route TO
Alaska, and has been considered an
open highway.
1t was stated on the authority of Dr..
Boswell D. Anderson, a passenger on
the Mexico that the steamers course
was changed so as to send her outside,
in the hope of saving sixteen hours on
the trip. The change was made by
the Captain as a result of a petition
circulated by the Christian Endeavor
excursionists on the boat, who were
anxious to reach Seattle before the time
limit of their return tickets to the East
had expired.
Pilot Cornell is an experienced navi-
gator and has been employed in these
waters for a number of years. He was