The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-10-17
THE MOHEGAN VICTIMS
ONLY ELEVEN PASSENGERS AND
THIRTY-NINE OTHERS SAVED.
Fifty-One Bodies Are Recovered and
Accident a Mystery.

LONDON. Oct 1.-THE Atlantic Trans
port Company issued the following state
ment this evening regarding the fate of the
passengers and crew of the steamer Mohe-
gan, which was wrecked last Friday even
ing off the Lizard between the Manacles
and the Lowlands:
"Of the passengers. eleven have been
! saved, ten bodies have been recovered and
thirty-three are missing.
"Of the crew and cattlemen, thirty-nine
have been saved, fourteen bodies have been
recovered and fifty-one are missing
Since this statement issued nine other
bodies have been picked up, including two
that have been identified as those of passen-
gers. The reports of the various corre-
spondents differ widely as to the rescues.
recoveries and losses, though none has been
able to obtain the exact number of those
saved or of the bodies recovered. The bodies
of the following passengers have been re-
covered:
T.. W. King, Edna King, Master King,
James Blackey, Miss H. NJ. Cowen, Dr.
Fallows, b. Franklin Fuller, Mrs. L. NJ
Luke. George Seymour, Miss L. H. War
| rener.
| dispatch from Falmouth says that up to
midnight ffty-one bodies had been recov-
coves, and it is expected that more will be
washed ashore tomorrow. Many persons
undoubtedly were killed by being dashed on
the rough rocks. Some of the bodies are
! horribly mangled. A good deal of jewelry
] and money has been found. AS all the nav
| igating officers were lost it is doubtful
| whether light will ever be thrown on the
| cause Of the disaster. All the flags ashore
| and the boats in the bay are at half
NEST.
The latest advices from Falmouth this
| evening say that thirty-eight bodies have
been identified mostly the bodies of sailors
-Four are as yet unidentified including those
of two elderly ladies. One appears to be a
German. She wore watch and wedding
ring. both engraved ISL" The other wore
a silver brooch, with the letter d. in
pearls. This is probably the body of Mrs
! Charles Duncan. Nine of the bodies have
been brought to Falmouth, the others to
the village church at st. Keverne. The res
cued passengers are being sheltered at cot
tages along the shore and the crew at the
sailors home at Falmouth. Tugs have been
| cruising in the vicinity all day, despite the
veiy rough water, in hope of picking up
| other bodies.
The cause of the disaster remains the pro-
| foundest mystery. Nobody attempts to ex-
plain how the Mohegan got so far north of
| her true course-from six to seven miles,
! There no fog at the time while the
wind on her port quarter was not sufficient
to prevent her answering the helm. 1t has
been suggested that her compass was
faulty, but daylight lasted long after Eddy
| stone light passed.
The sailors say that the fact that the
: Lizard light was not visible should have
L rlA fxtx. H.
the Mohegan. which are above water, show
that her stern is landward, causing a theory
that the navigating officer on discovering
that he was in the bay suddenly turned
seaward. Two engineers who were saved
declare, however, that they never slackened
speed.
remarkable stories of rescues continue
Robert Barrow, a seaman, performed the
feat of swimming unaided through the
toughest water to Coverack Point dis
tance of two and half miles He climbed
up the ragged cliff, where searching party
found him early the next morning COM
! pletely exhausted. A. c. l.. Smith, of Ore
gon, passenger, surrendered to a woman
In the water wreckage that was supporting
him and swan ashore unaided. The woman
was saved. Her name is reported as Miss
| Webb, but no such name appears on the
] companys list.
| Messrs. Smith and w. j. Bloomingdale
say there was the greatest difficulty in
launching the boats. The ropes were new
and stiff and the blocks would not work
| Four or five times many sailors as should
have been necessary struggled to Tower each
boat. The lockers were hard to open.
| The crew in chivalrous effort to save the
| women made the mistake of understanding
| the boats. There were only four sailors in
one boat, which capsized as soon as it was
launched. Messrs Smith and Bloomingdale
say that Captain Griffiths had appeared i'll
| all day.
| The death of Mr. T. W. King, who was a
| newspaper proprietor at Nantucket, Mass,
and of his family, including Mrs. King, her
| mother Mrs. Weller, and his sons Rufus
| aged eleven, and Anthony, aged seven, has
caused deep sorrow at Penzance, where the
| family had summer cottage and was very
popular Joseph ORourke, Kings valet
who was saved, says he on deck when
| the crash came. The lights went out imme-
diately Rushing to the saloon, he heard
Mr.. King exhorting his family to keep COOL
| ORourke, with seven others, chung to the
rigging until o'clock yesterday morning,
when a lifeboat took him Off He identified
the bodies of the Kings and Mrs. Weller
and will have them embalmed and taken to
the United States in accordance with ca
| bled instructions from the relatives of the
| family at Nantucket
/ Disaster Inexpficable.
| FALMOUTH, Oct. 16.-John Hyslop, the
New York yachtsman, who was saved. in
the course of an interview this afternoon
condemned the double railing around the