The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-03
Four Are I'm
identified.
BODIES RECOVER
Twenty-Four Have Come
Ashore from the Portland.

Orleans. Dec. 2.-While a bright,
warm sun, with a westerly breeze,
made a most agreeable change in the
weather that has prevailed for the past
few days, there was little pleasure to
be obtained by the sad crowd Of anx-
ious relatives and friends who re-
manned in town over night, or came
down from Boston on the first train
this morning.
In the two local undertaken rooms
this morning there remained four bod
les still unidentified. and it was hoped
that they might be recognized by the
people arriving today While one Of
the bodies at Eastman was practically
identified as that of Mrs. Augustus
Wheeler, no one recognized the other
three-those Of the man found at East
Orleans, the young woman at East
ham. and the body which has hereto
fore been supposed to be that Of James
w. Flower of Lewiston, Me
With that of the coIored man at
Provincetown, there still remain four,
bodies to be claimed by friends. An
other body came ashore at Chatham
last night, and this morning it was
Identified as that of George B. Ken
niston, Jr., Of Boothbay. Up to date,
the following have been recovered and
are positively known:
z. Dudley Freeman, Yarmouth, Me;
Peter Collins, deck hand, Portland;
Elizabeth NJ. A. Collins, Portland; SUI
san A. Kelly, Dorchester; Solomon Co
hen, Portland; George w. Delaney,
Boston; Mrs. c. N. Mitchell, North
castor; Miss Jennie G. Bdmunds, East
Boston; A. Gosselin, Montreal; John
Jones, colored cook; Madge Ingraham,
colored, Woodfords deck hand, name
not known; George Graham, oolored
porter, Portland cat Weuheet; VIII
liam A. Mosher, Rockland; Mrs Geo.
.. Chickering, Weymouth lat naston) !;
Ansel Dyer, quartermaster; Walter L,
Bemls, Auburn, Me-; Capt Edwin Dun
bar. Boothbay; George B. Kenuistou
Jr.. Boothbay; Mrs. Augustus Wheeler.
Inc body which was supposed to be
that OF James w. Flower has not been
Identified by his brother, which makes
the list of complete identidcations 20
out of 2. total of "a bodies recovered.
The body of George w. Delaney was
sent to Boston this afternoon, in addi-
ton to the six shipped this morning,
but the others will not be sent before
tomorrow.
A dispatch from Provincetown tonight
states that a pocketbook bearing the
name of S. c. Wedderburn, Atlantic
City, was found near Peaked Hill this
morning, and that the leg Of child
was picked up near High Head, We'd
nesday afternoon.
What has become of the balance Of
the crew and passengers of the ill
fated Portland is wholly a matter of
conjecture, although it is practically
certain that not a single soul survived
after the steamer went to pieces. The
fact that none Of her life boats have as
yet been found, nor any of her life
RATS, holds out to agonized relatives
and friends a. single ray of hope, to
which they cling tenaciously but the
realization Of the awful sea which was
running at thattimeis forced upon them
and they are obliged to acknowledge
that the chances Of even a single per-
son being saved is indeed slight.
Except some Wreckage at East
Brewster, which came ashore Thurs
day morning, which cannot be identified
as having come from the Portland,
nothing has been picked UP inside of
Cape Cod. 1t may be possible that
the steamer was still farther off the
point Of the cape where she went down,
perhaps in deep water as no large por-
ton of the vessel has yet come ashore.
The first bodies were picked UP just
at the time, or a little before, the
Swreckage came ashore. Usually, in
cases Of wrecks on the, shores of Cape
Cod, the upper portions of the vessel
have been the first fragments to ap-
ole
strengthens the theory that the steamer
foundered perhaps five or six miles off
shore. Nearly all Of the bodies that
have been recovered were but little
bruised. If they had drifted down from
Highland Light, or further above,
nearly every one would have shown
marks, but there were only a very few
that were disfigured.
It seems plausible that the Portland
foundered five miles northeast, or per-
haps east of Peaked Hill bar, off High
Head ife-saving station, about 9.15
Sunday morning, and that a greater
part of the light upper work, with the
assistance of flood tide, was Thrown
off on the beach at Peaked Hill station,
or Just below 1t at High Head; that the
bodies after drifting west a short time
were whirled around the end of the
cape by the ebb tide of Sunday after
noon, which tide did not effect the
woodwork so much, and were finally
cast up by the waves along shore. The
westerly wind of Monday and Tuesday
kept many out to sea, but the gale
of Wednesday again brought them in,
and on Thursday six or seven We're re-
covered. 1t is now thought there will
only be a very few, if any more, bodies
recovered until another easterly storm
sets in. There seems no doubt that a
number of bodies that have been seen
in the surf, but not recovered, now lie
buried beneath the sand, where they
will remain until the next easterly gale.
1t is also conjectured that the tide
swept a large number eight or ten
miles out to sea, and as few of the
coasting vessels running up and down
the cape keep out as far, a very few
will be picked up, even If they come TO
the surface
Still another theory as to the wreck
of the Portland is drawn from the
wheel which came ashore at Orleans.
1t is what is called the spare wheel in
the pilot house, and is kept in a cylin-
der about three feet behind the one
commonly used. the steersman stand
ing between the two. The wheel was
dashed with rope and the knots indi-
cate that only a seaman could have
done it. 1t is thought that no attempt
was made TO use this wheel because the
pilot house was probably washed away
the first thing after the steamers en-