The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-09
Story of HerOiSm and Disaster On
the Raging Deck.
WRECK OF LoNDoNIAN
FoRTY-FIVE LIVES SAVED BY
PASSING VESSELS.
How the Gallant Crew of the Veda-
more Struggled for Two Days to
Rescue the Half-frozen Sailors
Storm Was Terrific and Seas
Mountain High.

Baltimore, Md, Dec. S.-The John
ston line steamship Vedamore of Liver
pool Captain Robert Bartlett, for whose
safety fears were beginning to be felt,
as she was several days overdue, ar
rived this morning at pier 81, Locust
Point, with forty-five shipwrecked mar
liners which she had picked up at sea.
Twenty others went down with their
ship.
The supposed lost are: Captain Will
liam Lee, Chief officer Murray, Chief
Engineer Stafford, Third Engineer Sla-
ter, twenty-one other seamen, fremen
and cattlemen.
the British steamship Londonian Of
London, bound from Boston for London
with a large general cargo and $50 cat
tie on deck. She left Boston Nov Is
and on Nov, 20, in a violent gale, her
cargo shifted and she almost capsized,
she finally resting on her beam ends,
with big seas breaking over her. Her
luckless crew were helpless to right
her, and for two days she drifted about
at the mercy of the winds and waves.
/ Assistance came at o'clock on the
morning of Nov. %. The Vedamore hove
in sight five miles distant, and as it
was still quite dark the Londonian
burned signal fires and fired rockets.
The signals were seen by the officers
on the Vedamore bridge and reported
to Captain Bartlett, who gave immedi-
ate orders that the Vedamore's course
be changed. The Londonian was then
to the southwark of the Johnston liner
1t did not take the Vedamore long to
cover thes five miles that lay between
them, and as soon as she arrived along
side she was signaled to stand by.
do you wish to abandon the ship"
was signaled from the Vedamore as
soon as daylight would permit her sig
nails being seen. Captain Lee of the
Londonian signaled back that he
wanted the Nedamore to tow his ship.
Captain Bartlett saw at glance that
this was an impossibility, and refused
to attempt it, as it would have endan-
gered his own ship. Captain Lee then
signaled, = asking that the Vedamore
stand by to render assistance. Soon af-
| terward he signaled: ''WilI abandon
eship," and at noon, in the teeth of a
stiff gale, Second Officer Hobbs and a
! volunteer crew CALAMITY launched one
of the Vedamore's boats and attempted
| to reach the sinking Londonian. For
| three hours the sturdy Britons battled
with wind and wave in a vain attempt
to reach her. but were finally forced
to return to the ship. Captain Bartlett
! then steamed to windward of the
| doomed steamer, and other attempts to
rescue the Londonian's crew were made
| fruitlessly.
AS it grew too dark to do anything
more, Captain Bartlett signaIed: ''Will
stand by you until morning"
The piteous signal, For Gods sake,
/ don't leave u.s." came back in reply
TWENTY-ONE RES CUED.
During the night the wind increased,
and by morning it was blowing very
hard. Then another means of rescue
was decided upon For hours life buoys
with lines attached were floated to The
Londonian, and at last her crew sue
ceeded in getting one aboard. One of
| the Vedamore's life boats improvised
as a life car, made a trip successfully
and twenty-one half frozen exhausted
men were hauled up over the side of
| the Vedamore and given every comfort
/ the ship afforded. AS the boat was go
! ing back to the Londonian wreck a big
! sea demolished it, and the line was
broken.
! Chief officer Doran of the Vedamore
volunteered to launch another life boat
| to attempt the rescue. The seas were
| by this time terrific and it was only
owing to the splendid manner in which
/ the boat was handled that she lived it
out.
For two hours the boats crew strug-
gled at the oars, but could not get
| closer than sixty yards of the wreck
They were at last forced to give uI
and return to their ship, and in doing
so the boat was smashed against the
ships side and lost. All came near
drowning, but were hauled aboard with
lines.
MORE SEAMEN SAVED.
Another fearful night Of peril and
fear. passed. The next morning twenty