The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-17
Sailors w ere
Brave.
THEY TRIED TO SAVE
Massachusetts People N
Mohegan Disaster.


port Co. issued the following statement
today regarding the fate of the passen-
gers and crew of the steamer Michigan,
which was wrecked last Friday night
OFF the Lizard between the Manacles
and the Lowlands:
"Of the passengers, eleven have been
saved; ten bodies have been recovered
and 80 are missing.
"Of the crew and cattlemen, SO have
been saved, fourteen bodies have been
recovered and 81 are missing.
Since this statement was issued nine
other bodies have been picked up, in
Guiding two that have been identified
as the bodies of passengers. The re-
ports of the various correspondents diff
fer widely as to the rescues, recoveries
and losses, though none has been able
to obtain the exact numbers of those
saved or of the bodies recovered.
The bodies of the following passen-
gers have been recovered:
T. w. KING.
EDNA KING.
MASTER KING.
JAMES BLACKEY.
MISS Fl. M. COWEN.
DIR. FALLOWS.
B. FRANKLIN FULLER.
MRS. Il NJ. LUKE.
GEORGE SEYMOUR.
MISS L. H. WARRENER.
The latest advices from Falmouth,
this evening, say that 3S bodies have
been identified, mostly the bodies of
sailors. -Four are as yet unidentified,
including those of two elderly ladies'.
One appears to be German. She wore
a watch and a wedding ring, both en-
graved 1871" The other wore silver
brooch with the letter I'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. KeVerine. The rescued
passengers are being sheltered at cot
tases along the shore, and the crew at
the Sailors Home at Falmouth. Tugs
have been cruising in the vicinity all
day despite the very rough weather,
in hope OF picking up other bodies. The
cause of the disaster remains the pro-
foundest mystery. Nobody attempts
to explain how the Mohegan got so far
north of her true course-froTn six to
seven miles. There was no fog at the
ter was not sufficient to prevent her an
swering the helm. 1t has been sug-
gested that her compass was faulty, but
daylight lasted long after Eddystone
light was passed.
The sailors say the fact that Lizard
light was not visible, should have
served to give the alarm
The masts of the Mohegan, which are
above water, show that her stern is
navigating officer on discovering that
he was in the bay, suddenly turned sea-
ward Two engineers who are saved
declare however, that they never
slackened speed.
Remarkable stories of reseues con
time Robert Barrow, seaman,
performed the feat Of swimming unalu-
ed through the toughest water 10 CeV-
crack Point, a distance OF two ana one
half miles. He climbed up the ragged
oiff where a searching party round
him early the next morning, complete
~ exhausted. A. c. l.. Smith OF Ore
con a passenger, surrendered to wo-
man in the water wreckage that was
summarizing him, and swan ashore un-
aided The woman was saved. Her
name is reported as Miss Webb, but no
such name appears on the company s
list
MaSErS. SmlIn anu W. p.
dale saw there was the greatest diff
culty in launching the boats. The ropes
we're new and stiff and the blocks
world not work. Four or five times
as MANY sailors as should have been
necessary struggled to lower each boat.
The lockers were hard to OPEN
The crew, in a chivalrous effort to
save the women, made the mistake OF
understanding the boats. There were
IL, In
sized as soon as it was launched.
Messrs. Smith and Bloomingdale say
that Cant. Grifiths had appeared i'll all
dav. The death of 7. w King, who
was a newspaper proprietor at Nam
tucket, Mass. and of his family, in
aluding Mrs. King, her mother-Mrs
Weller-and his sons-Rufus, aged II,
and Anthony, aged F-has caused deep
sorrow at Penzance, where the family
had a summer cottage and were very
Joseph O'Rorke, Mr. Kings valet,
who was saved, says he was on deck
when the crash came. The lights went
out Immediately. Rushing to the sa
loon. he heard Mr.. King exhorting his
family to keep cool. O'Rorke, 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 accord
ance with cabled instructions from the
relatives of the family at Nantucket
Up to midnight 81 bodies had been
recovered. Some were found miles
away in, coves, and it is expected that
more will be washed ashore tomorrow
Many persons undoubtedly were killed
by being dashed on the rough rocks,
who would have escaped If cast ashore
on an ordinary coast. Some of the
bodies were horribly mangled A good
deal Of jewelry and money has been
found.
AS all the navigating officers were
lost, it is doubtful whether light will
ever be thrown on the causes of the
disaster. All the flags ashore and onA
tie boats in the bay are at half-mast
Falmouth Eng, Oct 16. Mr.. John
Hyslop, the New York yachtsman who
was saved. in the course of an inter-
view today condemned the double rail-
ing around the ships boats, which, he
says, impeded the launching. The mast
head light, in his opinion. should have
been an oil instead Of an electric lamp,
as in that event 1t would not have been