Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1898-12-03

many more bodies are considered not
very favorable.
A number of PORTLAND people, most Of
| them relatives of some of those whose
names We're on the passenger list of the
| Portland when she left Boston last Sat.
| urday evening, have arrived here, for
the purpose of identifying, If possible
some of the bodies washed ashore along
the coast. Large numbers of volun-
teers are assisting the surfmen to pa.
troll the beaches. From the tip end OF
Cape Cod to Monomoy there are 10 gov.
ernment life saving stations and all the
| crews have been on duty almost con-
stantly since last Saturday evening
when the great blow set in. The re-
covery of the bodies which have been
conveyed to this port. Orleans and other
points. is largely due to the diligence
| of the life savers.
Several bodies not secured were sight
! ed i'm the surf some distance from shore
but they disappeared from view in tn.
strong current running southward. and
| il was impossible to get hold of them
| The fact that so few bodies have been
recovered from the sea Is due to the
strong undertow, which, 1t is thought
carried the great majority down to the
/ coast toward MOnomoy and Nantucket t
! sound. This was proved by the find.
| ing of the greater number of bodies in
the vicinity of Orleans, and as far down
! as Chatham. Those found nearest to
where the steamer is thought to hav"
foundered We're those first taken from
the water.
. A severe gale from the east and north
east probably carried many of the
drowned further southwark, and many
old mariners predict that a large num-
ber Of bodies will never be recovered.
! One of the first bodies to be identified
was that of +. Dudley Freeman of va :"
mouth, Me-. a prominent Republican
leader in the Pine Tree state, and a
member of Governor Powers council.
His body was found on the Nauset beach
near Orleans by Daniel Gould
/ The big wheel of the Portland, with
steering gear attached, was found on
the shores off Orleans, The wheel had
about 20 fathoms of wire attached part
Of the electrical steering equipment.
Part of the flooring near the base of the
wheel in the pilot house was attached,
and a rope fastened to the wheel itself
indicated that it had been lashed.
Among the wreckage that is Strewn
along the beach are quite a number Of
stateroom doors. Most of them have
the enamel numbers on. and on many
of the doors the lock bolt projected
showing that some of the StaterOoms
had been locked at the time of the dis
aster. Wreckage of almost every de-
scription is strewn for miles along the
outside beach, but most Of the articles
of any value were taken by the watchers
and memento seekers.
| &. f. Williams Boston agent Of the
Portland line. in an interview on the
loss of the steamer. said: II am sure
that the Portland foundered at sea.
There will not be single survivor. 1 am
sure. | am positive all on board have
been drowned. Where or how the
wreck occurred do not think will ever
first caught in the heavy seas near
Thatcher's island, and that she went
down somewhere between there and the
cape. Her guards and paddle boxes
must have been smashed by the heavy
seas, and. although she was Il staunch
boat, as her class goes, she could NOT
stand the wrenching and pounding If
the waves. Everything above the main
dcck-all the deck houses-I believe was
torn away. With the steamer bare
above the deck, and the hull smashed
and leaking. it seems to me that with
the weight of her machinery she mus t
have plunged down, carrying every
soul on board with her.
"The wreckage that has come ashore
consists of spinters of the light wood .
work of the deck houses. This shows
that the Portland did not go to pieces on
any rocks, but when her deck houses
We're swept away by the seas and the
sale, she foundered, as | said.
II should say that the Portland prob
ably went down Sunday morning, al
though it Is impossible to tell, of course,
when. Apparently the passengers wer-
fully aware Of the critical condition Of
the steamer, and evidently had time to
put on life preservers, as the preservers
have been found on bodies thrown on the
beach"
Plymouth, Mass, Dec. IA bit Of
bamboo, which was picked up in the
surf here brought story of death and
the loss of the schooner White Wings
of Gloucester in the recent storm. The
fragment was found tossing about in the
waves, and 1t contained "a letter. The
message was as follows: We will b.
lost-13 of us-in the fishing schooner
White Wings from Gloucester. Have
no bottle to put it in. Everything is
gone. We are about to go on raft
Henry Wilder and Frank Ilaskins are
dead If could only see my wife and
darling child again. Albert Simmons.
The paper has been sent to Gloucester.
PrOvincetown, Dec. 1.-Schooner King
Philip of Fall River was totally wrecked
on the cape. as wreckage from her has
come ashore. The crew probably num-
hered 10 men, all of whom have been lost.
The schooner was 1924 tons gross register
Boston. Dec. IA private telegram re-
ceived in this city announces the prob
able loss of the Puritan line steamer
Scottish King. commanded by Captain
james and bound for Antwerp to this
port. The vessel ran ashore at $50
o'clock yesterday morning, 10 miles
northeast from Cape Race. n. f., dur
ing "a dense fog. The crew. numbering
81 men, were al landed in safety. 1t was
impossible for the officers of the steamer
to see their dangerous surroundings un-
til they brought up on the rocks, and
when the steamer struck she began to
fill Immediately, showing that her bot
tom had been punctued by the jagged
rocks. The vessel will undoubtedly prove
n total loss, as she is in dangerous and
most exposed position and is full of water.
New York, Dec. 1.-The officers of the
Manhattan Steap, shin rnrpnony nvunars