The San Juan islander. [volume] (Friday Harbor, Wash.) 1898-1914, 1898-06-09
A SEA TRAGEDY
Schooner Jane Gray
Goes Down With "a
Passengers.

.
NINETY MILES OFF FLATTERY
Sprung a Leak at Night and Sank
Almost Immediately-Twent Seven
Survivors-The Inflated Craft Was
Bound for Kotzebue.
Seattle. WASH, June 3.-The schoon-
or Jane Gray, which sailed from Seat
tie for Kotzebue sound on May 10, with
81 people on board, foundered Sunday,
May %, about go miles west of Cape
Flattery at 2 O'Clock in the morning,
while lying to in moderate gale under
foresails. Ten minutes after the alarm
was given she lay at the bottom of the
ocean, with 81 of her passengers. The
remaining ~ succeeded in embarking
in launch, and reached this city this
afternoon. Those lost are:
Signor Gaia, Italy; Signor Bresseta,
Italy; Jack Lindsay, Everett; w. II.
Gleason, Seattle; w. A. johnson, Seat
tie; v. J. Smith, Seattle; c. G. Smith,
Seattle; P. G. Little. Seattle; S. w.
Young, Seattle; w. D. MILAN, Seattle;
Horace Palmer, Lebanon, O.; F. g.
Saulsberry, Minnesota; A. B. Dunlap,
Dwight, ILL.,; B. D. Ranney, Mexico;
B. E. Snipes, IT,, Seattle; J. M. Staut-
man. West6eld. N. j.; E. NJ. Taylor,
California; F. s. Taylor, California;
B. S. Spencer, California; w. P. Doxey,
Edward F. Ritter, F. w. Ginther, B.
S. Frost, W. F. lowering. William
Otter, O. F. McKelvey, NJ. G. Brown,
G. G. Atkins, N. Hedlund. Charles Will.
liams; v. G. Gambel. wife and child,
missionary on st. Lawrence island, in
Behring sea; one other.
Nearly all of the Jane Gray's pas
sengers were prospectors.
1t is possible that there may be four
or five survivors whose names cannot
be ascertained.
Captain Crockett gave the following
account of the wreck:
1--WE were lying to. under our FORE
sail. A moderate gale was blowing,
and the sea was running high. / had
gone to bed, and was asleep when the
Waterman wakened me with the an
nouncement that something was wrong.
I arose at once, and found the vessel
leaking. A hurried investigation
showed that she would soon sink, and
I at once notified the passengers of the
situation. Most of them were asleep
underneath the deck. A scene of con-
fusion then took place, and it is impoa-
sible to give any detailed account OF
the events that followed. The dark
ness added to the confusion. The Jane
Gray carried two lifeboats and two
launches. I at once ordered the boats
lowered. The first lifeboat was
swamped. The launch Kennoma, be
longing to the Ingraham party, was
successfully lowered. At this time the
Jane Gray was almost under water.
IA heavy sea struck her, throwing
her on her beam. There was no time
to launch other boats. The water was
over her matches, and every one below
was certainly drowned. Those on deck
hurriedly got in the launch. A sack OF
prunes and one of turnips were hastily
taken from the ships stores, and this
was the only food we had till we reached
Vancouver island. As the launch drift
ed away from the almost submerged
schooner we saw eight or ten men stand
ing on the lee rail clinging to the
rigging. Soon they disappeared from
sight. Two of them, Job johnson and
G. ]. Reilly, kept afloat by clinging to
bundles of boat lumber. Two hours
after they were picked up by our
launch, making ~ in all we had on
board. 1t is barely possible that there
| will be four other survivors.
"Just before the Jane Gray dlsap-
peared under the waves we thought we
saw the second launch that was on
board with four forms near it. They
we're so indistinct that we were not
sure. They seemed to be getting into
the launch. We saw nothing of them
when daylight came.
1--WE improvised sail and paddles,
and after drifting 80 hours in the
launch, finally landed inside of Rugged
point, Kyuquot sound, on Vancouver
| island, 80 miles from the scene OF the
| wreck. A fire was built on the beach,
and we made meal on roasted mus
sells. We had no food since the night
before the disaster, excepting the sack
/ of prunes and turnips that we threw
| into the launch. We got our drinking
water by spreading out tarpaulin in
driving rain. An Indian who CHANGED
to come along informed Us that the
village of Kyuquot was but six miles
away. We went there, and found the
sealing schooner Fayorite becalmed,
and arrangements were made to carry
our party to Victoria We reached
there this morning, in time to catch
/ the steamer for Seattle =
The Jane Gray was schooner OF lO7
tons. She was built in Bath, Me-, N
| 1887. She was owned and operated BY
McDougall s. Southwick, OF this city.
/ Outside of the miners outfits, she CAR
ried no cargo.
General Grant Takes the Oath.
Chickamauga National Park. June
3.-General =. D. Grant today took the
oo4h AZ Z hrioadior-QeneraI. The cath