The Newtown bee., 1899-10-20
John ~oseinick. Bridgeport, body in wreck Joe Curtis g. Bridgeport body in wreeks
PROBABLY DEAD:

Joe Cur16Aer Bridgeport body in Wreeks PROBABLY DEAD:
 Unknown woman. seen to tall into fire. U"bno child see n to fall into fire. Common Robbins, Bl ltdgeport.
 John Ryan, Woonsocket, K l.. The Brdsepur Uoisn says: tThe in- discriminate cbarP es of cowsrdice that Lave ben made against the cra1 of the Nutmeg State are not supported by any viGence hat can be found. The steve dores were no doubt guilty of great sel- fishness and brutality. But they srs not be COT sidered Ss the crew of the ship. They are net sailors in any sense of the word, but merely freight handlt rs who are carted back and forth and lodged un the vessel The officers and crew of the vessel acted as N ell as men could possibly do placed in simi'ar circum- stances. The loss of fe was caused wholly because of the failure of the rOustabouts and the passengt rs to heed he orders of Capt Brooks to atht r fC r. ward nd on the wind ward sIde or the snip. Had they Obeyed not life save
 nose of the men imprisoned below decks " ould pr bbsbly have been 'st. Acc.r ing to statement of E gineer O le, Ii yes, fireman, was sent below to arouse Hendry, Coffey and the two pas = s"ngers in the forward cabin. Why he 'qiied tO do 90 and how he lost his own l tr wi always be unexplained, for there vas plenty of time when he went below. Cole also says that if Hen6ry and CUff y had tried the door at the other eide of the head of the stairs they would have f, und their way to freedom. Capt
 BrooRs and Pilot Witherwax stuck to the wheel In the pilot house rlu it's spokes were af1re and the rudder ropes were burned u ugh. Captain Brooks was the last h. n to leave the vessel Passengers and crew alike speak iu highCsf praise of Baggs gemRste r Jayne, who fingered on the vsssel til the
 ast of the passengers were gone, giving them assistance in every possible man. uer. When he did fiAs ly leave the ship he was prob bly, too exhausted to
 jump clear of the guard, his head striking it as he descended, Much has been said about the cartridges which wfra among the vessels cargo and many atte mpts have been made to con- nect them with the breaking out of the conflaRra ion. The fact of the matter is, as positive ly declared by the Offici, l. of the comI any and members of the crew, that al, the ammunition on board was stored far Aft, piled against 8 bulkhead next to tie bar room and away from all the rest of the csrgo. It consisted en- tirely of shot shelll, so that reports of living bu l7ts were imaginary. The fire did not reach the cartridges until after rhe vessel was beached. Whatev was the cause of tho fire, and that is ~till 8
 ystety, it certainly did not rreak out 4moDg the ammunition, but roCs away from it, somewhere amidships. Some of the crew think it sts r ed in the kitchen The most irfi4mmable material aboard vas some cases of plush, which is easily guited. A theory has been advanced that one of the cases may have been in- securely fastened and that isp4rk from some rnustabout's pipe entered it. Nc evidence bey ond the presence of the plush in the amidship section of the ship can be found to substantiste this theory, but it is proba bly, as good as another.
 The latest estimate of those believ- ed to be dead is 13