The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1899-07-15
on the ROCKS
!. IN 1 DENSE FOG.
Portia, Of New York,
Wrecked on FIynn's Island,
East Of Halifax.
ALL ON BOARD ARE SAVED
Passengers md Crew Safely Landed
on the Island in the ship's
Boats---Feltef sent
Them.

Halifax, July l2.-The teamcr Por-
tia, from New York for Halifax, was
wrecked during a dense fog early yes
terday morning on Flynn's island, of
Sambro, a point about fifteen miles to
The eastward of Halifax. The passen-
gers and crew, us all told, landed OF
the island in the ships boats, and are
all comfortably housed there. No loss
of life is reported. AS 500 as all the
people had been safely landed Captain
Farrell started for the mainland with
a boats crew and reported at Sambro
news of the disaster to Halifax by
telephone. The steamer is already full
of water and n total wreck. The disas-
ter occurred shortly before Z a. H..
The passengers, of whom there are sew
enty-five, are nearly all tourists.
1t is believed Captain Farrell mis-
took his position when he heard the
bomb signals at Sambro light, which
sound every twenty minutes and which
are said to be so misleading that it is
extremely difficult to locate a ships
position on hearing them.
Sambro light was on the Portals
stnrboard bow, q mile and a quarter
distant, when She pounded on Big Fish
shoal, while to place her in n safe po-
sition the light should have been on
the port bow. 1t was $50 when she
struck the rocks. She began to take
water Immediately, and at 1850 o'clock
Captain Farrell concluded that it was
no safe to remain on board any longer.
Orders We're then given to lower boats.
The lifeboats, keeping close together,
made inner Sambro island in less than
t~hree-quarters of an hour, and their
occupants were soon housed.
From inner Sanfbro to the mainland
is only a short distance, and as o
as Captain Farrell found that every
body from the steamer was safe and
sound he started for Sambro village,
whence he dispatched the advices of
the wreck.
Two relief steamers have been sent
to the wreck. Both steamers carried
SUPPLIES for the passengers and the
crew, which by the time succor arrives
will probably have consumed the food
on Sambro island. The Portals pas
sengers will be brought as soon as pos
sible to Halifax. Captain Farrell's re-
port to the agent is not very hopeful
as to the chances of the Portia ever
Hetliuk OH tue Silodi, VI iuuecu LHul
she will hold together very long.sWhen
he abandoned her he considered the
case almost hopeless.
/, When the steamer struck most of
her passengers We're on deck. The
Portia took the shoal with II dull,
grinding shock that sent a thrill from
stem to stern, and brought all on deck
to their feet in alarm. The steamer
came t o n sudden stop, and the en-
ginies. Which We're Immediately re-
versed, refused to pull her off. In the
long swell her stern moved gently up
and down, but her bow held immov-
ably to the rocks. When the com
mander found her filling rapidly he
gave orders to abandon the ship. Few
Of the passengers ventured below to
recover their valuables after they
learned that they were in danger. The
Portia had an unusually large number
of passengers on board, and her state
rooms were crowded. The passenger
list was lost, us well as all the ships
papers, and the names cannot be OBJ
Etained here. AS there were lit alto
gether on board, it is estimated hat
there were at least eighty passengers,
sunlme tourists IN II pleasure trip.
The portia was an iron schooner
rugged screw steamer of 732 tons reg
lister, 220 feet long. 81 feet wide and
80 1-a feet deep. She was built at New
Castle in 1884, and was owned in New
York.