The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-04-01

the officials of the London &c South
western Railway company, not more
than seventy persons were drowned.
Other reports. however, place the NUM-
Der of drowned much higher.
The disaster caused intense excite
ment in the island of Guernsey and
here There were narrowing scenes at
the offices Of the London & Southwest
ern railway at both places. Many fam
lies lost one or more relatives.
Husbands are inquiring for their
wives. and wives are asking after their
husbands; parents are seeking news of
olst children, and children are making
inquiries for missing parents. All the
flags are half-masted at st. Peter Lee
port.
Up to noon today 1O2 passengers had
been accounted for, including Mr.. j.
Parton and his wife. Mr.. Parton is the
manager of the Western London Office
of the American line. The steamers
Honfieur and Verna are cruising in the
vicinity of the wreck.
Another steamer of the same COM
pany. which arrived at the Island of
Jersey about noon today, reports hav-
ing passed many bodies of victims of
the disaster about the Casquet rocks.
A survivor of the disaster named
Bush says the speed of the Stella in
the fog was not diminished, though the
fog whistles were sounded. Bush adds
that at $3.50 a. m. the engineer showed
him in the engine room a dial register
ing a speed of 1S1s knots. He says the
vessel struck within twenty-five miles
afterwards.
Bush further asserts that two life
boats were sunk with the steamer.
which, after resting on the rocks for
ten or fifteen minutes, split in two and
disappeared. 1t is thought possible the
Partons were the only Americans on
board, as the list of survivors does not
contain the names of any other Ameri-
cans that is known. The second mate
is the only officer of the Stella who was
saved.
HEARTRENDING SCENE.
The scene at the moment of the sink
ing of the vessel was heartrend1ng.
Those who had succeeded in getting in
to the boats had a narrow escape from
being engulfed on account of the sue
ton caused by the sinking vessel.
, The voice of Captain Rocks from the
bridge was frequently heard urging the
rowers to pull for their lives. The
boats were adrift fifteen hours, during
which their occupants We're without
food or water and, as their clothes were
drenched, they suffered greatly.
The disaster is generally attributed
to the high speed at which the steamer
was travelling in the fog.
The steamer Honfeur returned to-
night, after having made the circle of |
the Casquet rocks. She picked up two |
boats containing womens' clothing, Jew
elry, money and an opera glass case. !
The last had evidently been used in |
bailing Many pathetic incidents are
In several cases men left |
their wives and ran into the boats and |
then persisted in their presence. One |
wife who was thus bereaved lost her |
reason
A large number of survivors arrived |
here without any clothing, clad only in |
blankets.
STORIES OF SURVIVORS.
London, March S1.-The news of the
disaster to the Stella spread slowly
London, in the absence of the
usual newspapers, today being Good !
Friday AS the afternoon advanced
small groups gathered at the Waterloo
station, where many painful scenes &C
Cured. A large crowd collected to
wait the arrival of the train from
this evening, which
brought three of the survivors, Messrs.
David King, a. London merchant; He'll
bron| and Greener, all of whom bore
evident traces of their sufferings.
Mr.. King, who was among the last
to leave the ship, said:
Toward evening we encountered
mist, which soon developed into
dense fog. There was, however, no ap-
Suddenly a great shock
told us that the Stella had struck the
rocks Screams rent the air; but the
cooIness of the officers considerably al
ayed the excitement. The crew behav-
ID splendidly, lowering the boats with
he greatest promptitude. Every wo-
nan was supplied with a life belt. At
irst we thought there would be time
'or all the boats to clear away. but sud
lenly the boilers burst with a deafen-
ng report, rending the ship amid
ships"
Mr.. King and two firemen, Osborne
and Bailey, were the last to leave the
vessel. He had just given up a life
1elt to aid clergyman's wife, and was
literally pulled into a boat by Second
Mate Reynolds, who was instrumental
n saving many lives.
The boat, with twenty-five persons,
irifted for fifteen hours in the intense
,old. and was finally picked up by the
Great Western railways steamer Vera,
rom southampton.
Mr. King believes that five boats Were
aunched He saw one upturned, with
children clinging to it.
uTES WANT pEhCE