Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1901-02-28
CARRIED POI PERSONS.
Of These 112 are Missing and
Undoubtedly Perished.
STRUCK A HIDDEN ROCK.
Officers Of the Ship Were Brave, but
the Crew Became TerrOr-Strictxcn
and Few Of Them Escaped-Capt.
Ward Went Down with His Ship.

a hidden rock while entering the
Golden Gate early Friday morning in
| Il dense fog. She sank a few minutes
| after striking. 1t is thought that
nearly 115 persons We're drowned,
| but it is impossible to ascertain the
exact number, owing to the fact that
! Purser John Rooney, who had the
| passenger list and roster of the crew,
| is missing.
At ) o'clock Friday afternoon ten
bodies had been recovered-two
white women, one white man and
seven Chinese. The most prominent
| passenger on the steamer was Roun-
seville Wildman, United States con
| sui at Hong Kong, who was accom-
| panied by his wife and two children.
| 1T is thought all were drowned. The
ship was in command of Pilot Fred
ericll Jordan when she struck. He
was rescued. Captain William Ward
went down with his vessel.
As nearly as can be learned there
were POI people on board the Rio
| Janeiro, as follows: Cabin passen-
| gers %, second cabin Z. steerage (Chi-
nese and Japanese) So, officers and
| crew 107.
The following have been accounted
| for: Rescued 10, bodies at the
morgue TO- total 80; missing 112.
The Rio Janeiro was three days
overdue from Hong Kong when she
| arrived off the Heads Thursday. and
the dense fog prevailing at the time
| induced Pilot Jordan to bring her to
anchor until he could see his way
clear through the gateway. She laid
| to until about 30 a. M, when the
| atmosphere cleared and she was
| started toward Point Bonita. All
went we'll until $40 o'clock, when
she struck. Most of the passengers
were below at the time, and it is be-
lieved that many of them were
drowned in their berths.
The officers were cool and gave the
necessary orders with the least pos
sible excitement. Capt. Ward, who
was on deck when the vessel struck,
at once gave orders to the crew to
hurry the passengers to the forward
deck. At the same time the quar-
termaster sounded the signal for fire
drill and within five minutes all the
men were at their stations. There
was no way of telling the extent of
the damage to the vessel. as she re-
manned on an even keel for ID min
utes after striking. But Capt. Ward
gave orders to lower the life boats
and life RATS.
There was not much confusion
until, Is minutes after striking, the
bow of the vessel suddenly plunged
under water. Then there was a wild
rush for the boats. Two boats had
already been lowered and others
were getting away as rapidly as the
crew could prepare them. thick
fog enveloped everything, and no
sign had come from the life saving
stations. Darkness was all about,
and with this added horror the peo-
pie on the Rio had to cope. One boat
got clear of the vessel without dam
age This contained two women and
eight men.
This boat got clear of the sinking
vessel and then stood by to help in
picking up those who had no time to
get into the boats and were in the
water.
Another boat, containing Third
Officer Holland and J. X. Carpenter
got away, but drifted around close up
under the bow of the steamer. AS
the forward end of the vessel plunged
downward, the prov caught the
small boat and cut it in two. The
two men in the boat were uniniured
and swan away from the sinking
steamer just in time to avoid being
caught in the swirl of water caused
by the sinking of the ship. Carpen-
ter was picked up by the other boat.
The Chinese crew, to the number
of more than 100. were terrorized.
Some of them huddled in little groups
chattering in fear. Others crouched
close to the deck, moaning pitifully.
Many jumped into the sea.
Capt. Ward remained on deck until
the vessel had settled to such an eX-
tent that the water was engulting
him. Then he went up on the bridge
and from there continued to issue
directions, although the confusion
was so great that few paid any at
tention to his commands. That the
steamer sank almost Immediately
after striking is the report of a ma
iority of those rescued. Some of the
passengers say that she instantly
lifted forward and that in five min
utes she went down, while others
declare that she stayed afioat for
half an hour after she struck
Italian fisherman brought to the
Merchants Exchange station - bags
of mail which they picked up at the
scene of the wreck. These include
two pouches from the United States
military station in China, also two
bags of registered mail. When the
registered bags were delivered il was
found that they had been ripped open
with a knife and all their contents
stolen. When this crime was COM
mitted is question, but the fisher
men who brought them in are not
suspected and it is impossible to de-
termine who the robbers are.
The Rio carried in all 200 bags of
mail Five bags of newspapers are
among the rescued sacks.