The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1901-02-26
and Captain Hecht, of the German

anu captain hecnt, VI lhe Uei"oh
navy.
This boat got clear of the sinking
vessel, and men 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 Of
ficer Holland and ]. X. Carpenter,
got away, but was 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 1t in
two. The two men In the boat were
unniured and swan away from the
sinking steamer just in time to avoid
being caught in the swirl of water
caused by the settling of the big
ship. Carpenter was picked up by
the other boat. The fate of Holland
is not known, but he Is supposed to
have perished.
Assisted by italian Fishermen.
a number of Italian fishermen, who
We're just starting out, saw the sink
ing of the Rio, and at once fastened
to render every assistance in their
power.
While all this was going on Cap
tain Ward was directing the passen-
gers and trying to keep them from
panic He succeeded only partially,
as many of the terrified people rushed
to the ratings and jumped overheard.
Some of these were picked up, others
were drowned. The Chinese crew, to
the number of more than n hundred
was terrified. Some of them huddled
in little groups, chatterlng in fear.
Others crouched close to the deck,
moaning pitifully. Many jumped into
the sea.
Captain Ward remained on deck
until the vessel had settled to such
an extent that the water was engulr-
| ing him. Then he went up on the
| bridge and from there continued to
issue his directions, although by this
! time the confusion was so great that
few paid any attention to his COM
mands.
That the steamer sank almost i'm
mediately after striking Is the report
of majority of those rescued, and
that in five minutes she went down,
while others declare that she stayed
4oat for about half an hour after
she struck.
The smokestack and portion Of
| the upper works of the ill-fated
steamer are visible.
Conflicting Stories About Captain.
There are several conflicting stories
concerning the fate of Captain Ward.
The steward of the Rio says that he
stood beside the captain when the
vessel went down. Two other surviv-
ors say that they also saw the cap
tain to the last, but Frederick Lind.
strOm, the quartermaster of the Rio,
emphatically declared that Captain
Ward emulated Admiral Tryon, of
her British majesty's ship Victoria,
In going down to his cabin, where he
met his doom behind a locked door.
Washington, Feb. 23.-COnsul Gen
eral Wildman had not been In the
United States since the Spanish war
broke out. He was appointed from
California and was related to Senator
| Stewart Of Nevada, having married
n niece of the latter His service in
the east covered all the events lead
ing up to and including the Spanish
American war. He was In communi-
cation with Aguinaldo at the time
of Admiral Dewey's famous victory
and was accused by the Filipino lead
er of having made unfulflled prom
lses to him, but steadily denied the
statements to this effect. Mr.. Wild
man was on his way home on leave
of absence. He was a native of Ell
mira, n. Y, but about ~ years ago
went to Idaho. where he was the edi.
tor of a paper at Boise City. About
this time Mr.. Wildman was appoint.
ed consul at Singapore, and after his
return located at San Francisco
where be engaged in magazine work