Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1901-03-01
I2S WERE DROWNED.
PACIFIC MAIL STEAMER WRECK
ED OFF GOLDEN GATE.


Few Minutes-Wild Rush for the
Boats-Consul General Wildman and
Family Persisted.
The Pacific Mail steamer Rio dc
| Janeiro ran on a hidden rock while
entering the Golden Gate at San Fran
cisco in a dense fog early Friday
morning and sank in a few minutes.
two-thirds of a mile from shore. one
hundred and twenty-eight of the pa
persons on board were drowned.
Among those who persisted were
Rounesville Wildman, United States
| Consul general at Hong Kong, who
was accompanied by his wife and two
| children.
Capt Ward and his principal OIL.
GERS were lost, also % of the cabin
| passengers. Many of the victims
were Chinese and japanese steerage
| passengers.
The Rio Janeiro was commanded by
Captain William Ward and Pilot Jor-
dan. They tried to bring the ship
| into port in the darkness of early
| morning, the difficulty being aug
mented by a fog, which. while it did
not shut out the the Cliff House and
Fort Point lights entirely, was proba-
bly, the determining factor in bringing
about the disaster. The ship struck
at 5.25 a. m, on Fort Point ledge
crushing in her bow and sinking in a
short time estimated at from five to
10 minutes. So quickly did she go
down that many boats still hung at the
davits and were dragged down with
the vessel. Pilot Jordan was saved.
From all accounts it appears that
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 on
watch to hurry the passengers to the
forward deck. At the same time the
quartermaster on duty sounded the
signal for the fire drill, and within
five minutes all the men were at their
stations There was no way of tell
ing the extent of the damage to the
81 vessel as she remained on an even
| keel for Is minutes after striking
But Capt. Ward, with the instinct OF
; long experience, knew that the gravest
danger threatened the 200 souls in his
charge and he gave orders to lower
the lifeboats and life RATS. There
was not much confusion until, . min
/ utes after striking, the bow of the YES
5 sci suddenly plunged under water
. Then there was a wild rush for the
5 boats. Two boats had already been
2 lowered ana others were getting away
5 as rapidly as the trained discipline OF
f the crew could prepare them, \ thick
fog enveloped everything and as yet
no sign had come from the life-saying
stations. Darkness was all about
adding to the horror with which the
people on the Rio had to cope.
One boat got clear of the vessel ant
! | then stood by to help pick up those
:, who We're in the water. Another boat
containing Third officer Holland ant
j. X. Carpenter. got away, but drifteC
| 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 uninjur
= ed, and swan away from the sinkin.
steamer just in time to avoid beinl
caught in the swirl of water caused by
the settling of the big ship.
!, A number of Italian fishermen WHIT
, We're just starting out saw the sink
. ing of the Rio and at once fastened I,
= render assistance, saving many lives
. While all this was going on, Capt
. Ward was directing the passenger
and trying to keep them from panic
He succeeded only partly, as man.
. of the terrified people rushed to tn
ratings and jumped overheard an,
IS were drowned. The Chinese crew. T.
e the number of more than 100 was tel
IT rorized Some of them huddled il
Is little groups, chattering in feal
u Others crouched close to the deck
il moaning pitifully. Many jumped int
u the sea.
u There are several conflicting stoTie
II concerning the fate of Capt. Ward
n The steward of the Rio says that h
stood beside the captain when the yes
= sci went down. Two other survivor
say that they also saw the captain t
the last, but Frederick Lindstrom. tn
quartermaster of the Rio, emphatican
declares that Capt. Ward emulated At
, miral Tryon of her Britannia majesty
Il ship, Victoria, in going down to hi
cabin, where he met his doom benin
It locked door.
Rounseville Wildman was born i
Batavia, N. Y, on March 10, 1864 Hi
father was a Methodist clergyman. II
studied at the Genesee Wesleyan Sen
mary and was graduated at SyTacus
University. From college he went t
Boise City, Idaho, and became the eC
tor of the Idaho Statesman Later o
as a delegate to Congress he had niue
to do with having the territory mad
state, He was also editor of tn
Overland Magazine in San Francisc
at one time. He was sent to Sing;
pore as United States consul in 1SS
10 and after that to Barmen, Germany, i
&c the same capacity. In 1898 he was tn
t. representative of the Straits Settl,
c ments and Borneo at the Worlds Fai
in Chicago, and for the next thre
10 years served as United States consl
~ to Hong Kong. He was promoted I
be consul general in 1898. He ma
- ried niece of Senator Stewart {
Nevada.
| SO Lives Lost in Wyoming Mine.
Thirty-siX men have persisted in min
No. ! of the Diamondville coal an
coke company near Cheyenne, wy,
The fire was discovered shortly aftt