Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1901-02-23

one OF the first TO land at Melggs wharf
this morning, ana one OF the first state
ments ne made was that Capt. Ward
had gone down with the wrecked
steamer
According to his story capt Ward
after consulting with Pilot Jordan
cIme down from the bridge. He was
standing on the deck when the vessel
crashed upon the rock. There WAS a
cry Of Man the boats" but II was
apparent that In the midst OF the awfm
confusion a systematic effort 20 save
the passengers would be of no avail
Everybody was scramblng for his own
safety. il was at this time that Lind,
strom says he saw Capt. Ward stand.
ing on the forward deck Suddenly the
captain turned and walking hurriedly
to his cabin disappeared behind the
door, which he closed, a second later
the vessel was plunging to the bottom
Of the sea.
PILOT JoRDANs STORY.
Capt. Frederick W. Jordan, the pilot
Of Rio, was rescued by an Italian fish
ing boat owned by Frederick Castrini
and was brought TO Melggs station
Japanese and Philip Nussenblack. He
was taken up to the room occupied by
the customs officials and told the fol-
lowing story:
I'VE anchored inside about o'clock
last night. The weather was thick and
left orders that when the weather
cleared we should go further In,
CAPTAIN GIVES THE ORDER.
"At a. m. the fog lifted We could
see the Cliff house and the North End
light, and | told the mate TO heaVe
short. After we started heaylng short,
the wind came in from the northeast
and the fog settled in thick, and told
the mate to stop heavlng. Then the
captain came up and said: Let her go.
We can go ahead
Capt Jordan made this statement to
Capt. Freeman and his friends, who
crowded around him To Capt Free
man he said: "Aint in - Of a fix|'
Capt Freeman put his arms about
the pilot and said: Don't talk about it.
You are here. and that Is all we care
ON TO REEF.
Capt Jordan then continued his
story: you see. my watch stopped at
twenty minutes to &, When the vessel
struck. | ordered all the boats out.
The first boat out was that Of the doc
tor 1t was half filled with water no
sooner than she struck the water. l
got a ladder and placed a woman on II
and We began to descend. She had IA
boy with her, a child of about years.
She gave him to me. | held him in my
arms and the little fellow had his arms
around my neck
The woman and ! were about half
way down the ladder when the RIO
gave a tremendous pitch. ! was fiung
off the ladder. / saw nothing then 81
the woman or the boy. went down
with the ship about fifty feet. worked
my way up to the surface and got hold
of some wreckage. | had sense enough
left TO turn on my back and drift with
the wreckage. Then / came across
what seemed to me the top Of a house
with Chnaman on II. He helped me
TO clambor onto the roof. and with him
| drlfted out toward the North heads.
PICKED UP BY FISHING BOAT,
81 was then rescued by the fishing
was believe she had husband, but
he was not on deck when we left.
saw nothing either OF the woman or
boy after | was flung off the ladder
into the water, / saw nothing OF capt.
Ward after we struck. l believe he
Is lost"
A PASSENGERS STATEMENT,
,untt p.a,d.r % Tho firm of
Brander & Co.. London, was one OF the
cabin passengers, who was making a
tour Of the world and boarded the Rio
at Yokohama. He made the following
statement.
al was asleep when the accident hap
nened was awakened by q series
Of Jars and scrapings. and as l arose
! heard the screaming OF women IN the
coNlr. | dressed hastily and went on
deck | saw Capt. Ward and some
officers directing the handling OF boats,
I was excited, Of course, but | could
NOT fail 10 observe many women who
were crowded aft about the boats, one
Of these | remember. was full Of water
--' useless.
81 ran for q life preserver, and had
got one arm through IL when the for
ing nrch and went down, was
standing near one Of the shrouds' ana
| remember grasping these Just as the
vessel Owed down. When found my
self i'm the water, ] was compelled TO
force my way through tile fatiihes OF
The shrouds, finally reached the sur
face and saw people swimming near me
among n lot OF wreckage. Among those
/ recognized Russell Harper, a jour
nalist of Nagasak. who called out 90
me mar both his legs were broken.
LOST eight Of him for a time. but was
,ol1 that he was picked up | was
picked up and taken ashore to the hos
pital."
MFR. Brander could not recall events
definitely. He does not remember the
women he saw on deck were taken off
in the boats. What surprised him was
Thai these women were fully dressed,
circumstance he attributed - the
faet thar they had arisen in order 20
witness the start. ~ had only time
Ia grasp few Of my valuables," he
said "and went on deck. ! should
Judge was there only five or ten min
utes when the shin went down. carry
ING me with II. IL is possible that all
the cabin passengers reached the deck
before the fatal plunge, but | doubt
II. The Chinese in the Storage were
IN the greatest danger, and | am con-
WINGED n large number OF celestials
were drowned" Mr.. Brander's watch
stoned nj twenty minutes Of s o'clock,
thereby indicating that the ship went
down at that time.
STORY OF THE sTEERAGE STEW
ARD.
III. Donahue, the steerage steward,
gives the following as his experience.
II was below decks. but partly dressed
when we struck the rocks. The ship
seemed TO be riding even. and | sud
denly thought Of the steerage. ! ran
with all my might to the steerage ca
bins. where hauled and yanked people
out OF bunks-whltes Chinese and
what not. threw them about. whether
they had clothes on or not. and finally
got twenty-five or thirty OF them on
deck. told them TO save their lives
then u they could. asking them TO get
life-preservers. BY this time the ship
was turning over. and leaving these
people ran 10 the middle deck.
"When / reached there | ran. In my
A..+tiJorp,ont N sha forxpard daoL