The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-12-02
So Far AS Can Be Determined but
Three Persons Were Drowned
After Collision of Ferry Boats
in San Francisco Bay
CAPTAIN TELLS THE
STORY OF THE WRECK
Says Passengers Were Merry and
Perfect Discipline Prevented
Panic and Loss of Life-Fire
man of the SausaIito Proved
Himself a Hero

| San Francisco, Dec. $50 far as can
be determined only three lives were
lost in the collision between the ferry
boats San Rafael and Sausalito last
night. Those drowned We're w. G.
Crandall. secretary of the Long syrup
works, George Treadway, a waiter on
the San Rafael, and a three-year-old
son of Mrs. Waller of Ross Valley. The
body of CrandaIl was washed ashore
today.
In the panic that followed after the
collision about 20 passengers were
more or less injured. Mrs. Waller of
Ross Valley was on the San Rafael
with her two little children, a boy and
a girl. The girl was safely carried from
the San Rafael to the SauSalitO. Mrs.
Waller had the little boy in her arms
and was following when the sinking
steamer gave a sudden lurch and the
little fellow was thrown from her arms.
The mother cried frantically for some
one to rescue the boy, but it could not
be done.
Tredway was pinioned by the splin-
tering timbers when the Sausalito
struck and after some difficulty was
eXtricated He was hurried to the up
per deck of the injured vessel and that
was the last seen of him, according tc
the survivors,
If there were more than three per-
sons drowned it will not be known for
several days No other persons are
reported missing,
At least 200 people were on the San
Rafael After the boats struck the
Sausalito was brought up alongside
sinking San Rafael. 1t was Is minutes
I,-F Lot aI ont
down. This gave ample time to trans
fer the passengers.
Can't. Mckenzie of the San Rafael
said that the fog was as dense as he
had ever seen it on the bay, which he
has been navigating since 1S49.
Sometime before the Sausalito got
near us" said Capt. Mckenzie, Il
stopped my boat and blew the danger
signal The Sausalito answered with
two whistles and 1 backed my boat,
kept her backing all the Time for l
wanted to take unusual precautions.
While we were backing l suddenly saw
the dim outlines of the SausalitOs
light steaming head-on, under slow bell
toward my boat. She was scarcely a
boats length away when 1 first saw
her.
The Sausalito crashed into the San
Rafael just a little forward of midship.
The women and children began to
scream and many of the men became
greatly excited, held my post and sent
my mate below to find out the extent
of the damage and to quiet the pas
.sengers. My crew took their proper
positions and as far as they were con-
cerned kept their heads and worked
according to their accident drill.
In the meantime I sang out to Capt.
Tribble of the Sausalito to stay along
side, which he did. l then set about
to do what l could to see that every
body got aboard the Sausalito. We
lowered three lifeboats and the Sausa-
children were piled into them, but we
put most of the passengers on the
Sausalito by handing them over the
rail. We passed the women and chill
dren over the rail and thrNSgh the
windows and most of the men hustled
on to the Sausalito without aid.
Nearly all of the passengers be-
haved very we'll They were as cool
and as nervy lot of people as I would
want to find anywhere.
IF some of the passengers did not
jump overheard during the panic i'm
mediately following the collision, l
should say that there were not any
lives lost. l am quite certain that no
body was lost overheard during the
transferring of the passengers. Those
that were in the water We're hauled
aboard with ropes, and everybody who
went into the lifeboat that capsized
had life preservers on"
OF the many heroic stories told in
connection with the accident is the
one relating to Fireman Gielow of the
SausalitO. AS the San Rafael was
sinking it was remembered that her
fires were still burning and her boilers
hot. There was immediate danger of
d terrible explosion. Without a mo-
ments hesitation, Gielow volunteered
to dive into the hull and shut off the
steam. Diving through the submerged
boiler room, he reached the valves and
shut off the steam.
The San Rafael was the fastest fer
ryboat on the bay. She was built in
New York and was shipped across in
pieces arriving on this coast il 1877.
James S. McCue, a well-known horse
man and old-time circus man, had his
right arm broken, his right ear almost
torn from his head and sustained in
ternal injuries.