The Kalispell bee. [volume] (Kalispell, Mont.) 1900-192?, 1901-02-26

San Francisco, Feb. 23.-The sink
ing of the Pacific Mail steamer Rio
de Janeiro, after striking rock in
the Golden Gate during the dense
fog yesterday morning, was the most
appalling disaster this coast has
known for years. Many bodies of the
l2O or more victims are at the bot
tom of the sea and many may never
be recovered. The water where the
ship lies is deep and the current
swift, and the dead, with the most
Oh the wreck, will probably be car
ried far out into the Pacific. The
number Of lives lost may never be
known exactly owing to the fact
that the vessels records were lost,
and it is practically impossible to
tell just how many Chinese were in
the Asiatic steerage. The Call this
morning, basing it's figures on state
ments of the Pacific mail officials,
says that 1872 persons perished, the
Chronicle gives the number at 12S
and the Examiner state that III can
not be accounted for. The vessel with
it's valuable cargo will be total loss.
The reports of the disaster are still
very conflicting. Pilot Jordan declares
that they were coming in slowly.
when thick fog settled down on
the water. They were going about
six miles an hour, and the tide was
running out at four miles an hour.
1t was dangerous to go any slower
and the only thing to be done was to
keep on and watch carefully. He
could see the lights near the Cliff
house andFort Point and he figured
they were we'll in the stream when
the vessel suddenly struck. Capt Ward
asked what should be DONE and Jor-
dan judging from the great damage
that would be done by the jagged
rocks said:
Get out all your boats at once"
Captain Ward sprang to the star
board side and was getting boats out
when the bow suddenly dropped
down.
Jordan rushed from the bridge down
to the deck, realizing that the ship
was sinking. He helped Mrs. Wild
man into boat and had one of the
Wildman children grasp him around
the neck. The vessel sank, He
thought he went down fully fifty
feet. When he came up the child was
gone. He could see nothing of the
steamer or any of the boats, so ne
struck out and was soon able to climb
on part of the deck house on which
one Chinese was floating After three
hours they were picked up.
Surgeon O'Neil was picked up with
one Japanese and several Chinese
passengers by the Russian ship Har-
Dlnger. The surgeon was not injured
by his experience and he told one
of the clearest stories of the terri
BILE disaster. He said:
: 1T was exactly $50 O'Clock when
we struck, as I took note of the time
by my clock. The ship struck with
an awful crash, and the blow must
have torn out the entire side near
the bow. She sank very rapidly and
was under water in such a short time
that no effort could be made to launch
the boats. Almost in moment the
ship presented scene of wild disord-
er. Nearly every passenger was
asleep when the ship struck and they
came rushing in their night clothes
only to find no means of escape.
when I hurried out on deck I met
Quartermaster Lindstrom. He said
the ship was ashore. I asked how
much water was under her. He said
he did not know Mrs. Wakefield
and her daughter were on deck i'm
mediately and asked me what hall
happened. / said Nothing, except