The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1901-03-02
Cnptain.s coolnese.

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Capitalize Coolnese.
Capt. Ward, who was on deck when
the vessel struck, at once gave orders
TO the crew on watch to hurry the pas
sengers on to the forward deck. AT the
sas time the quartermaster on duty
sou..4ed the signal for fire drill. and
within five minutes all the men We're
at their stations. There was nc way
of telling the extent of the damage
to the vessel, as she remained IN an
even keel for fifteen minutes after
striking the rock. but Capt. Ward, with
the instinct OF long experience, knew
souls In his charge, and pacing The
deck, he gave orders to lower away
the life boats and life RATS. There was
not much confusion until, fifteen min
utes after the ship struck, her bow sud-
denly plunged under water. Then there
was a wild rush for the boats. Two
boats had already been lowered, and
as the trained discipline of the crew
could prepare them. A thick fog en-
veloped everything, and as yet no sign
had come from the life saving stations.
Darkness was all about, and with this
added horror, the people on the Rio
q to cope.
Some of the Saved.
One boat got clear of the vessel with
out damage. 1t contained the following
persons.
Mrs. West.
Mrs Ripley.
Chief Engineer Herlihey.
Second Officer Coghlan.
Frank Cram2.
j. r. Russell.
Storekceper Borgg.
Water Tender ID. Lane.
Quartermaster r.. Mathieson.
Captain Hecht of the German navy.
The boat got clear of the sinking YES
sci and then 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 Officer
Holland and j. K. Carpenter, got away.
but drifted around close up under the
how of the steamer AS the forward end
of the vessel plunged downward. the
prov caught the small boat and cut 1t in
two. The W men in the boat were un-
injured, and swan away from the sink
ing 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 ave persisted.
a number of Italian fishermen who
were just starting out saw the sinking of
the Rio and at once FASTENED to render
every assistance In their power.
Tho Pilots Story.
There are several conflicting stories
concerning the fate Of Captain Ward.
The steward OF the Rio says he stood
beside the captain when the vessel
went down. Two other survivors Soy
they also saw the captain, but Fred K.
Lindstrom, quartermaster, emphatical-
ly declared Captain Ward emulated
Admiral Tryon of II. NJ. S. Victoria in
going down in the capin, where he
met his doom behind locked doors. 1t
Is certain Captain ward was drowned,
however.
From stories told by survivors of the
calamity, all of which conflict more or
less in detail, it is safe to presume Pilot
Jordan is the only living person quail
lied to tell. exactly how the catastro-
phc happened and who is responsible
for it. The captain is dead, and be-
tween him and the pilot the ship was
stored to her doom.
TIE Captains Fate.
The pilots story is to the effect that
after the ship entered the heads and
the fog enveloped her he notified the
captain it was unsafe to proceed, but
the latter ordered him to go ahead.
The captains order was obeyed. And
therein the pilot confesses himself at
fault, for from the moment the ship
was taken IN hanu Dy MIN his author-
ity In ell matters pertaining to her
navigation vas supreme and he was
solely responsible for her safety and
the people aboard her.
Conduct of Onicers and Crew.
There are conflicting statements as
to the conduct of the officers and crew.
Some say the officers and sailor were
cool, con%scientiously endeavoring to get
out the boats and save as many of the
passengers as possible, while others de-
clare that as soon as the seriousness Of
the situation became apparent there
was an II to discipline among the
seamen and that 1t was Every man
for himself" In launching the boats
1t is said confusion prevailed. One load
of passengers and sailors was dumped
into the sea. The first boat that got
away was impaled upon a spar as the
men aboard 1t We're trying to row 1t
away from the suction caused by the
sinking vessel. -Four boats altogether
were cleared from the davits, but so far
as can be learned only one OF them got
safely away and landed it's passengers
Italian fishermen rescued others. The
wreck lies about three-fourths Of a mile
south of Fort Point and about 1000
Ma l.1S mfr a rocky chpra Eg# a