The Penn's Grove record., 1901-08-23
STEAMER SUNK BY ICEBERG
Scores Drowned in the Sinking Of the
Islander Of Douglass Island,
CAPTAIN BLAMED FOR DISASTER

II vessel Had Sailed From skagway
with 1913 Passengers, Many Laden
with KIondike Gold-wild Scenes Fol-
lowed the Coliision-Boilers Blew Up as
Ship Went Down-stortes of Survivors
Port Townsend, Wash,-The steamer
Islander, the flagship Of the Canadian
Pacific Navigation feet, and the larS-
est and fastest passenger steamer on
the Victoria Skagway route, struck an
iceberg Off Douglass Island, Alaska, at
. D.. H.. while on her way south with
19S passengers. The vessel sank with
in fifteen minutes after striking. Cap
tain Footc, her master, and sixty
seven others, including passengers and
members of the crew, were drowned.
To add to the horror of the terrible
disaster her boilers exploded as she
went down. causing the death OF many
of those who were struggling in the
water.
It is estimated that about S275,00O
in gold dust sank with the steamer,
OF this amount 100000 was carried
by passengers. Two packages con
tanning $4,000 were left in the purs-
er's safe, the balance in his posses
sion being returned TO passengers be-
fore the steamer sank.
1t is known that siXty-seven lives
We're lost. Among those known to
have persisted were:
DR.. John Duncan, of Victoria; Mrs.
Ross, wife of the Governor of Yukon
Territory, her child and nurse; L.
Mills, Mr.. Bell, Of Victoria; Mrs. John
Nickerson, OF Victoria; Andrew Keat-
ing, of Los Angeles, and his two sons,
Arthur, aged twcnty-three, and Julius,
aged twenty; j.. a. Betham, Of Van
couycr; Mrs. j.. L. Wilcox, of Seattle;
J.. NJ. Douglas, Of Kelly, Douglas & Co.
Vancouver; Mrs. Phillips, wife Of DR..
Phillips, of Seattle, and child.
The members Of the crew lost are:
II. Il. Footc, leaves wife and family;
Horace Smith, second steward; S. j.
Pitts, cook; " Burkholder, oiler, Vic
toria; A. Burk, fireman; ]. Porter, coal
passer; y. Moran, coal passer; Ken
dali, saloon Waterman; Joe Beard,
second pantrymaT; two walters; Geo.
Miles, barber, Victoria; Mrs. Lawson,
Victoria; V. Law, NJ. p. Jacks.
The Islander was a tWin-sCrew
steamer, $40 feet long, forty-two feet
beam, and 14.S feet hold. and pos
seSsed great speed. She had accommo-
dation3 for several hundred passen-
gers and had a large freight capacity.
She was built at Glasgow and cost
over 100000.
The disaster occurred while the
steamer was proceeding out of the
Lynn Canal. Most Of the passengers
and the members of the crew were in
bed at the time, The majority sue
ceeded in reaching the deck, and boats
were quickly manned, hut a large num-
Der went down in their staterooms.
According to the accounts of some
OF the officers and the passengers It
would seem that the great loss of life
might have been in a measure averted
by prompt action on the part of Cap
tain Foote, who is said to have failed
to appreciate the gravity OF the disas-
ter in time.
Hot La Blanc. who had charge of
the steamer when the collision oc-
CURED, says that after the vessel
struck he stopped the engines, and
told the captain that he had better
-~hcld for the beach. The captain, how
ever, thought they would be able to
run a short distance further down,
where the short was less p~recipitous.
Pilot Ia Blanc also said many of
h passengers acted badly, attempt
Ing to jump into the boats before they
had been launched. Had It not been
Tor this croWdlng and rushing he
thinks most would have been saved.
lie says the iceberg was not visible
when the steamer struck. and must
have been level with the water.
The llfeboats and RATS were hur-
rledly launched, and as many pasSen-
gers MS could do so got into them.
Ihe boats had considerable difficulty
in making the shore, on account of
the heavy fog which prevailed. When
they ana so n party, headed by Chief
engineer BroWnlee, at once started
out for Trcadwell, the nearest town.
about twenty-five miles distant. The
IreadWell steamers Lucy and .Jeuni-
ker and the juneau steamer Flossie
were Immediately dispatched to the
scene of the wreck.
The scenes which followed the col
ision can best be given in the words
or some OF the passengers of the
wrecked steamer, who telI of their
thrilling experiences during the dis
aster.
f. G. Hindc-Bowker, of London.
England, was one of the passengers,
He said:
u was In my cabin when the col
Ilsl0n occurred. | got up, went out,
and saw the steamer sinking at the
DOW, woke my partner, Mr.. Magh-
len, and we dressed. | went on the
upper deck, followed by my partner.
The boats We're gone. Only the stern
was now out of the water. [ saw n
faltef over the side with eight or ten
persons on it. l slid down the rome
onto the rafe. When the steamer
sank the raft with all on board was
carried under water by the suction.
u held on, and when the raft came
up only two Of us were left. We
nailed three men. one o Chiuaman
VINO We're swimming and got them
aboard. by this time the steamer
mad sunk entirely out of sight. MANY
people hung Oh to the raft at different
times, but il was not alright and we
mad much difficulty in keeping afoat.
Workmen Find $1,000.
An Iron chest. containing $1,000 In
spanish coins, was found while ex-
on VptiuH in III, II,,,.-r. ~