Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1902-01-06
BUT NINE DEAD.
Rest oil WaIIa WaIIa's List Are Sale. Bark
Max Badly Damaged.

San Francisco, Jan. 1.-THE French
steamship Walla Walla. early Thursday
morning. is being towed to this city in
badly disabled condition. The steam
er George w. Elder from Portland. re
ports that she passed the Max. this
morning. in tow of the steamer Acme and
the United States revenue cutter McCui-
loch Is miles northwest of Point Reyes.
The Max's bowsprit was carried away
and her bow was stove in both above and
below the water line. Her water tight
compartments alone were keeping her
afoat
Ninety-two survivors of the Walla Wal
la arrived here. today, from Eureka on
the steamer Pomona. There is still SOME
discrepancy in the list of dead and MIS-
ing. This discrepancy is due to the fact
that several passengers boarded the YES
sci just as she was leaving port. Others
who We're travelling secOnd-ciass gave as
sumed names in order to hide their iden-
tity. BY striking out what are possfl lie
duplicates. the number of lost stands n
A., ella ssed as follows:
Wnown dead. 8; missing, passengers. Is:
crew. 20. One life raft is unaccounted for
and it is feared that all the missing are
lost.
Rev. Henry Erickson. who was amons
the six survivors brought to this city by
the steamer Nome City, last night. is at
a hospital a physical and almost men
tai wreck. His wife and three children
are among the dead and missing.
The Erickson family. excepting the
mother, were second-claSS passengers.
When the crash came they were awak-
ened and all got on the upper deck to-
gether. Mrs. Erickson and the two
younger children were separated from
their father and the elder brother. What
their fate was is not known, but it is
vessel went down.
Erickson and his son chung together
and were pitched into the water clear OF
the sinking steamer. They fioated around
for some time and finally were picked UP
by the life raft, on which We're num-
Der of the officers of the Walla Walla.
1t was almost daybreak when they
were found and there We're in an exhaus st
ed condition Father and son were pulled
on the light structure, but the boy was
too weak to stand the exposure. A few
hours Later. he died in his fathers arms
and after the heartbroken man had bow
ed his head in silent prayer the body
was consigned to the waves.
The sea was running nigh and dashing
over the raft, but all chung to 1t through
the long hours of the day and the night.
They hoped against hope until the Nome
CITY picked them up. Mr.. Erickson was
the first to be lifted aboard. 1t is thought
he will recover from the terrible elects
Cecil Brown, fourth officer of the Wall
Walla, who was one of the six picked up
by the Nome City. describing the scenes
as the Walla Walla was going down,
said:
Il never saw such n panic. Men and
women were running about the decks
wild with fear and it was almost impos-
sible to get them to obey directions.
Il have been in several shpwrecks. but
I never saw people before who were so
opposed to being saved They wanted
to stay with the ship to the last minute
and our efforts in getting the boats load.
ed and lowered met with great deal OF
difficulty.
INV pace was in one of the boats and
but for the stupidity or knavery OF a
sailor | would have been there. This
boat was lowered and | ordered the man
i'm the boat not to cast Off until l gave
the word While / was busy helping
passengers off. this sailor pushed on ana
left me. | saw his boat after daylight
She had eight people aboard. The sailor
who had disobeyed my orders was direct
ing her movements. They had rugged up
a blanket for a sail and sailed by us with
n good wind at their backs. This sailor
would not take us aboard, although mere
was plenty of room for us in the boat.
He sailed past us and left us to our 1atc
ont in the middle of the ocean.
..The raft on which we were drifting
when the Nome City picked US up was
only an ordinary ships raft. IL feet
lection from the cold night, nor from the
waves that frequently swept over US.
The greatest part of the time the ran
was under water. Our clothes were
drenched and by morning they were al
most frozen stiff. Several times we trie,i
10 nronel our raft toward the shore but
failed. We were badly exhausted from
being exposed to the frosty morning ar
after our plunge into the icy waters we
finally gave up trying to row ana allowed
ourselves to drift. in the hope OF pel NE
Saw a number of vessels passing during
Tho c6 hours we were adrift but none saw
ms until the Nome City happened along.