The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1903-02-26


sight and as the vessel steamed
nearer they signalled frantically tt
| attract attention.
Those on board the Roberts saw
the signs and put on all steam to the
| rescue
The saved were quickly taken from
| the sunken boat and hurried to thu
firerOom of the Roberts, where the.
were dried out and given hot drinks
| At Edenton, whittier the Robert.
was bound. all hands were put ashor'
| and took the first train over the Nor
folk & Southern for Norfolk.
| CAPTAIN WITTY MAKES STATEMENT OF
| WRECK.
To Virginian-Pilot reporter Cap
tain q. H. Witty, of the wrecked
steamer Olive, made the following
statement last night before leaving
for Franklin over the Seaboard All
Line:
''Before beginning want to ask yor
to express my thanks for the courte
Gus treatment accorded US by the
men on the tug of the Norfolk &
Southern Railroad, which saved ouI
lives.
Il have been navigating the East
ern Virginia and Carolina waters ever
since 1867, and have been master OF
the Olive for over eight years.
Eve left Franklin on time Monday
morning and had been making good
headway all day, Notwithstanding a
strong breeze from the Southwest was
blowing. Our regular landings were
made and everything was running
well, though | noticed that the wind
was increasing.
''After darkness set in it began to
blow a regular gale, and when |
passed Holly's wharf at $40 the wind
had become so violent that | decided
not to venture into Edenton bay,
where it was open, but to turn around
and GO back up the river, where there
was shelter from the wind.
HORRIBLE ROAR WHEN CYCLONE STRUCK
SHIP.
''The boat was put about without
much difficulty, and the return trip
had been started when suddenly a
horrible roaring began to come
toward us from the Northwest
"Everything became inky black,
and it was impossible to see a ship S
length ahead. All at once | made
out a mountain-high line of white
foam bearing directly on my port
side, and in another second the cy-
clone hit us.
'It was like nothing l had ever ex-
perienced before. Itwas like Heaven
and earth had come together, only a
thousand times worse.
'The Olive stood straight on her
beam and water poured into her
shattered windows and portfolios in
great volumes. Then she began to
right and settle at the same time. l
was caught in the pilot house and
could not get out, but j. P. Murphy,
the assistant engineer, who was Off
duty at the time, managed to crawl
up and hel lp me force the door. We
made our way back along the top of
the deckhouse, which was already
under water. to where the life-bOats
had been. Two had been carried
away, but one, the large metal boat,
remained 1t was iammed tight
against the smoke-stack.
COULD HEAR sHRIEKs OF HELPLESS
DYING.
"From below we could hear the
shrieks and groans of the passen-
gers and crew who were penned down
with the water rushing on them, and
the fact that we could not move a
hand to save them made the matter
only more terrible for us.
"Around the life-boat l found Chief
Engineer Conway, Purser Bell, the
colored stewardess, Martha Barrett,
one white and six colored passen-
gers and two colored deck hands.
''An the rest were drowned.
Captain Witty then described the
launching of the life-boat and the
hopes of reaching the tug whose
lights could be seen in the distance,
and declared that when he saw the
boat disappear he felt that the last
string connecting him with life had
been cut, but that he was going to
stick to the boat.
According to his statement the
Olive carried himself. two engineers,
a purser, a stewardess. four deck
hands, two firemen, a cook and a
porter and that there were about
eighteen passengers on board.
All told, thirty-One people.
OF this number eight were saved in
the life-boat and six by the Marie
Roberts. or fourteen. This leaves
seventeen dead, accounted for.
LIFE-BOAT CREW WERE SAVED BY THE
GAZELLE.
A special to the THginian-PHOt
from Suffolk last night reports the
fact that the people who embarked
on the life-bOat were saved after hav-
ing rowed four hours in an unsuccess-
full effort to reach the tug, which was
sighted by it's lights from the wrecked
steamer.
The life-boat finally reached a
barge which was anchored in the
river, and the benumbed and tired
crew clambered aboard.
Shortly afterwards the tug Gazelle,
owned by the John L. Roper Lumber
Company, hove in sight and took
them off, landing them at Tunis,
where they took the train for Suffolk
THE ILL-FATED STEAMER.
The Olive was owned by a small
stock company at Franklin, in which
Messrs. J. A. and r. A. Pretlow are
the principal holders.
She was an old-style side-while craft
and, although more than thirty
years old, was regarded as one o
the staunchest vessels OF her class il
the inland passenger steamboat ser
vice in this section OF the Atlantic
coast. She was built in Philadelphia
in 1869, and after seeing considera
bic service in waters further North
ward was sent to Norfolk, where sh