The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-01-10
ONE LIVES ARE LOST
Old Salts Had Foreseen Dire
 Disaster.
At ths Christening Bottle of Cham pagns FAiled to Break, and Then the Vessels Doom Was
 Sealed.


 Clallam of the Seattle Victoria fleet went down early this morning midway be- tween Smith Island and Dungeness, in the Straits of Juan de Puca. Fifty-one persons were drowned. The vessel was a regular passenger packet and was not yet year old.
 When she was launched at Tacoma Last April the bottle of champagne was not broken. but fell and slid down along the side of the vessel. Old seamen predicted that disaster would overtahe the vessel time 1t would be a difEicult matter to se- cure crew to man the vessel
 Among the dead are:
 Captain l.. Thompson, Tacoma, Lloyds agent; Brumejo Lehman. Tacoma, cus- toms inspector; Captain Lawrence. Vic toria Yukon river pilot; Mrs. s. F. Bol- ton, Alberta. B. C., who was on her we'd ding tour: N. F. Shaw. Victoria. ship owner; c. W. Thompson, Tacoma, presi- dent of the Washington Cooperative Mining Company: Mrs. A. J. Gately. Victoria, wife of the manager of the Bank of Montreal.
 Women and Children Die.
 Every woman and child aboard the ClaIlam perished within ttree miles of shore and at time when 1t appeared that the boat would be saved. Every ef- fort was made to save the women and children in the lifeboats. They were plac- cd in the first boat to leave the ship, which Captain Lawrence. Yukon pilot. volunteered to command. and which was manned by deck hands. The frail craft went down within sight of the CiaIiam. and Q second lifeboat filled with many passengers, and in command of Second odicer Clarin. was lost a few minutes later.
 The watchers from the ClaIlam saw waves sweep passengers from their hold on tka seats and htsfl them Into the wa ters. Though the liseboaf vas lighted later, a diiigent search has failed to find fface of her. More passengers and mem bars Of the crAw were lust when q third Iifsbnat was axSainpad i1i ait attempt % launch it. TlsEeo passengeFs who had fastened life prasefvers about them wers picked up by the steamer Babats. They had died from exposure and their bod les were brought to Seattle to-day.
 staunch New Boat.
 The Clallam was 8 staunch new pas. senger boat on the Seattle Victoria run She left Port Townsend for Victoria yes. terday noon, facing terrific southerr gale.
 Within sight of her destination hug, sea overwhelmed S the little steamer smashing in her dead lights, flooding he hold with water, extinguiahing the fire beneath her boilers and placing her a the mercy of bowling gale. Ali this hap pened yesterday afternoon. The culmina | ton of the tragedy was postponed fo several agnozing hours. Bravely the ofti cers and crew of the helpless hulk worke | to save the boat and the eighty soul aboard her, but in vain. Staunch as sh was the Ciallam could mot stand the ter rife onslaught of the seas and just be fore dark 1t was decided to make an al tempt to save the passengers at least b the boats. After the three boats ha been gwamped, the crew and the feV passengers who had volunteered to renal aboard devoted themselves to the task O trying to save themselves. Tn spite 0 their efforts the water gained oh them an they were about to resign themselves t their fate when the Richard HolyoIxe. on of the six tugs which had been sent t the rescue from Port Townsend hove Il sight.
 Gould Not Withstand Waves. A line was thrown aboard the tug an' with the clallam in tow the tug startet for Port Townsend. The tug made fai progress and 1t seemed for a time tha the Clallam would be saved. But tn hulk of the Ciallam began to give wa, before the terrific assaults of the waves The tug Sea Lion sighted the HolyoIE and her tow about midnight and stood b, to assist
 Shortly after midnight the Clallam wen on beam ends and began to sink rapidly In less than an hour she settled and tn tow fines were cut. A few minutes late the Clallam Iurched and disappeared be heath the waves. The crews of the tg tugs saved the lives of nearly ali who re unained aboard the, Clallam. The ercv was swept away and perished. The clos ing scene was eight miles north of Pro lection Island. only short distance nortl of Port Townsend. The survivors of tn wreck were brought to Seattle tonight oI the steamer Dirigo.