The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1904-01-13
STEAMER WRECKED
n swirling, Storm-swept Sea. Fifty,
two People Drowned.
NOT a WOMAN Or CHILD SAVED,
But it Was Not the Fault OF the
Brave Iien on Board. Who
Tried TO Save Them.
Boats Swampcd.


Tie steamer Claim Of the Seattle
Victoria fleet went down early Satuc-
day morning midway betwe, Smith
Island and Dungenncss. in tie Straits
of Juan de f'uca.
Every wo nan and child aboard tie
Claim periSAed. Within three miles
of shore and at 4 time when it ap
peared certain the Claim had been
saved desperate effort was made TO
save the women and children in the
life boats. They were placed in the
first boat to leave the ship which
Captain Lawrence. a Yukon pilot.
volunteered to command and which
was manned by deck hands. The frall
craft went down within sight of the
Claim and second life boat filed
with male passengers and in command
of Second Oilicer Currin was probabl1
lost few minutes later.
Aboard The Claim watchers sa'S
waves sweep passengers from their
hold on the seats and hurl them into
the waters. Though the life boa was
righted later, diligent search has
failed to ID trace of her. More
passengers and members of the crew
were lost wien a third life boat was
swamped in an attempt to launch it.
Three passengers were picked up bE
the steamer Bahata who Lad fastened
life preservers around their bodies.
They had died from exposure and
their bodies were brought TO Seattle
Saturday.
The Claim was staunch new pas
Sepger boat on the Seattle Victoria
run. She left Port Townsend for Vic
toria Friday noon, facing a terrific
gale. When in sight Of her destina-
tion a huge sea overwhelmed the lit
tie steamer smashing in her dead
lights, flooding her hold with water,
extinguishing the fires beneath her
boiler and placing her at the mercy Of
a bowling gale.
Efforts to save the vessel being
futile, the safety Of the passengers,
particularly the women and children,
was looked after and all who desired
we're put off from the steamer in the
ships boats.
The heavily laden boats we're thrown
about wildly in the choppy sea and
one after another, after succeeding in
getting away from the vessel, they
we're either swamped or capsized. The
terrible fury Of the storm is attested
by the fact that not woman nor
child Of all those aboard have lived to
tell the tale. An apparent discrepancy
in numbers from the list Of fatalities
following is accountable by the fact
that only such children as paid half
fare were enrolled in the passenger
list.
In the meantime word had come
from Victoria Of the vessels predica-
ment and a fleet of powerful tugs
were dispatched from Seattle to render
assistance. The Richard Holicke, in
command of Captain Robert Hall, was
the first to reach the Claim which
had by this time careened partly over
from the thrush of water which had
put the engines out Of commission.
The Holyoke reached the Claim about
II o'clock Saturday night and about
/ a. NJ, succeeded in getting hawSer
aboard with which she started to
tow the Claim to safety. The Claim
took heavy lurch and those remain
ing aboard were compelled to climb up
the side to safety. finally reaching the
roof of the pilot house.
Without a moments hesitation, the
life boats were lowered and the work
of rescue commenced. At this point
the tug Sea Lion, Captain Hunter,
arrived and her men rendered ;aluable
assistance. Before all the ST juggling
people had been taken of, tie Claim
commenced TO break up and soon al
terward went down. All possible
assistance to the rescued people was
given by the two ship masters and
their crews and the two tugs hurried
to Port Townsend. The passengers
and the remainder OF the
crew then took passage on the Dirigo,
bound for Seattle.
3 Ctrapre RAILROAD Accident