The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-09-20
AMERICAN STEAMER SfNKS
peconic With Score Of People Aboard
Capsizes at Sea-
Crew Dashed to Denth-An italian and a
Spaniard the Sole Survivors
of the Disaster.

Fernandina. Fla.-Twenty men. con-
stituting all but two Of the officers and
crew of the American steamship Pc
comic, bound from Philadelphia to New
Orleans with coal. were drowned by
the sinking of that vessel off the coast
of Florida. The disaster was the re-
suit of fierce gale which ragged along
the coast during the night and early
morning. Lashed by the stopm, en- i'm
mense wave struck the vessel with ter.
rife force about 1890 o'clock in the
morning. ..sr,. - 4
The impact coming just as the YES.
sci was making turn, caused q shift
OF the cargo, and the vessel leaned
over and sank Immediately. The acci-
dent occurred so quickly that only two
Of those aboard her-an Italian and a
Spaniard-were able to save them
selves. They succeeded in getting into
a lifeboat, reached Amelia Beach
about noon and on landing told the
story of the disaster ..... .'.y. =.
These men could speak no word OF
English. They said they were the only
survivors of the crew Of the Peconic,
commanded by Captain Jones. a
About midnight Of Sunday, during
The heaviest part Of the storm which
had ragged all day, the officer Of the
deck gave the order to put further out
to sea, fearing they were approaching
the coast too nearly, In the endeavor
to turn, the slip was struck with a
heavy sea. the cargo shifted and she
began sinking rapidly. In less than ten
minutes after the alarm was sounded
she had gone to the bottom, and no
trace of her was left upon the waters.
The account Of the escape Of the two
men out Of all the ships crew was re-
markable. "a. "
One Of these men was at the wheel
ac the time the order was given; the
other was upon watch. AS soon as the
ship began to careen they rushed for
one of the small boats. which they
jumped into as the vessel began to go
down. With ttelr knives they severed
the ropes before the water was
reached, and the small boat was
thrown far out on the waves. They
furthermore say that they discovered
through the blackness and storm the
figures Of part Of the awakened crew.
some of wnom managed to crows into
another of the ships boats. This was.
however, caught in the trough Of thu
sea, thrown violently against the ven
tilators and wedged fast. Their cries
for help could be heard as the ship
went down. Ned. -
Alone through the remainder of the
night in the awful wash of waters.
with the storm raging and threatening
each moment to swamp their small
boat, these two men were. gradually
borne ashore toward Amelia Island,
landing at II a. m. Their condition
was pitiable, with all the marks of q
savage battle with the sea. Clothing
torn off or shipwreck staring them In
the face, the men, whose names are
Bagelllni Humberti and Antonio Clark,
were unable to speak except in their
native tongues, and it was some time
before the facts Of the disaster were
thoroughly ascertained. They have
testified to the correctness Of their re-
port before notary public and the
community has cared for their wants.
At the time of the disaster the ship
was about twenty miles northeast OF
here, heading south and in the teeth OF
the gale. e.. r.'..