The daily morning journal and courier., 1906-08-06
Italian Steamship Sirio Strikes Rocky Reef Off Spanish Coast and
 Founders.
CAPTAIN COMMITS SUICIDE
FIRST ADMITS WRECK DUE TO
 HIS OWN IMPRUDENCE.

Bishop of San Pablo, Brazil, Among the
 Lost-Most All of the Victims Italian
 or Spanish Immigrants-SiriO Left
 Genoa August 2 With 854 Passengers
 and Took on Quite Number More at
 Spanish POrt-ConditiOn of Survi-
 vOrs Pitiable-ShocIxing Scenes of Brutality = Italians, Regardless of
 Women, Fight Their Way 10 the Life
 Boats With Knives.
 Cartagena, Spain, Aug. 5,-A terrible marine disaster occurred last evening off Cape Palos, when the Italian steamship Sirio, from Genoa for Bar celona, Cadiz, Montevideo and Buenos Ayres, with about 800 persons on board, was wrecked off Hermigos Island and 300 emigrants, most of them Italians and Spaniards, were drowned.
 The captain of the steamer committed suicide.
 The bishop of San Pablo Brazil, was drowned while blessing the passengers of the Sirio. The archbishop of Sac Pedro was saved.
 The remainder of the passengers and the officers and crew got away in the ships boats or were rescued by means of boats sent to them from the shore.
 A number of fishermen who made at- tenpts at rescue were drowned.
 Those rescued from the vessel are now at Cape Palos in a pitiable condi- tion, being without food or clothing
 The Sirio struck a rocky reef known ao Bajos Hormigas and sank soon aft CT, stern first. Homigas Island lies about two and one-half miles to the eastward of Cape Palos.
 Before he committed suicide the cap- tain declared the steamer had 659 pass engers on board and that her crew numbered 127 men. The Sirio had 57O passengers when leaving Genoa, but ad- dltional Spanish passengers were taken on board at Barcelona, where the ves- sel touched few hours before the dis aster.
 The accident occurred at 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon. The steamer was threading a difficult passage through the Hermigas group, where the Bajos Horntgas reef is a continual menace to navigation. The vessel began to settle rapidly immediately she had struck and a terrible scene of confusion and panic ensued on board. The fishermen along the coast sought to render every assist ance in their power and sent out boats which brought many survivors ashore. Most of the officers and crew of the ,Sirio are among the saved.
 The survivors have gone into camp on the main square of the town of Cape Pallos. Here narrowing scenes are en- acted as the stricken families anxious ly seek beloved members among the rescued. A mother, who lost her three children, went insane. The doctor ot the Sirio gave up his wife and child as lost, but they were finally brought in by one of the rescuing boats, and the scene as this family was reunited was most affecting. One of the boats sent out by the fishermen brought in twen- ty-four passengers.
 The condition of the survivors is most deplorable. They have lost every thing and are without money, food of clothing. The maritime authorities ot Cartagena have dispatched a tug to the scene carrying relief supplies. The Buildings of a circus and the poor house are being used as temporary guar ters for the survivors.
 The latest reports from the cape say that three boats have just brought 1T a number of rescued.
 An additional sadness is added to thu catastrophe owing to the fact that number of fishermen who were con ducting rescuing operations wer' drowned in consequence of the over turning of boat.
 The captain of the Sirio before lt killed himself attributed the wreck t bis own imprudence.
 The Sirlo left Genoa August ?.
 All IIl6 SluP S ppOhS WCAS ASA'S' AS lS impossible at present to ascertain the full extent of the disaster. Nine. tenths of the passengers were Italians and the rest Spaniards. All the survi vors have been landed at Cape Palos The inhabitants at once provided then with clothing and nourishment. Thirty were landed at Hormigas island, about one mile from the scene of thhe trage dy. 'r'
 Fishermen brought in the first new of the fioundering of the Sirio and i created consternation here. Boat loads of the shipwrecked passengers and crews began to reach shore shortl! after the news became known.
 Passengers confirm the fearful na ture of the calamity. From the broker narratives of the terror stricken sur vivors it would appear that it was tn, intention of the captain of the sirio, af ter leaving Barcelona, to call at Cadi before proceeding to Brazil. The cap tain, in order to shorten thhe route ant gain time, purposed to pass as close a possible to the dangerous rocky ledge
 7Cnntinuad m Spcond Page,)