The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1906-11-19

hands and with a last desperate cry,
sink. This happened time after time.
'Au around we're floating heads which
called for help and watched the Jeanne
as she slowly came toward US and drop
ped boats which moved here and there
picking up men in every direction. Fin
ally boat came to me. BY that time
1 was Indifferent and did not care
whether I was saved or not 1t must
have been at least % minutes from the
time the jeanne struck US that the
boats were got out and I guess 1 was
in the water another 10 minutes. We
were taken on board. There were Sc
of our IS people on the steamship The
rest were drowned. There was no sign
of my little steamer. She was gone
completely and before we left there
was not even ripple on the surface
to mark the spot. where the terrible
tragedy had occurred.
Il don't think the vessel was very
badly damaged by the collision. It was
the heeling over on her port beam that
caused her loss. She filed with water
as soon as she went over and this took
her down
las to, the cause of the accident I
can not say. 1 was not on deck and do
not know how it happened I heard
my mate signal either one or two
whistles, am not sure which I also
heard him ring Stop bell I can not
understand myself how it could have
happened The night was almost as
clear as day and the sea was smooth.
This is the first accident that has hap
pened on any ship of mine during the
10 years I have been running on the
sound"
Captain Lermond is a we'll known
navigator and has the reputation of be-
ing one of ablest sound pilots leaving
Seattle. He is q man of about As years
and has been at sea since boy. The
Dix sank in 100 fathoms of water. The
Jeanne, the government launch Scout
and several tugs have gone to the scene
of the wreck to search for bodies
No Chance for Their Lives.
OF the 10. or so persons aboard the
deck when the collision occurred.
They were Denned in there and had
a bsolutely no chance for their lives
One 15-year-old girl of all the sur
vivors is known to have made her way
from the lower deck and to have es-
capped with her life. All the members
of the crew save Captain Lermond,
who happened to be above in his fare
collecting round, and deck hand,
went down with their steamer So far
as is known, every one who managed to
get free from the wreck was saved
Immediately after the Jeanne brought
the story of the collision to Seattle, the
tugs Bahada and Tyee, the passenger
steamer Florence K, and the Jeanie
were ordered out to cruise about the
sound for floating bodies. One by one
the boats have put back this morning
without having found any one. The
tide was ebbing when the collision
occurred and If there were any bodies
a the surface they have probably been
swept afar down sound The others
are likely buried with the Dix, 100
fathoms below the surface
Alice Simpson, one of the women
passengers who was rescued. never
swan a stroke in her life. She was
thrown off the deck of the Dix when
the boat settled into the water and
was kept afloat by her clothing. To-
day she is at Provident hospital under
the influence of oDiates to quiet her
nerves
Captain William Tobin. master of
the Invincible. loading at Port Blake
ley with lumber. is said to have saved
two lives besides his own
Port Blakeley contributed almost
the entire roll of the dead. Port Blake
ley is town supported entirely by
the lumber plant of the Blakeley Mill
company and the town today is almost
helpless in its grief Not a wheel is
turning and the entire population is
trying to in some way aid the effort TO
recover bodies. Memorial services for
the dead Will probably be held in a
day or two.