Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1906-03-17

New York. March 15.-The
steamer Mannheim which rescued
4 part of the crew of the steamer
British King, which sank near
Sable Island last Sunday. arrived
here today with eleven survivors
from the sunken steamer They
II reported that probably eighteen of
their shipmates were drowned
when the British King sank.
Eighteen survivors arrived at Bos-
ton late yesterday afternoon.
Boston, Mass, March Is When
! the steamer Bostonian, Manchester to
{! this, port, reached here yesterday aft
ernoon it landed eighteen survivors of
a midocean snlpwreck, the story of
which has few parallels in the long
record Of tragedies of the sea. These
dispatches mentioned the wreck brief
/ ly yesterday.
Reduced to its lowest terms the
story is: The Phoenix line steamer
British King, after fighting savage
Atlantic storm for three days and
nights. foundered Sunday night $50
miles south of Sable islands and $50
miles east of Boston. With the ship
persisted twenty-seven members Of Its
crew. Eighteen were saved by the
! Bostonian and eleven more by the
German tank steamer, Mannheim.
The captain of the British King was
among those rescued by the Bostoni.
an, but he died before the ship
reached this port from injuries sus-
tanned in the fight he made to keep
his snip afoat.
Is Story OF Thrilling Herolsr,.
Behind these statistics of the ship.
wreck is a story of self-sacrificing
heroism, daring in the face of immi,
nent death, long suffering between
sea and sky, and brave rescue work,
the whole forming a mosaic Of thrill
+ ing deeds and grim tragedy.
The British King sailed from New
York last Wednesday bound for Ant
werp with miscellaneous cargo and
$50 head of cattle. The passage was
), .uneventful until Friday morning, when
the ship was struck by a strong north
westerly wind. which gradually grew
into gale. The matches were bat
tened down, and Capt. O'Hagan pre-
pared for bad storm.
Suddenly the gale developed into a
) hurricane. The deck fittings of the
steamer were carried away, and the
i deck cargo of oil barrels washed into
the sea. Some of the matches were
torn open, great volumes of water
; poured into the ships compartments
disabling the engines. The ruddel
was swept away, and the ship left
helpless.
All this time the wreckage and oil
barrels had been gathering about the
. steamer, and the sea drove then
down with, tremendous force against
the sides of the ship. The hull was
started badly, and by the next day
the vessel had settled noticeably il
! the water.
Fatal Hurt Does Not Deter Captain.
Realizing the necessity Of quick &C
ton, Capt. O'Hagan himself went into
the hold and strove to repair the mos
damaged sections. While doing this
barrel of oil fractured one of his
, legs in two places. The injury was Sc
, severe that a piece Of the bone pro
truded through the flesh. In spite O.
this and internal injuries caused b,
his fall, Capt. O'Hagan refused to BIZ
carried to his cabin.
He ordered that his leg be bount
up, and when this had been done h
resumed command and directed the eff
forts which were being made to plug
up the hole in the ships side. All eff
forts at repairs were fruitless. Tht
water gained continually, and by Sat
urday night all hands were forced t.
take refuge on the main deck. Thu
cattle were swept overheard gradual
ly by the seas and drowned.
Early Sunday morning, after three
days ceaseless labor and little rest
Capt. O'Hagan, from the deck Of thu
British King, sighted the German
tank steamer Mannheim and the Bos
tonian and hoisted signals of distress
!, While preparing to lower boats tn.
Mannheim signaled to the Bostonial
that the British King was in great dis
tress.
T Piteous Appeal for Aid.
!. Capt. Perry of the Bostonian imme
!, diately altered his course and raj
, down as close as safety would permit
! The British King signaled that it wa
{ waterlogged and would have to b.
abandoned. At o'clock it sent an
other signal do not abandon me-"
r Every small boat of the British Kin,
had been demolished and there was nj
way in which the crew could leave thu
ship. The half hundred or more mel
/, on the sinking steamer were in plail
: view OF those on board the Bostonial
and Mannheim, who could, however
do nothing at that time in the way o
I. rescue on account of the sea that wa
running. a
4 At LAO p. m. the British King SIC
nailed: Help us; we are sinking
A slight moderation of the weathe
permitted the Mannheim to lower
boat in charge of a volunteer crew
] which, after perilous and most diff
1 cult row to the British King, rescued
: eleven of the crew. Some OF tn
: freighter's men jumped into the waite
! and we're pulled out by the rescuers
. The men of the British King wer
brave, for they pushed one anothe
.serward- all apparently willing to wal