The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1906-01-26

SEATTLE, Wash, Jan. 26.-Bring.
ing 23 survivors Of the Valencia the
steamship City of Topeka arrived at
o'clock this morning. Besides the Il
men who were picked up on the life
raft Wednesday afternoon the six mer
who escaped in a lifeboat were re-
turned. They were picked up by the
steamer yesterday afternoon anj
transferred to the Topeka. Seven sur
vivors were taken Immediately to the
Rainier Grand Motel; the others scat
tered to other hotels Or went home
wreck shortly before dark yesterday
morning nothing could be seen of the
waiting out from the seaWard side that
the stranded liner had finally given UP
the fight and had gone to her tragic
end. Yesterday the Topeka cruised
around the straits looking for another
life raft, reported to have left the
Valencia about the same time as the
raft on which 1S-men were picked up
Nothing could be seen of it, Dis
patches from Victoria this morning
state that the raft finally succeeded in
reaching shore and that five out of the
ten on board had been saved. No
stretch of ocean was ever more care
fully searched for signs of life than
the sea about the mouth Of San Juan
straits, where it was possible some of
the people from the Valencia might
have drifted yesterday. Hour after
hour was spent by the Topeka cruising
here and there within the area where it
was probable some of those unfortun-
ates might have been cast by the wind
and the waves Every bit of floating
wreckage and every speck on the sur
face of the water that came into view
of the powerful glasses was overnauled
and examined carefully, but outside OF
seen.
Women Would Not Go on Rats.
The survivors unite in commencing
the bravery of those aboard the wreck
ed vessel. The assertion made thai
because of the fact that no women OF
children were saved they were lef'
to their fate by the men is branded as
a libel on the survivors. The women
and children were not on the life raf
because they did not want to go. Cap
tain Johnson as ed them several times
| if they wanted to take their chance
| but feelifg that it meant certain deatf
they preferred to stay upon the doom
ed vessel. At the last moment Cap
tain Johnson gave word for the mel
to jump aboard the raft and they dit
so. The raft had a capacity OF Il
| There were 18 men aboard. They wer
up to their chest in water half tn
time. The raft was tossed almost per
pendicularly in the air. When plcke
up the men were more dead than alive
Women, even had they got aboard tn
raft, would have perished.
Among those supposed to have per
isned when the Valencia went to piece
was J. B. Graham, a passenger, an
with him went a bag of $500 in golo
Survivors of the wreck say Grahar
frantically offered his bag Of gold {
anyone who would place him ashore
But the others paid little need to hi
pleadings, and his gold lay on tn
broken deck and was kicked unde
. foot, no one bothering even to pick
IN. Graham recently sold a mine i
Alaska for $4,000.
II 1T was one time when gold coul
: not buy what one wanted said a SUI
, vivor. Il am coming into safe hal
) Dor without a cent. Why even tn
? shirt 1 have on belongs to anothe
5 man and 1 haven't even hat, but ths
bag of gold or that ship loaded wit
bullion wouldn't tempt me into sucn
place again"
al The list of survivors that arrived :
ol Seattle on the Topeka are:
C. Allison, ]. ]. Johnson, G. L. Wi