The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-08-07
BELT SNATCHED
FROM THE PRIEST
Bishop of SaopaoIo, Brazil,
Among the Lost When the
SiriO Went Down.
AWFUL SCENES WITNESSED
SUBSCRIPTION STARTED FOR
THE SURVIVORS.

Cartagena, Spain, Aug. 6.-Reports
continue to arrive here of the terrible
scenes attending the wreck on Satur-
day evening off Hermigas island OF the
| Italian steamer Sirio, from Genoa, Aug.
| 9. via Barcelona and other ports Tor
Buenos Ayres, resulting in the loss or
over 800 lives The drowning OF the
bishop of Saopdolo. Brazil, is now at
tributed to the action of an Argentine
passenger who forcibly took from the
bishop a life belt with which the latter
had provided himself.
| One Italian woman kept her three
children ,afloat on a plank until hey
were all picked up.
A bridegroom who was on his honey
moon, lost his wife and sister, and one
old man who was saved lost three chill
dren.
| Captain Giuseppe Paradi, commander
of the Sirio. was 60 years old and had
fCrty-five years experience in naviga-
ton.
The Sirio is considered a total loss.
Her captain is said to have formerly
commanded the Perseus, which sank
off Cartagena.
number of bodies of the drowned
were buried today. Some of the rescued
pa ssengers died after being brought
ashore.
Went Down Rapidly.
The survivors say that the Sirio sank
with extreme Iapidity. Many of the
passengers were on deck as the steam
e. disappeared The boats were so
overcrowded that a number of them
Immediately capsized throwing the oc-
cupants into the water.
Quantities of food and clothing for
the survivors are arriving here from all
parts of the country.
| A public subscription started for the
relief of the destitute passengers has
already reached large sums. The sur
vivors are quartered in the theatres,
hospitals and clubs, the poorer classes
of the inhabitants of Cartagena rival
ling each other i'm assisting the ship
wrecked people.
Charles Venturini, a resident of Bar
celona, who was a passenger with his
family on the SiriO, succeeded in saving
his three sons and nine other passen-
gers. Senior Veneurinis daughter, who
is Is years old and an expert SWIM
mer. saved two children whose parents
are unknown.
One family consisting of the father,
mother and six children. was drowned
with the exception of the father, who
lost his reason.
Brigida Morella. who has arrived at
the Italian consulate here, relates how
she and her husband were hurled into
the sea by the force of the explosion
OF the boilers She was picked up and
brought ashore, but does not know the
fate of her husband.
Bodies Coming Ashore.
Numerous bodies were thrown upon the
shore during today. Most of them are
| persons of the better class. Several small
/ fishing smacks have arrived, bringing in
/ sometimes one and sometimes several sur
vivors of the Sirio. who were found float
ing at sea a long distance from the scene
! of the disaster
1t is believed that some of the passen-
gers who secured life belts have been
! picked up alive by French. German. 1tal-
! ian or British sailing vessels passing in
! the vicinity of Cape Palos is much fire.
quented by sailing and steam ships.
| Spanish warships stationed at Carta-
/ gena and AlicanteS have been ordered TO
! search the neighborhood of the catastrO
| phe for survivors who may be still float
| ing on pieces of wreckage or with life
| buOys.
! left at full speed in the direction of Cape
| PaIOs to render assistance in exploring
/ the surrounding seas.
Saved in Spite of Himself.
The first reports of the disasters de
! clared without qualification that the cap
! tain Of the Sirio had committed suicide
/ Later information, however, shows that
| he was on board the steamer when she
/ sank and expressed the determination to
90 down with his vessel. He was after
ward rescued, in spite of his refusal to
| be saved.
The Spanish minister of the interior has
| requested the ministry of finance to sup
! ply funds to succOr the stricken passen-
gers The Italian consul here and the
members of the Italian colony, acting II
cooperation with the local authorities,
| have provided for the immediate wants
of the shpwrecked people.
The survivors of the Sirio are composed
of 34S Italians, forty Spaniards, fourteen
Arabs, ten Austrians, six OrfentalS, four
Argentians, four Brazilians, two Montre
Negrans and 1l9 persons whose nationality
is not set forth
One of the women survivors has give"
birth to child since being brought
ashore.
Stories of Survivors.
A vivid description of the terrific panic
on board the Sirio is given by one of the
survivors, who is said to be a gOdson of
Queen Margherita of Italy. He says:
IAN enormous crowd of women rushed
forward and struggled desperately to OBJ
tain possession of life belts. Frantic men
approached and felled the women with
repeated blows. They then seized the life
belts leaving the women senseless on
deck, where they were drowned. On the
other hand, one man refused to be saved
until all the women had been rescued. His
refusal cost him his life, for he went
down with the ship
THE confusion and the fighting of
those few moments almost beggars de-
scription The passengers dashed hither
and thither uttering shTieks Of despair
and even destroying the life belts in their
mad frenzy.
1.-The only boat launched from the Sirio
had scarcely touched the water before it
was overcrowded and swamped. 1t later
was found on shore bottom up"
No Attempt to Save.
A number of the survivors assert that
passing vessels paid no attention what
ever to the Sirio's signals of distress. Sew
eral vessels, they declare, even put on full
steam and rapidly drew away.
One of the mates. boatswain and two
seamen of the Sirio succeeded in saving
the log book and other documents. These
have been seized by the authorities.
The captain of the Srio refuses to
speak except to say that the vessel struck
a reef not down on the charts.
The general opinion of the survivors
Sasrns m he that fhe calamity was die