Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1906-01-31
C. Allison Testified that Sea Was
Smooth and Was No Ter
rible Surf"
BOATS IMPROPERLY LOWERED
No Apparent Attempt by Crew To
Crowd Passengers From Life
Raft.

son Of ST. Paul, passenger. testified
| that the sea wGs not rough. lie ex-
planned that he had himself been
| sailor, and that the surf that finally
battered the Valencia to pieces could
not be called high. This testimony
caused mild sensation, as all pub
llshed accounts OF the wreck have de-
scrbed high seas" and terrible
surf"
Every one seemed to shun us" said
Allison, testifying before the board of
United States inspectors In the Va
lencio investigation. "Ali seemed TO
be afraid to help or to attempt to help
the unfortunate men and women who
were facing death
"All those that succeeded In getting
ashore Immediately went off The YES.
sells on the sea stood off and made no
attempt to lower q boat. In the morn
Ing after the last raft put off from the
Valencia there was no great sea run
ming. Not wave had a oomber on IT,
There might have been some ex-'
cuse for the Queen not coming in close
nut there was a tug alongside of her
that did not come any closer than the
large vessel. II all looked wrong TO
| me, all wrong"
Did the conduct of the officers of
| the vessel meet with your APPROVAL"
u was in my bunk when the vessel
struck, and Immediately went on deck,
| Everything was quiet and orderly, then.
| Some one gave an order to lower the
| boats to the saloon deck. / could not
see, but think the order came from
| some one In authority. | do not know
4 Whafhpr a ttsa ha on fa In. \
did not know him very well. No,
am sure the order did not come from
any Of the passengers.
After few moments, when they
were lowering the starboard boat. the
| crowd gathered around IT, Afterward
| people were jumping in. could not
distinguish faces-lt was too dark when
the boat was filled and lowered.
| don't know who gave the word to lower
| the boat to the water, but II might
have been one of the officers or some
| excited passenger,
Anyway, the boat went down the
ships side. For moment 1t hung,
| one end up. the other down, and all the
| time banging against the sides Of the
| vessel. Finally It was caught and
| capsiaed. There was great excite
ment then and cries OF pull them out
| came from all Sides
| How did II happen that so many
| OF the crew were on that life raft?"
asked Inspector Whitney
| "As soon as the raft struck the wa
| ter. the crew took possession" said
the witness.
What kind of weather was IT when
you were picked up by the 1opeka?"
! Nice weather. II was trlne fog
gy. but there was no wind blowing
The waves did not have combers on
them | do not see why a boat could
not have been lowered"
Did you hear any reason given on
the Topeka as to why no boats were
| lowered?"
| Mr.. Allison then went on and told
| of the condition OF the vessel when he
left. He stated the hurricane deck
was rising and falling with every wave
| that struck the ship. That caused
many OF those on board to leave, think
Ing that she was about TO break up.
| A. Willis, another passenger, testified
the first boat was not lowered proper
| ~. He said the cliff on which the
| Valencia was wrecked was so abrupt
| where he landed that he could not get
TO the life line that was shot ashore.
| John Segalos the Greek fireman
who was the real hero of the Valencia
| testified before the inspectors this
| afternoon. Telling of his own daring
| In plunging into the waves and trying
TO take line ashore he said
i feel very sorry for the poor people
| j make the sign of the cross tie line
| around my waist and jump IN. But the
| water II was too strong for me and
| have to come back to ship"
Segalos spoke good English. but with
strong accent and uaqd his own
| idiom. He contradicted witness AMI
| son, saying the seas We're terrific the
| morning after the ship struck
Rev. Fletcher l. Wharton. pastor Of
| the First Methodist Episcopal church
| today appeared before the board Of In
| spectors investigating the wreck Of the
| valencia. at the invitation Of the latter
| and explained that he had been led 10
| speak to his congregation concerning
I the alleged uselessness OF the life pre-
servers on board the disabled vessel on
| account Of statements made by Asst.
| Supt Of City Schools Frank f. Bunker
| The public would Ike to know" said
| Mr. Wharton. what guarantee It has
| from the inspectors az to the efficiency
OF seamen and equipment Of vessels on
the Pacific coast. There Is a feeling
that the officers Of the Valencia took
on board men who Were unskiled as
seamen and unable to care Cor passeu-
! gers IN the event of wreck or other
disaster, II Is held, too By some, that
the quality of the life prescrvers was
such as to render them useless. | am
here merely to seek Information. that
| may impart to the public and would
Ike to know II the inspectors are sit
| ting in judgment on their own acts.
The inspectors showed Or. Wharton
| life belts made OF tues and of cork
! They commanded Ia istI. H.
| equally as good as cork. and said that
| majority OF witnesses had testified
| that the former were all right. A tule
| belt worn bv Joe Segalos the Greek
| fireman, rescued from the life raft
| picked up by the CITY of Topeka. was
exhibited a 20 pound weight was tied
| TO II and the life preserve was I'M
| mersed In a barrel OF water When the
| court adjourned al O'Clock the belt
| had been In the water six hours and
| was still anoat
Or. Wharton was informed that ma
| rine in3peN ors had nothing 20 do with
| the selection OF seamen. aud he stated
| that he was personally satisfied with
the explanations given and wo nd be
| pleased 10 inform his congregation.
Witnesses called this afternoon were
| a. II. Hawkins and Joseph McCaftery,
| passengers, and Martin Tarpey. a
| quartcrmaster on board the Valencia.
All three were on the raft picked up
by the City of Topeka. Witnesses In
each instance testified that there was
no apparent attempt on the part OF
members OF the crew TO crowd the pas
sengers from the life boats and RATS.
Hawklns declared that the small
working boat was dropped into the
water on account of the breaking OF
the tackle.
MoCatfery declared there was lack
Of discipline among the members OF the
crew, that they were not ut their sta
ions when the boats were being low
cred and he expressed the opinion that