The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-24
SURVIVORS TELL OF WRECK
DESCRTBE THE HEROIC WORK or
THE COLUMBIA'S CREW.
Captain Went Down with ship standing on
Bridge Wringing Hands In Farewell
Three Men Gave Up Lives at Pumps
~-Iaptain Of san Pedro ArralKned.

-Iaptaln Of san Pedro Arralkned.
sAv Francisco. July 2s.-The steamer
Pomona. with her flag at half mast. to-day
brought in t~hirty-one survivors OF the
crew ~ the wreck ed steamer Columbia and
one e the passengers. Mira. Ottile Lideldt.
a music teacher OF this city.
One life raft and five boats are still un-
reported, and IL in possible that when these
are found the number OF dead will be low-
cred. but the chances are few. as the sea
was running high and the lifeboats were
probably swamped.
When the sailors and engine men Of the
Columbia stepped from the Pomona to-day
the burden Of their story was the heroism OF
their comrades who went down TO death
saving the lives of those on deck. Down
IN the sinking Columbia seamen and officers
stayed at their posts trying to work pumps
and opening valves 30 thai an explosion
might not add to the horror OF h wreck.
OF the passengers. these men said the
lravcst was si~xteen-year-old Maybelle Wat
: n e Berkeley, who refused to be taken
aboard a lifeboat until her companion.
whose head she had kept above water.
ha! heen rescued. Then for several hours.
while the other woman WAS delirious. Miss
Watson held blank cts about her and cheered
her
There wasn't any explosion" said Willie
Lewis, a young oiler who was on his first
trip on the boat. -because three men stayed
below and were drowned as the sea poured
in upon them while they opened the valves
Z. the boilers and struggled with the big
pumps. They we're Nose Burpee. assistant
engineer, Al Anderson. oiler. and a mar
named Mccoy.
The list of the steamer was 80 bad that
the port boats couldn't be lowered That
accounts for a lot Of deaths, for what boats
we could handle were launched in pretty
fair shape. There wasn't any hope after
the collision, for the Columbia was ripped
from deck to keel"
Chief Engineer jackson said: The worst
experience was when the survivors had been
gathered on the deck of the San Pedro.
The shock had loosened the deckload Of
lumber and a lot of it broke away. pulling
down the guys and sails, which swept us
into the sea. We clambered back and
rescued some more people"
All the sailors praised the courage of the
women, who helped to bail boats and made
no cutlery except n who was hysterical
because her little boy was lost. Twelve
vcar-old Efie Gordon, on the San Pedro.
crept along the submerged deck among the
refugees, asking every n II he had seen
anything of her mother. When daylight
came she knew she would never see her
mother again.
One Of the sailors, speaking Of Capt.
Doran, said:
There he stood. just one man alone on
the bridge. pointing of at the boats and
shouting something. I jumped of the rail
and struck of from the wreck. looked
back and there was the captain, still calling
orders. He never thought of quitting the
bridge, where he could watch everything"
Robert Hawse, third officer of the Co.
lumbia, is very severe in his official report
on the captain of the San Pedro. who re-
fused to take survivors from the small boats
on board his vessel. He said.
Il was in charge Of the third boat. After
we had gathered six men and four women,
the latter nearly naked and one delirious.
had the men row to the San Pedro but the
captain refused TO receive my boat load.
I begged him to take the women. but he
refused. II these passengers had been
taken aboard could have saved as many
more. As IL was | was helpless. az more
people in the boat would have swamped
Chief Engineer jackson declares that
steaming at full speed and was further out
than her course justified. The San Pedro
was also going at full speed.
Mrs. Otille Iideldt gave a thrilling story
Of her experience. h said:
Il was awake at the time because l knew
there was danger because of the fog. |
felt the engines stop and heard The sound
Of running feet. | put on my skirt and
ven on deck. IL was terrible. Women
had rushed on deck in nightgowns. The
captain was pulling the steam whistle
and urging men to lower the boats and
life RATS. 7 saw a little raft at one side
and jumped upon il. just then the steamer
Mrched and went down. The captain
wrung his hands as q good-by. In the
water a woman cried to save her, but |
could do nothing. nor could any n else
on the raft. All we could do was TO hang
on till we we're picked up by the San Pedro.
San Pedro, on which the women were
huddled. Then a boom broke and carried