The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1907-07-23
70 TIME TO TAKE TO BOATS
Vessel Goes Down Almost In
stantIy and Few Escape.
ACCIDENT OCCURS IN FOG
Collision Tears Immense Hole in the
III Fated Ship, Through Which the
Water Rushes in Great Volume.
liferaft Is Launched and Ninety
eight Of the Crew and Passengers
Manage to Get Away From the
Doomed Steamer.

eight OF the Crew ana passengers
Manage to Get Away From the
Doomed Steamer.
San Francisco. July 23.-The latest
reports indicate that 1b1 persons per-
ished by the sinking of the steamer
Columbia in the collision with the
steam schooner San Pedro of the
Mendicino coast. An official of the
San Francisco and Portland Steam
ship company says the unfortunate
vessel carried 189 passengers and a
crew Of 60. making total Of 249
souls on board. OF this number
ninety-elght have been accounted for.
The collision occurred at midnight.
when all on board save the lookout
and officer on the bridge were asleep
In their berths. The Columbia was
steaming north at an easy rate. Sud
denly out of the fog loomed the dark
hulk of the steam schooner San Pc
dro, southbound. which was evidently
out of her course. Whistles we're
blown and frantic efforts made by the
helmsman of each vessel to avoid the
collision, but they were Of no avail.
The San Pedro struck the Columbia
on the port bow, tearing an immense
hole In her side, through which the
water rushed In great volume. <Aiai LIE
were sounded throughout the passen-
ger ship and the terrified passengers
scrambled from their stateroOms In
an effort to escape from the doomed
vessel. But the time was too short to
aid the lifesavers. The vessel sank
within five minutes of the time of the
collision. A liferaft was launched
with a number of the passengers on
board, but only few Of the entire
number aboard were saved.
First News OF Disaster.
The steamer Roanoke. carrying q
number of the dead and some OF the
rescued passengers, reached here al
6:15 a. m, bringing the first news OF
the disaster. The dead were con
veyed to the morgue.
The steamer Roanoke spoke the
steamer George w. Elder and the lat
ter had on board eishty-eight pas
sengers and the crew OF the Colum-
bia. which were taken off the steamer
San Pedro. The steamer San PEDRO
had her stern gone and was damaged
considerably forward. Her mainmast
was gone and foremast sprung, her
cargo was gone and she was In wa
terlogged condition. The Elder was
trying to tow her to Eureka, but was
making slow progress.
Shelter cove, where the collision oc
Cured, is ia miles up the coast.
liferaft bearing a number Of the sur
vivors is being towed to this port b.
tho Daisy Mitchell. The San Pedro Is
being towed to Eureka by the steamer
George w. Elder. The Columbia wa
q steel vessel of 1,7i6 tons and wa
800 feet in length. SS.5 feet beam ant
l4.1 feet in depth. She carried crew
OF seyenty-four men under Captain Z
A. Doran, who had been master o
the vessel for the past FIVE years
During the earthquake and fire tn
Columbia was lying at the drydock
the Union iron works and the shoe
loosened some CT her blocks With TN
result that the vessel was capsized
But she was entirely rettted an
when she left here she carried ful
list of passengers, about 200.
The Merchants Exchange OF tn
city has been besieged by anxiou
relatives and friends OF the Colun
bias passengers since early morninl
One OF the most distressing feature
1f the accident Is that up to 11:a
a. m. there is complete ignorance
the names OF the drowned and tn
names Of the survivors.