The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1907-08-02
WRECK HORRORS r R o
As Described by Two People Who
We're on the Columbia.
DROWNED LIKE RATS.

Columbia Relates of Drowninps
and Pcrils of the Night on Raft
Graphic Description Of the Sinking
Told by Chief Engineer Jackson
Screams OF Doomed Were Awful.
The Pacific Coast Steamship com
pany's passenger steamer Pomona ar
rived in San Francisco from Eurelxa 81
at 1890 Thursday, bringing from the
latter place one of the surviving pas
sengers OF the wrecked steamer Col
umb1a and the thirty two members Of
the Columbia's crew, who were saved
out of her total complement Of SO
The passenger Is Mrs. O. Leidell. of
San Francisco.
Ihe crowd was made to stand back
and Keep lane open while the Pom
on'a passengers came ashore. Each
was stopped at tho foot of the gang
plank and asked eXcitedly were YOU
a passenger upon the Columbian"
With one exception tho answer wae
mo"
The exception was Mrs. Leidell
Clothed from head to foot I'm a dark
brown ulster and her features hidden
by brown veil tied over her hat and
under her chin, she came falteringly
down the gang plank and made her
way uncertain through the crowd.
She held her handkerchief to her face
as she walked and when asked by
newspaper men for recital Of her
experience, she broke into tears and
turned, shaking her head.
Il don't want to say anything, |
don't want to talk" she murmured.
Later Mrs. Leidell consented to
talk and in describing her experience
said:
when the crash came ! got out
of my stateroom. Every one was eX-
cited-every one except the captain
tended, begging the passengers TO be
cool. The crew stood at the boats,
cutting away at the lines that held
them. There was no chance to lower
them. All who could piled into the
boats. Lots of people jumped over
the side, trying to climb onto bits of
wood which were floating in the wa
ter. | did not have time to think,
ran to the side. There under the
side was raft. There was nobody
on it. | jumped and struck on the
raft. Other women got on it also.
One crawled from the water, others
jumped from the boat.
Then the Columbia went down,
bow first. The raft drifted around
and water washed over us. Two gwo+
men and little child were washed
off and / never saw them again One
woman was left. Her hold was weak
She begged me to help her. | tried
to hold her on, but was too weak
She died before my eyes. Oh! l can't
forget that. III never forget that.
She drowned and l could not help
her. Who she was | don't know.
Now and then | got a glimpse of an
other raft or boat. We got some
pieces of wood after awhile and used
them for oars, and iinally-it must
have been hours afterward-we
climbed on the San Pedro. 1t was a
terrible climb up her side.
Men helped, but felt SO odd and
weak | never thought | would get
over it. The waves kept striking Hv-
er us. We We're dripping wet, and it
was SO cold On the San Pedro we
were sitting on two little narrow
pieces of lumber. Suddenly wave
carried away the lumber we were sit
ting on.
Z,
however, but there were some who
got that far, who got no further for
without any warning, the rear mast
of the San Pedro gave away and
swept several into the sea. One or
two were brought back alive, but of
the others we saw nothing. And the
darkness hanging over everything
made it terrible. We did not know if
the San Pedro would hold together,
although the officers and crew did
their best to cheer us up. The day
broke. The fog still hung low, and
the light only appeared gradually,
but then we could see who was saved
and who was not. That sight !
can't tell you about it. Everything
about it was SO desolate and dismal.
And then the Elder came up. They
got us aboad, cared for us, and at
Eureka secured the only remaining
berth on the Pomona to come back
here"
Chief Engineer j. V. Jackson gave
the following account Of the wrecked
steamer Columbia in an interview to
the Evening Post.
81 was in my Statcroom when the
crash occurred, and ] scrambled into
some clothes and came up on deck.
All was confusion and turmoil. The
roar OF the water as IL poured into the
hole in the ColumbiaS side was deaf
cning. Then desperately swimming
away | caught rope thrown from
the San Pedro. From there | looked
| back at the Columbia just in time
to see her plunge beneath the waves
AS she sunk | could dimly see many
men dash across the deck toward the
San Pedro; the next moment the fo&
had hidden the dreadful scenes.
81 am sure that many steerage
passengers did not leave their state
rooms rs the interval was SO shor
between the time she was struck ant
the time she sank that the mon hat
not time to get to the deck, and those
that did jumped overheard and were
sucked down by the vortex created
by the sinking vessel.
"When | rushed across the dccl
it seemed to be deserted, but | kncy
that many were about me, for tn
screams and cries were awful
thank God that I am safe, but
would have willingly have given m
life, as Captain Doran did, to say
those that pcrishcd. / did not real
ize that the end would come so 500
as it did, and believe Capt. Dora
was Of the same opinion"
SIX DICtTIIG