Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-07-23
California ExCursionists In
 Marine Disaster.
OVER A HUNDRED FIND DEATH
Officers Stand to Duty BraveIy to
 Rescue Women.
CAPTAIN GOES DOWN AT HIS POST

! Steamer From San Francisco For [ Portland, Ore, In Fog Run Into by San Pedro Off Shelter Cove, on North Californian Coast-sank In- stantly, Carrying Almost Entire Passenger Complement and Crew | to the Bottom - Boats Launched Were Soon swamped-Those Saved swam to. the San Pedro and Were
 Taken Aboard.
 SAN FRANCISCO, July 23.-So far as is known, between 100 and 150 lives { were lost in midnight collision be- tween the steamer Columbia and the steam lumber schooner San Pedro in Shelter cove, twelve miles southwest of the Mendocino-Humboldt county line.
 The Columbia, a 300 foot steel vessel ! of the San Francisco and Portland Steamship company, while bound from Y 1S9 passengers and crew of sixty, was rammed by the San Pedro, a wooden steamer, southbound, for this city.
 The sea was smooth, but the weather was foggy. The San Pedro, looming out of the mist a few ship lengths away, bore down on the Columbia at high speed, despite frantic efforts to clear With grinding crash she sank her stem fully ten feet into the Colum- bias port bow.
 Nearly all of the Columbia's pas sengers and many of her crew were asleep when the crash came. As the San Pedro backed away the sea poured fin through the ragged hole in the Co., lumbia's bow above and below the water line, and in five minutes she sank to the bottom, the deep waters of Shelter cove covering the tops of her masts.
 According to J. s. Flynn, a passen- ger, Captain Dorian of the Columbia succeeded in launching four lifeboats and two rafts before the vessel sank. Captain Doran, Flynn says, acted with great coolness in the face of death and went down with his ship.
 From reports received all the officers of the Columbia did their duty bravely and tried to save the women and chil- dren. but they were powerless. Feel ing the steamer sinking beneath their feet many of the men among the Co., lumbia's passengers and crew leaped into the sea and swan to the San Pe- dro, which could be made out drifting away through the fog. They alone, it seems, were saved.
 One lifeboat was launched, but 1t was swamped the moment it reached the water by the rush of frenzled men and women. All who were fin 1t are believed to have perished, drawn un- der the water by the suction of the steamship when she went down with a final rush. her decks still dotted with screaming men and women.
 At the last moment the stern of the Columbia rose high above the water, and many of the victims slid the length of the deck as the vessel shot beneath the water. Captain Doran clnng to the bridge and apparently made no at tempt to save his own life.
 The San Pedro. q wooden boat, was severely damaged by the collision, but was kept afioat by her cargo. Finding their vessel was safe for the time. the crew of the San Pedro turned to the task of resculng the Columbia's pas sengers. and about eighty who had reached the sides of the freighter were drawn on board. Boats were launched and a number of others who had clung to wreckage were found and taken on board.
 Survivors among the passengers of the Columbia say that the San Pedro was not seen until she burst through the fog curtain less than a hundred feet away and headed straight for the passenger steamer Why the fog horns were not heard is not made clear.
 Many of the drowned were residents of San Francisco. Others lived at Portland. the Columbia's destination. and other towns along the north coast
 The coast line where the disaster oc- cured is marked with dangerous rocks. many of which tower high out of the water. The winds are treacherous. and frequent collisions in the vicinity have