Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1907-07-30
MINNIE BUTTONS STORY.
Tells of Terrible Experience IN
Sinking Ship Columbia.

"This is the Captain speaking
| to you; be calm, don't get excit-
led, ladies-come right this way
and we'll help you onto the up,
per deck, whe.e you'll be safe.
It's no use, she's gonep'
"These were among the last
words uttered by Captain Doran.
! of the ill-fated Coulmb bia, before
his vessel sank into the Pacific, y
says Miss Minaie Buxton, a
trained nurse, I88 Sixteenth
street, who was near Captain
Dolan when the ship went down.
Miss Buxton was in the water
nearly three-quarters of an hour.
'sHis voice was steady and his
manner was calm and reassur-
ing" said Miss Buxton. ''He
helped several of Us woman onto
the upper deck and evidently
thought we would be safe there
for a while, until the boats could
take us away. | asked him if he
was the captain when / heard his
voice and he told. me he was. He
urged us not to get excited,
aud I told him I was not. A
moment later the vessel lurched a
second time and the captain said !:
sIts no use; she's gone.
II was standing on deck and
was carried down into the water
with the sinking ship. How
far I went down or how long I
was beneath the water have no
idea, but it seemed as though I
would never get to the surface.
When I finally arose to the top
there vast a thing in sight. My
like-preserver kept me up we'll
and with what swimming could
do, I had no trouble in keeping
my head out of the water.
stAfter while I heard a man
near by, and called out to him il
he thought we would be saved.
He told me to keep cool and
that we would be saved all
right. 7 told him I was going to
him, and. he warned me not te
hang onto him. I told him
had a life-preserver on and thai
I wasn't going to hang onto him,
but if I went down, I didn't
want to go down alone. Shortly
afterward he told me a 1ifeboat
was right behind me, and soor
we were picked up. The boa
was No. 3, and carried 28people.
''It seemed days until morning
f broke. About 3 O'Clock a winc
! started to blow and it was very
}, disagreeable. The boat wa.
) loaded down almost to the water:
1 edge and every little ripple
| washed in, SO that it was neces
/ sary to bail out constantly. Iht
sea became choppy and the wint
blew spray all over US and /
seemed at times as though WI
: couldn't stand it another minute
but no one complained. ChaIie,
Murpbey, the cabin boy, was
real hero and too much canno
r be said in his praise. He di'
: much to keep up our spirits dur
: ing those long, dreary hours.
: 1--WE didn't go aboard the Sal
: Pedro at all. The crew told u
we were safer where we were ant
} we all thought SO, when she be
gan to wash and the mast brok
and fell into the sea. At last W
were safely taken aboard th
Elder"
Miss Buxton declares she wa
: not awakened by the shock c
! the collision, and first knew tha
r something was wrong whe:
aroused BY her roommates. Sh
,itook time to dress almost com
: pletely, and her training as
: professional nurse did mnch t
) help keep her under control c
: herself. Once after leaving he
: room she RENE mbered leavin
J her watch, keepsake of be
mothers, and went back after il
She had just time to be helpe
onto the hurricane deck when th
: big steamer shuddered the secon
time and plunged to the bottor
of the sea. Telegram.
Our Waste Basket.