The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1907-07-26

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of the worst marine disasters in the
history of California coast about 60
lives were lost by a midnight col
lision between the steamer Columbia
and the steam lumber schooner San
Pedro, in Shelter Cove, ~ miles
southwest of the Medicine Humboldt
County line, between IL and o'clock
Sunday morning.
A dispatch from Eureka, the near
est place of Importance, says:
"Of the 249 people in the steamer
Columbia, which was run into and
sunk early Sunday morning by the
lumber-laden schooner San Pedro,
144 were brought here by the steam
er Elder. OF these, 107 were passen-
gers and 81 members of the crew of
the Columbia.
"In addition to these four lifeboats
are reported to have been picked up,
one containing 13 people, one 18
and one 10. The number on the
fourth boat is not given"
The Columbia, 300-foot steel YES
sci of the San Francisco and Portland
Steamship Company, while bound
from San Francisco for Portland,
Ore, with 189 passengers and a
crew of 60. collided with and was
rammed by the San Pedro, a 170-foot
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 Co.
lumbia at high speed, despite frantic
efforts to clear. With a grinding
crash the San Pedro sank her stern
fully 10 feet into the Columbia's port
bow.
Nearly all of the Columbia's pas
sengers and many of her crew were
asleep in their cabins and hunks when
the crash came. AS the San Pedro
backed away the sea poured in
through the ragged hole in the Co.
lumbia's bow above and below the
water line, and in five minutes the
Columbia sank to the bottom, the
deep waters of Shelter Cove covering
over the tops of the Columbia's
masts. The story of that five min
utes is yet to be told, and as it is
told by some of the survivors the
facts of the tragedy can be but guess
ed at
According to ]. S. Flynn, passen-
ger on the Roanoke, Captain Doran,
of the Columbia, succeeded in launch
ing four lifeboats and two RATS be-
fore the Columbia sank. Flynn, in
an interview, is quoted as saying that
88 passengers, all men, got away in
that manner and were saved; that
Captain Doran acted with great cool
ness in the face of death, and went
down with his ship. Flynn is fur
Their quoted as saying that none OF
the hundred-odd women passengers
were saved.
Shortly after the collision the
steamers Roanoke and George w. FL
der and the steam schooner Daisy
Mitchell (southbound) came on the
scene and stood by. The Elder took
the San Pedro in tow. and the latest
report announces their arrival in Eu-
reka. The stem of the San Pedro
was smashed to splinters. one of her
masts was snapped off at the deck.
she was settling and had heavy
list when taken in tow. Captain
Hansen remained on board.
The Daisy Mitchell offered assist
ance to the Elder, but this was de-
clined. She picked up lifeboat and
them to this city. Near the scene OF
the wreck the Roanoke picked up u
lifeboat and found underneath it the
dead body of a passenger, supposed
to be Edward Butler, of Portsmouth,
N. H.
Captain Smith, of the Daisy Mitch
ell, states:
I'VE were southbound from Villa
pa Harbor, and reached the scene of
the collision about 100 o'clock. The
Columbia had gone to the bottom,
and not even the tops of her masts
were visible. The steamer George
w. Elder at that time was taking the
San Pedro in tow. The Elder was
getting the San Pedro's chain to her
after-deck as we came up. l hailed
the Elder, and asked her If she want
ed any assistance from us. got such
a short answer that you would think
had offered an insult.