The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1908-11-26
CAPTAIN DIES AT HIS
POST AFTER SAVING MANY
Host of the Passengers on the II-Fated
Vessel Are Pilgrims From Euro
pean Ports to Egypt and
the Holy Land.

Valleta, November 25.-The British pas
senger steamer Sardinia of the Elerman
line was destroyed by fire just outside sof
this port today and a total of 12S persons
were either drowned or burned to death.
Seventy persons were rescued. The dead
include 100 Arabs. IKE european passen-
, gers and is mem bers of the crew. Most
of the people board we're pilgrims.
Assistance was hurried to the burning
vessel from all the warships in the har-
Dor and from ashore but the work of
rescue was greatly impeded by the heavy
seas The flames spread rapidly and were
fed by streams of naptha from the fore
hold. There was a condition of uncon-
trollsble panic on board and the passen-
gers who did not jump into the sea were
roasted to death.
Captain Dies Hero.
The crew behaved with admirable cour-
age, serving out life preservers to the
last and working the pumps. When the
pumps became useless Capt. Charles Lit
tier, commander of the Sardinia, took
the helm and directed his ship toward
the shore, so long it could be navi-
gated He perished at his post
First Officer Frank Watson, all three
engineers Seagraves, Hislop and Neill, IS
of the ships company and two frst-class
passengers, one of them a boy named
Grant, are missing. 1t is impossible at
present to say just how many were
drowned or burned to death because the
list of Arab pilgrims is incomplete but
the number Will doubtless far exceed a
hundred
Vessel is Beached.
After the vessel refused to obey her
helm she drifted around three times and
finally was beached broadside the
rocks at the mouth of the harbor. She
is still burning and will be total
loss.
Captain Littlers body, which was ter
ribly mutilated, was landed this after
noon in the presence of great crowds, who
stood uncovered. The other bodies were
also mutilated and burned Fifty-six of
the rescued are being cared for in hos
pitals.
Many of the women behaved with
greater calmness than the men, who were
utterly panic The cause of the
fire is not known, but denial was made
that there were explosives aboard I'm
questionably, however, explosions oc-
Cured, and it was first believed that the
rapid spread of the flames was due to
the flowing naptha-
First Signs Of Fire.
The Sardinia was scarcely mile off
from Grand Harbor when the first sign
of fire appeared, but with strong wind
to fan the flames, the whole ship was
soon ablaze and the passengers and crew
had scarcely a chance for their lives.
There was frightful panic on board as
the rapidly spreading flames drove the
passengers to the rails, and many of the
excited ones, not even waiting for the
boats to be lowered, plunged into the sea.
Scores are believed to have been drowned.
Others, trapped by the fire, were literally
roasted to death or smothered without a
chance for life.
Rush to Help.
There were many craft in the harbor at
the time of the disaster and several tugs
and other swift small vessels rushed to
the assistance of the mperled liner The
high sea and half gale which prevailed
at the time, however. made 1t impossible
for them to even approach the Sardinia.
and they could do little in the way of
aid.
The Sardinia left Liverpool November
IA with a cargo of general merchandise
for Mediterranean ports. Her crew num-
bered "A and about 20 first-class and six
second-class passengers embarked at Liv-
erpool
Most of her other 200 passengers un-
doubtedly were Levantines, Maltese and
Egyptians.
Many of these people cross on the
steamers of this line from Malta to Alex
apdria. 1t is their custom to pitch their
tan1s Oh decks for shelter during the four
davs' trip. The decks are cluttered and