The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1909-01-26
PASSENGERS
AT new YORK
Steamer Baltic Lands Sur
viyors Of Sea Disaster.
GRAPHIC STORY OF WRECK


the Florida and the Double Trans
fer of Passengers-North Dakota
Man Among the Six Persons Who
Perished in the Accident.
New York, Jan. 26.-The dramatic
sea story of the wrecking Of the White
Star liner Republic by the steamer
Florida of Lloyd's Italian line, in
which six lives were lost and four
people injured, came to close when
the big steamship Baltic of the White
Star line came into port bearing on
board more than 1,600 passengers Of
the sunken Republic and the crippled
Florida. Stories told by the Repub-
lies passengers show that the trans
fer of passengers from the Florida to
the Baltic in the dark hours of Satur-
day night came perilously near result
ing in riot of the 500 Italian steer
age passengers on the Florida, who
believed that their vessel was in i'm
minent danger of sinking. Only the
efforts of the officers aided by several
of the Republics passengers, quieted
the frightened men, who sought to be
the first to board the lifeboats.
The officers of the Baltic report the
deaths Of Mrs. Eugene Lynch of Bos-
ton and w. J. Mooney of Langdon, N.
D., together with four negro sailors
whose names are not known. The
bodies of Mrs. Lynch and Mr.. Mooney
were placed in Theoretically sealed
Baskets, which sank with the steamer
Republic off Nantucket.
DR.. j. J. Marsh, physician on board
the Republic, gave the most graphic
story of the accident on the big liner.
DR.. Marsh said:
It was in my cabin and, hearing
three short whistles, knew that some
thing was wrong and turned out.
had hardly got to my feet when the
crash came There was one heavy
thud and then the engines stopped.
Half a minute later the electric lights
went out and when opened my state
room found myself in darkness.
Passengers Show Pluck.
"The saloon rapidly filled with wo-
men and children, half dressed, but
everybody did as they were told and
there was no panic. Let me say now
they were thoroughly Anglo-American
people for pluck I went on deck and
saw the lights of the Florida through
the fog. Captain Sealby gave orders
to get the lifeboats ready and in the
meantime all the passengers came up
on the upper deck. 1t was then that
Captain Sealby said to them:
II do not think the boat will sink.
It will go to a certain point and hang
there The women and children and
men gave three cheers for the cap.
tain and then, with few exceptions,
went to their staterooms to get their
clothes. Mr.. Lynch is on board the
Florida. He is brokenhearted over
the loss of his wife. His leg is frac-
tured. Mrs. NJ. ]. Murphy of Grand
Forks, N. D., sustained a severe in
jury to her right limb and there is a
steward on board the Florida by the
name of Woodward who sustained a
fracture at the base of the skull Mrs.
Griggs, who was injured, had a mirac-
ulous escape. She was found under
a pile of debris and for time it was
believed she was lost"
The transfer of passengers from the
Republic to the Florida was effected
without incident, but when it was
found that the Florida had insufficient
accommodations for the large number
on board and that she would make
slow time to New York the order to
retransfer all passengers to the Bal
tic, which had arrived several hours
before, was given. The night was
dark and the fog hung thick over the
troubled sea. Twenty lifeboats were
used to carry the passengers from the
Florida, which lay at distances vary.
ing 200 yards to 500 yards from the
Baltic.