Los Angeles herald., 1909-11-21

This was the only serious injury sus-
tanned by anyone on board.
The ST. Crox was about six miles
off shore, when the fire was first dis
covered at 1870, and as soon as the
alarm was given the captain ordered
the engines stopped and the oil shut
off from the boilers. Within fifteen
minutes the crew, under perfect disci-
| pline had succeeded in launching the
boats, and getting the passengers
aboard them.
dense fog lay over the sea, which
was calm. Captain Warner and sew
eral members of the crew were the last
to leave the doomed ship.
As the boats drew away from il they
were marshaled in line, with the cap
tain's boat in the lead Each one was
in charge of an officer For four hours
the crew rowed through the fog before
a safe landing place was found.
Many of the woman passengers were
taken violently i'll, some of them, una
voidably placed in exposed places, were
drenched to the skin. Water and pro-
visions were in the lifeboats, and after
landing was made a huge fire was
built, and the passengers made as COM
Portable as possible,
Discovered by oIer
Ernest Buholfer, a fireman, of San
Francisco, who was a passenger on the
St. CroiX, was in the engine room when
the fire was discovered by one of the
oilers. He arrived with Claggett and
confirmed the report of the bursting of
an ammonia pipe. His belief is that
the fire started in the shaft alley, and
burned for some time before it was dis
covered. He said he believed the am
monia pipes had burst from heat. Af-
ter the passengers and crew had landed
at the entrance of Zuni canyon the
burning vessel could be plainly seen
across the water. Explosions aboard at
intervals threw the flames high in the
air.
The absence Of flame for some time
after the alarm was given doubtless
prevented excitement among the pas
sengers, who at first believed that the
blaze was of slight consequence. The
GOODNESS of Captain Warner and the
officers and crew lent additional cour-
age to them, and when it was an
nounced that they would have to take
~ 1Aib bOetAS AllGl6 WAS not single
complaint. Throughout all the trying
hours, from the time the alarm was
given until the landing was made, there
was no murmur of fear or complaint,
Passenger Tells Story
'I was sitting on the lower deck read
ing when the first alarm of fire was
raised,' said II. e. Armstrong of San
Pedro. Before 1 realized what had
happened the boat was in a tumult.
men and women were jammed in the
hatchways in the struggle to get to tho
upper deck. So great was the con-
fusion that do not recall clearly what
happened, but remember the sight of
a woman at the foot of a hatchway
holding crucifiX aloft to be felled a
moment later by the rush of a crowd
of frantic men.
"I was swept across the upper deck
as I emerged from the hatchway and
thrown violently across the rail. Above
it all l could hear the roar of escap-
ing steam, the clamorous pounding of
the bell and the frenzied shouts of men
and agoniZed screams of women. Sud-
denly the surge to the rear of the ves-
sci began. 1t seemed inevitable that
the weaker of the passengers would be
swept overheard or trampled under
foot.
"a few moments later order began
to appear in the chaos as the first Of
ficer shouted through a megaphone
ordering the boats to be lowered ell
bowling his way through the strug-
Cling groups of men and raising his
voice reassuringly above the tumult.
believe if it had not been for his
presence of mind and quick realiza-
tion of his duty that the loss of life
would have been appalling. l remem-
Der seeing him seize two women just
as they We're in the act of leaping into
the sea. Shortly afterward he charged
down the cabinway clearing it of its
debris of humanity. giving an exit
to the passengers trapped below.