Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-01-27

them from the revenue cutter Seneca,
which arrived last night from the scene
of the disaster. a great throng III OIL
fcers and Seanlen of the steamships
If the White Star Line in dock. to-
Their with 900 or 400 spectators, were
on the pier when Captain Sealby and
his shpWrecked crew stepped down
| the gangplank. Officers and seamen
alike made d rush for Captain Sealby
and lifting him to their shoulders car
ri.d him the whole length of the dock
to the street, while the crew yelled
itself hoarse and stewards on the
steamships blew trumpetS. Behind the
captain the crowd carried aloft the
brave Binns. the wireless telegraph
operator Captain Sealby was carried
from the street to the offices of the
steamship company on the second floor
of the pier. where only on his earnest
protest would the crowd cease its
dtmonstraton.
Few marine stories in recent years
Of marvellous escapes from tie sea
equal in dramatic intensity the graphic
story that Captain Sealby told today
of the escape of Second Officer Will
Hams and himself from the Tast sink
ing Republic. The captain would not
talk of the collision with the steamship
Florida. Captain Sealby said:
1T WAS about o'clock Sunday night
a. which time the Republic was sink
ing and only myself and Williams were
on the bridge. There was rumblng
and cracking at the after end of the
boat The stern was settling very
rapidly and the sea was pretty bad.
| Then I said to Williams:
well, what do YOU think about it,
N,illiams?' and Williams replied i
don't think it will be a long race. Let
us sprint for it. When you are ready
let her 60 l looked aft again and
saw bow fast she was going and told
| Williams to burn the blue light. Then
| | fired my revolver five times to let
the boats around me know that we
| were going off. Turning to Williams l
said: Let us take to the forward rig
ging and we ran from the bridge to
the saloon deck, burning our blue
lights as we went and carrying an
ordinary lantern.
when we got to the saloon deck steps
the water was coming in little aft of
where we stood. AS we ran forward the
| stern was sinking SO rapidly that the in
| cine was so steep that when We got to
the forerigging we started to slip back
and could hardly keep on deck. The last
| saw of Williams he had crossed the port
rail and was hanging over the side. l
took to the rigging and went up as high
| as the masthead lights, a distance of
many feet. 1 rested there and took out a
blue light. 1t was wet and would not go
| off and l then fired the last shot from
my revolver. The water had now caught
| up to me, coming up under my great
! coat and 1 f1oated. The revolver and my
| binocular held my coat down, acting as a
| sort of ballast. At this time the water
| was a roaring, seething mass all about
me.
| Il was caught in a whirlpool for some
time and l was churned around until l
| came to the surface. l tried to pull off
my coat but could not. There was con-
| siderable debris about me and I managed
to catch hold of some broken spars. Then
1 caught a large hatch covering and pull
ed myself out on the hatch and lay on it
| spreadeagle fashion. The searchlights
had been playing on the ship and We're
| now playing on the spot where she went
down 1t seemed an interminable time
|
load my revolver again and fired it to at
| tract their attention. The bullets had
been creased and that kept them dry
| Il was getting weak cold and numb.
| just lay on the hatch and saved my
| strength until the last shouting at inter-
walls Then, when the lights played on
| me | waved a towel which I had found
| floating near me and shortly after the
|
picked me up and carried me aboard. I
| found Williams in the little lifeboat. l
thought had seen the last of him..
Capt Sealby praised the courage of the
| Republics passengers, officers and crew
and the wireless operator, Binns. He
| expected to make his report of the acct
| dent to the officers of the White Star
| Co. sometime today. Second Officer
Williams said that when he found HIM
| self in the sea he seized two pieces of
floating grating and held himself up be-
tween them until picked up by the rev.
enue boat officer Williams said:
They found me before they picked up
| Captain Sealby. and when the captain
was taken aboard the lifeboat and lay
still for a time he then turned and threw
| his arms around me and said: You were
| game to the last.
| Passengers of the Republic who wish
| to resume the cruise will be cared for at
| hotels here in New York until Thursday
| or Friday, when they will be sent to
| Boston by train. At Boston they will
| he taken on board the Romano. which
| sails from that city on Saturday for a
| cruise similar to that on which the Re-
public was bound when she colided with
| the Florida. Those who do not care to
| embark on the Romantic will be taken
! on board the Baltic, which sails from
| New York next Saturday. and carried to
| Liverpool At Liverpool they will Ne
| transferred to another steamship bound
for the Mediterranean cruise. Some may
| sail on the Vaderland from New York
| tomorrow
| A White Star Line official said today
| that one result of the accident was the
| immediate revocation of the license of
Capt Seaby of the Republic Capt. Seal
by will remain in New York for several
| days and then will proceed to Liverpool.
| There he will be cited to appear before
the Board of Trade for examination as to
| the exact cause of the sinking of the Re-
| public. If the Board of Trade eXonerates
| the captain from responsibility for the