Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-02
AFTER LONG DELAY
Thanksgiving Day Drownings'
Reported Yesterday.
TWELVE MEN LOST AT SEA
Survivors of British Schooner Crew
Landed in New York.
VESSEL DESTROYED BY STORM
Goes Down About $50 Miles From
Delaware eakwater-Captain
Among Those Saved.
TWELVE MEN LOST AT SEA
VESSEL DESTROYED BY STORM

NEW YORK, January 1.-Such are the
fortunes of those who go down to the
sea that twelve men who were lost on
Thanksgiving day of last year, when the
British schooner Johanna went down
not 100 miles from the Delaware break
water. We're not even known to be miss
ing until the survivors were brought to
port here today from ST. Thomas, Dan
ish West Indies, by the steamer korono.
1.-The Johanna was bound for the
breakwater from the Philippines for
ORDERS" said Capt. {. A. Nickerson to-
day. When she became unseaworthy
in heavy weather two lifeboats were
put out--one with thirteen men aboard.
of which l took command, and the other
with twelve men. There was bowling
wind, a blanket of driving scud over the
face of the sky and a gray, mountain
Gus sea. My boat was put out last
From moment to moment we saw the
other boat heave up against the sky
line on the crest of a wave. and then,
presently, we saw her no more.
Captain Loses Hope.
Il had hoped on reaching this port to
get some word of her. We were picked
up ourselves by the Nova Scotian
schooner E. A. Sabean and carried to
the West Indies. l hoped the others
might be equally fortunate, but. since
you tell me nothing has been heard of
them in all this time, they must have
undoubtedly been lost
1t was ! o'clock in the morning OF
Thanksgiving day that the ships car
penter reported that the ships port seams
We're opening up fast. All hands were
ordered to the pumps. The men heaved
like rowers at the pump arms. but no
was puzzled. and then he remembered
his cargo-the Johanna was laden with
sugar.
1t was clear enough what was happen
ing. Down in the ships hold the sugar
bags We're swelling to the bursting point
with sea water, and as they burst they
filled the hold with a thick treacle that
clogged the pumps.
With the pumps disabled the tate OF
the schooner was foregone.
Leave in the Small Boats.
"When we hoped against hope that
some other vessel might see u.s. said
one OF the survivors today, then it be-
came necessary to take to the small boats.
No use. After day of killing work
the Johanna began to list more and more
heavily to port.
Eleven men, including the mate. put
out first. We were not long in following,
IOT tIle JOildHIld was staggering uIlQeI
our feet. Not ten minutes after we left
her :he vessel began to roll with dead
drunken lurch. Three long, dead rolls
she gave. With the second of them her
mainmast went by the board, her heels
went up, her nose went down. She gave
a sick. careening plunge and dove under
forever"
Discovered by Passing Schooner.
Thursday the Johanna went down, and
it was a nearly hopeless lot that caught
sight. just at dusk of Saturday, of the
schooner E. A. Sabean, bound for Sa-
mana. Fortunately the schooner saw
them and shaped her course to pick them
uD
The missing men are. First Mate Wy
man. Alexander Lindsay. cook; Seaman
Thomas Kyle; j. j. Houlihan. boatSWain,
August Smitton. carpenter; Chris Clusen.
a Danish seaman; Emil Heinz, German
seaman, and four Filipino and one JaIa-
nese seaman
The Johanna was a three-masted steel
schooner of 1.7i2 tons, belonging to .-4e
Standard Oil feet.