New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-01-02
TWELVE MEN LOST
PULLED INTO TEETH
OF GALE.
Halt of Johanna's Crezo Miss
ing after Sugar. A1oash,
Clogged Pumps.

On the morning of Thanksgiving Day
when the steel three-master Johanna
was about one hundred miles to the
eastward of Cape Hatteras. rounding out
a long voyage from the Philippines. Au-
gust Smitheon, the carpenter, casually
sounded the well. The ship. which had
$250,00O sugar cargo in her hold. was
behaving we'll, and there wasn't rea-
son in the world for the carpenters act.
He had nothing particular to do at that
time, and out of mere curiosity sounded
the well and discovered that the trim
three master had sprung a leak.
He reported al once to Captain Nicker-
son that there was eight feet of water
In her, and instantly an examination was
made in all matches. There were eight
feet of water in the lazarette. and the
same depth was also found forward. A
sailor who went below came back with
the startling information that the water
had soaked into the sugar bags and that
the sticky, half-empty sacks We're rolling
back and forth in eight feet of briny
syrup.
The pumps were started but, clogged
with this thick stuff, refused to work
efforts could not reduce the slime in the
hold. They worked throughout the morn
Ing and early in the afternoon gave up
the task as hopeless.
The Johanna in the blow the night be-
fore had reached off shore and hove to
under top gallant sails. She was head
ing in shore on the starboard tack in the
| morning when the carpenter found she
was taking in water on the port side
amidships.
CREW ORDERED TO BOATS.
Shortly after noon Captain Nickerson
told his men that the Johanna could not
long keep af1oat and he ordered the port
watch of twelve men, under A. w. Wy
man, the mate. to get away in the port
llfeboat Into this boat with the mate
climbed Smitheon, the carpenter; Chris
ClauSen, Emil Heinz, Alexander Lindsay,
the cook: Thomas Kyle. ]. J. Houlihan.
Japanese named Charlie" and four
Philiepno seamen. They pulled away
from the ship about a mile and when
last seen were making a desperate effort
to KEEP the lifeboat's head to the wind.
The seas became choppy and several
hours before dark the port lifeboat could
not be seen. 1t is thirty-seven days
since the twelve men in the port life
boat pulled away from the sinking Jo-
hanna, and no word has come from them.
1t is believed that they went down some-
where near the place where the Johanna
went under with her $3.50. 1000 worth of
Philippine sugar.
The wind blew hard against the star
board lifeboat as it was loosened from the
davits, and Captain Nickerson ordered
it shifted to the port side where it could
be dropped with safety. The skipper told
the men to hurry, and he counted the
remaining twelve members of the Jo-
hanna's crew as they jumped into the
second 1ifeboat, which also was to take
him. Sailormen are superstitious, but it
never occurred to them when Captain
Nickerson left the sinking sugar ship
and jumped among them that he was
the thirteenth man. There was too
much to be done to give heed to the I'M
lucky number thirteen.
The skipper told the men to pull as
hard as they could and get away from
the Johanna as quickly as possible This
was not an easy task. for the seas were
high and the wind was strong The men
at the oars finally got clear of the sink
ing ship, and fifteen minutes later. when
they were about three hundred wards
away from her, the Johanna went down.
According to the men in the starboard
l1feboat, She gave three dead rolls and
went under bow first. On the second roll
the mainmast snapped and crashed upon
the deck.
TWELVE SURVIVES HEE.
The thirteen men who saw the Johanna
sink belived that they would soon follow
her, but fate chose otherwise and twelve
of them arrived here yesterday safe and
sound on the steamship Korona from
ST Thomas West Indies. The survivors
besides Captain Nickerson are Hector
Wallace, second mate; Oscar Guelberg.
sailmaker; NJ. w. Omar, B. Masterson.
E. r. Dyatt and James Low. able
seamen; Frank Tanaka, a Japanese;
Aranita, Findriginao. Navarro and
Narpheo, Philippine sailors; and William
Joyce, an English sailor, who was a
stowaway. Joyce did not come north
with the others on the Korona, having
sailed from Santo Domingo on a sailing
vessel bound for Liverpool
Captain Nickerson said yesterday that
it was mere luck that the starboard
lifeboat kept afloat long enough for the
| men to be picked up
we had food and water" he said.
but it was out of the question to try to
row to land. We were off the track of
the coastwise ships and our only chance
lay in the possibility of being seen by
some sailing vessel The boat was stout
enough but we were in such heavy seas
that we had difficulty I'm keeping the
waves from breaking over her.
Il expected that we would be swamped
any minute. We drifted all day Friday
without seeing vessel but at night we
saw the starboard light of a schooner
bound south She was about a mile
away, and we signalled with rockets. but
they were wet and did not make much of