Las Vegas optic. (East Las Vegas, N.M.) 1908-1921, 1911-07-08
souALL BROUGHT DISASTER TO
THE SANTA ROSA, STRAND
ED ON BEACH
SEVERAL LIVES ARE LOST
FOUR OF CREW, TOGETHER WITH
EIGHT PASSENGERS, BELIEv
ED TO HAVE PERlsHED
THRILLING RESCUES MADE
ONE HUNDRED NINETY-TWo PER.
SONS CONVEYED ASHORE BY
MEANS OF BREEcHEs BUOY

Surf, Calf, July S.-On the rocks
300 feet off the sand dunes surround.
ing the mouth of Honda creek, the
Pacific Coast Steamship company 5
steamer Santa Rosa, which stranded
Yesterday, lies today wave-battered
wreck. Somewhere near the broken
and submerged hulk are the bodies OF
Second Officer E. Heuson and three
sailors, Fred Johnston, E. w. Febson
and John Psiffer, who were drowned
last night while attempting to take
ashore the life buoy lines, by which
the passengers and crew were trans
ferred to land. All of the 200 pas
sengers were saved, according to the
chief steward, but contrary reports
say that many persisted. The wreck
of the Santa Rosa occurred shortly
after four o'clock in the afternoon.
Prior to that time she was lying
easily, with tow lines run out to the
steam schooners Centralia and He on
p. Drew, ready to be drawn off at
high tide last night. But at that
hour rising wind stirred am angry
sea and the vessel began pounding to
pieces. At first an effort was made to
run a buoy line to the Centralia, but
the high seas prevented this and it
was decided to try to pass the life line
across the 300 feet of breakers to the
shore.
Heusen was detailed by Captain
Faria, to take the line ashore. He
and his men launched life boat. Pas
sengers on the doomed vessel and a
throng of ranchers from the hills saw
the life boat mount the crest of
huge breaker, pause there for an in
stant and then plunge out of sight.
The foaming waters covered the
doomed sailors and they were not seen
again. The breeches buoy line, how
ever, was washed ashore. 1t was
picked up and made fast and from 6
O'Clock until $3.50 the dangerous work
of hauling the men and women pas
sengers ashore by a slender thread
suspended over the raging surf con-
tinued. Before 10 o'clock the surviv-
ing members of the crew were safely
ashore, and with the drenched, weary
and more or less hysterical passen-
gers were put aboard two special
trains from the north and sent to
Santa Barbara.
In spite. of assertions from the com
pany officials and ships officers to
the contrary, the passengers of the
wrecked steamer declare that more
than four sailors lost their lives. One
hundred and ninety-two passengers
are all that have been accounted fol
so far, say the survivors. There were
two hundred on the steamer and
many of the rescued declared today
that the missing ones went down tx
death when the surf battered life raft!
went to pieces.
There were probably eight passen
gers lost in all and it will be some
J time before the exact number Il
known" said @. G. Schooner of Sd.
Luis Obispo Two life boats capsized
one from the Santa Rosa in com
:. mand of Second Mate Heusen, ant
another from the steamer Helen P
Drew, which stood by us all day wait
ing for a chance to help us get lin'
ashore"
e The chief steward of the vessel dc
. clared that only Hensen and his thre
sailors lost their lives All the pass
= sengers were saved, he declared
Later he qualified his statement b
E. saying that all we're saved thai h
If could account for. aH if
NJ Many of the passengers were veht
ment in their denunciation of tn
y ships officers, who, they declared r'
u fused to land the passengers 500
after the Santa Rosa grounded nea