River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1912-12-26
WRECK CLAIMS q
WAVES POUND STEAMER FLOR
ENCE TO PIECES OFF
NEWFOUNDLAND.
ONLY 5 SAILORS SAVED.
These Had Gone on Hunt for Place
to land-Exhausted Survivors
Bring News of Sea Ira
gedy to ST. Johns.

st, Johns, N. W., Dec. 24-Twenty-
two Of the q members Of the crew Of
the Furness line steamer, Florence,
from Halifax, N S., for ST. Johns, lost
their lives in the wreck of the vessel
on the lodges west of st. Shotts dur
ing a northwest gale last Friday. Five
exhausted survivors, who reached land
in a boat, brought the news to Ire
passey. The steamer carried no pas
sengers.
All Reached Shore.
Captain Barr of the steamer and all
his men reached shore after the YES
sci struck, but the lofty, inaccessible
cliffs of st. Shots prevented their es-
cape. The big tide, backed up by
the northwest gale, made it impossible
to remain there and all hands were
obliged to put back to the ship, which
was pounding heavily.
Captain Barr felt confident that the
wind would go down, but Second Mate
]. Hedley volunteered to take four
seek a more favorable landing place
further along the coast In the heavy
seas then running the captain was I'M
willing to risk more lives and gave
his consent to the second mates ex-
petition with reluctance.
Men Swept in Safety.
With great difficulty, Hadley plotted
his small boat along the coast until he
saw a break in the rugged line of
cliffs. Pointing the nose of the boat
directly into the surf, avoiding the
outlying rocks and, on the crest of a
great breaker, ran his craft in with
out being upset. Tumbling out hasti-
ly to avoid being sucked back by the
undertow the mate and his four men
dragged their boat up the beach, out
of reach of the sea, and made their
way back along the cliff to where the
steamer lay. The wind and sea in the
meantime had increased.
The combers broke continually over
the decks of the vessel, which was
grinding heavily on the jagged rocks.
Hedley and his men searched in vain
for some path by which the cliff
might be scaled or the crew of the
Florence helped. The coast in that
Vicinity was uninhabited. The few
fishermen's huts were deserted for the
winter and the five men had to take
refuge for the night in one of these
abandoned shacks.
Vessel Had Gone Down.
At daybreak Saturday, Hedley found
that the wind had been steadily in
creasing. Hurrying back to the point,
off which the Florence lay, he could
see no sign of the steamer. Consider
able of her cargo of lumber was float
ing along the shore, but no small boats
were visible.
The five survivors made a long and
thorough search along the coast for
their shipmates but no trace of them
was to be found They then started
for ST. Shots, the nearest inhabited
place, several miles distant. Two of
them were so exhausted from cold
and exposure that they had to be as
sisted These two were left at ST.
Shots to recuperate while the others
pushed on to Trepassey, whence they
Sent WOIu vi IHG u1SdSCSl " ills CITY
They are not expected to arrive here
before the middle of the week
The Survivors.
Besides Mate J. Hedley, the surviv
ors are Seamen w. Wright, 0. Malm
quist, E. Taylor and T. Smeding.
The steamer Florence was OF 1909
tons burden and was built in Sunder
land, England, in 1889. She was 1885
feet long, 4O.2 feet beam, with depth
of 26.1 feet.