Cresco plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1913-1945, 1913-08-22
VESSEL STRIKES
: UNCHARTED ROCK
Over Thirty Persons Perish Off
Alaskan Coast.
NUMBER OF VICTIMS WOMEN

Steamer State Of California Founders
Three Minutes After the Accident
Panic Occurs on Board and Wild
Rush 10 Made for Lifeboats-Some
Of the Lest Perish in Their State
rooms.
/, Juneau, Alaska, Aug. 19.-Twenty-
Eve or more passengers, most OF
them women, and seven members Of
ship company's vessel State of Cali
fornia lost their lives Sunday when
-the ship struck an uncharted rock
In Gambler bay at $3.50 a. m. Sunday
and sank in three minutes.
Many of the passengers went down
with the ship, imprisoned in their
staterooms.
Others were able to reach RATS and
iifeboats, but died from exposure.
The purser lost all of his records
and it is not possible to give list
OF the missing.
The uninjured survivors. crew and
passengers. are being taken to
Seattle on the steamer Jefferson and
will arrive there Thursday.
A great hole was torn in the bot
tom of the State of California. The
vessel and cargo, mail and express,
are total loss. The ship was valued
at 100000. A number Of horses for
use on the Shushanna trail were lost.
The State of California, large
passenger ship, left Seattle Wednes-
day for Skagway and way points.
Travel to the north is unusually heavy
on account of the stampede to the
Shushanna gold fields and nearly
every stateroom was occupied.
The vessel was running at full
speed. The first breakfast bell had
Just rung and practically all the pas
.sengers were in their rooms prepar-
ing to 60 to the dining saloon.
The vessel slackened speed with a
Jerk. There was a crunching noise
and she listed heavily. The call for
all hands on deck was followed by
an outpouring of panic stricken men,
women and children.
Rush to Reach Lifeboats.
The crew began lowering lifeboats
and RATS. There was rush to reach
them. The less excited of the men
tried for moment to quiet the panic.
AS the first boat swung from it's day.
its over the side it was seen that
there scarce would be time to launch
I: all the boats and RATS.
There was no chance for escape by
that time for those whose rooms were
below deck. A number of staterooms
I. Immediately adjoining the dining
saloon, among the best accommo-
.dations on the vessel, were the first
to be flooded. 1t is believed they were
occupied.
Despite the panic and the brief in
~erval before the engine rooms were
flooded and the electric current cut
of the wireless operator flashed the
s. o. S. call many times.
The steamship Jefferson OF the
.sAlasSa Cteamship company, south
bound, was the only vessel near
enough to reach the State of Califor-
mia. She turned back and started for
the wreck at full speed. When she
:. arrived the survivors. were in life
boats and on RATS. The stricken ves-
, sci had disappeared.
The crew numbered fifty-two men.
Captain Cam and forty men are on
the steamship Jefferson returning to
: Seattle, seven persisted and First or
r. fcer Abernathy and three men are
standing by the wreck. The ship is
sunk in deep water and there Is no
hope Of salvage.
Ten of the passengers had suffered
so severely from exposure that it was
necessary to take them to a hospital
in Juneau
The State of California, steam
ship of 2,256 gross tons, was built III
1879. For many years she had car
ried passengers between Puget Sound
and San Francisco.
Thieves MISS BIG HAUL