Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1914-09-25
30 LOSE LIVES
WHEN SHIP SINKS
Steamer Leggett Goes Down
Off Oregon Coast.
ONLY TWO MEN ARE SAVED
Survivor Picked Up by Another
Boat Tells Thrilling Tale of Res
cue From Storm-Lashed Waters
of the Pacific Ocean.

Portland, Ne, Sept. 22.-Between
seventy and eighty men, women and
children. coastwise passengers and
crew, on the three-masted steam
schooner Francis H. Leggett were
drowned when the Leggett was
pounded to pieces in a gale 60 miles
south of the mouth OF the Columbia
river Saturday.
Alexander Farrell, the only survivor
to reach land thus far, recounted
how, in the height of the storm, Cap
tain ]. Jensen of San Francisco, a
passenger, who lost his own ship six
months ago, and for four months sue
ceeding was marooned on an unhab-
tied island, came to the aid of Captain
Moro of the Leggett, took command
OF the passengers and controlled them
until she sank, taking him with her.
The other rescued passenger, George
II. Pullman of Winnipeg, Canada, is
on board the Buck, which is now lying
off the Columbia bar awaiting calmer
weather before crossing in.
Farrell, who had recovered consid-
erably. from his exhaustion, said the
Leggett carried a full list of passen-
gers, between forty and fifty, while the
crew numbered about twenty-five.
The craft carried a full load Of
lumber said Farrell. Almost i'm
mediately after leaving Gray's Harbor,
Wash, we ran into heavy weather,
which increased in violence until
morning, when it was blowing ter
rife gale.
Shortly after noon the crew began
to jettison the deckload, and most of
the passengers were driven below to
keep them out of harms way. Sud-
denly terrific sea tore open a hatch,
the water pouring in in torrents and
the vessel lurched to one side and
capsized. All this occurred within a
crew launched two boats, one contain
ing two women and four men and the
other with four women and their hus-
bands on board.
1T was at that moment that the
only excitement occurred. AS the Sec
ond boat was being prepared some
men rushed for it, but Captain Jensen
made them stand back, saying he
would shoot the first man who stepped
aboard until all the women were cared
for The effort was useless, however,
for as soon as the small boats struck
the water they capsized, and all in
them we're lost.
eto hriH un
when the steamer went over. l went
down with the suction, how far / cam
not say, but it was a long way. For
tunately / was able to grab floating
tie. Probably thirty people were in
sight when | first came to the sur
face, hanging to pieces of wreckage,
but they succumbed one by one until
there were only five of us left.
"One of these was the wireless OPP
orator and the other three besides my
self were women. The latter kept afioat
until nearly dark, when they too dis
appeared 1t must have been about
$40 in the afternoon when the Leg
gett turned turtle, and it was one
o'clock in the morning before l was
picked up"
Farrell said the wireless operator
chung to a railway tie until a woman
was tossed against him by the waves.
He helped her grasp hold of the tie,
but it was not large enough to hold
them both above the surface. Real
izing the situation, the man let go and
sank.