Norwich bulletin. [volume] (Norwich, Conn.) 1895-2011, 1914-01-06

New York, Jan. 5.-The oil tank
steamer Oklahoma broke in two amid
shlpS without warning at 7.50 ocIock
Sunday morning south of Sandy Hook
and d large number OF her crew OF
some forty men perished.
Ihe stern section. in which was sit
uared all the heavy machinery OF the
vessel, ard on which there were thirty
two ,5le1chers OF the crew, sank imme-
dlat~ty. Eight members OF the crew
were r@5cueJ BY the Hamburg Ameri-
can line steamer Bavaria, whose cap
tam SAYS ne also saw an open boat OF
the OKsehoEa put away from the
wreck With eiEht or ten men in it.
Message from BaVsria's Captain.
This information was contained in
wireless despatch received by the
Hamburg american line here tonight
from Captain Gra&lfs of the steamer
Bavaria. which was proceeding TO Bos-
ten with the eight survivors of the
tanker IN r0arc. The message, which
came by way of Siasconsett, said:
'Cn Jan. ), at 8 a. M, we sighted
signals Of distress of a vessel. The
wind was north-northeast, with a We
iocijy Of forty eishc miles al hour. The
seas Igere high and rough. At dawn
we saw tne fur4part OF a steamer float
ing II the water. it was the tank
steam er 0kLaohTna from New York.
Lifeboats Smashed or Lost.
'.At a. NJ. We were close to the
wreck and lowered a boat with six
men who succeeded, after great et-
fort in Se.ZII g Z. rope hat was thrown
to them from the Oklahoma. The men
of the Oklahoma lowered themselves
into tie boat, quite exhausted by their
experience Of the last cwentyfour
hours.
Captain Gunther stated that last
Sunday at 7.30 a. m, during heavy
weather. and without any previous
warning, the ship suddenly broke in
two behind the bridges. IL about
twenty minutes the after part OF the
ship, with q crew Of thirty two men,
sank into the deep, the stern pointed
upward with the propeller twirling.
The forepart was kept aloat by the
bulkhead, the stem no TO the rear edge
protruding from the water The life
boats either went down with the snip
or were smashed Immediately after the
catastrophe.
Spanish Steamer Unable to Aid.
"On the evening of Jan. a Spanish
steamer (probably the Manuel CaIvo)
had appeared in the vicinity of the
Oklahoma, but was unable owing to
the bad weather TO accomplish any
thing. Immediately after the Bavaria
reached the scene this morning the
United Fruit steamer TenadOres ar
rived at the scene of the disaster, but
there was nothing left TO be done, the
Bavaria having taken on the men. The
life saving work took place in latitude
S9O7 north, longitude 73.45 west
Shortly after this message had been
received by the Hamburg American
line, another came from Captain
GraaIfs. This said: According to
statements made by some of the men
saved, a boat from the stern part OF
the Oklahoma, with eight to ten men
in it. was seen. Its whereabouts is not
known"
Lost Steamer Worth 100000.
The Oklahoma was valued at $780,
600. John Kennedy, superintendent OF
the marine department of the Gull
Refining company, owners of the YES
sci, said he could not conceive how the
ship could have gone down even in
bad weather. The ship was perfectly
equipped and in good condition. he
said. when she left for Port Arthur
Texas, in ballast.
81 have no idea what happened to
the ship" said the superintendent
She was an excellent seagOing craft
built six years ago, with the full re-
quirements for oil tank vessels. She
made several trips across the Atlantic
Captain Gunter is one of the Oldest