The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1916-03-01
|aR aIls .MIK tn1. SINKS.
MAasOJA OF p. AND O. LINE LOST
WITH MANY ON BOARD.
Went Down Two Miles on Dover Half
I Hour After Striking Floating Mine
---6econA Vessel Sinks Trying to
\. Renfler. Aid.

'~ocSA SHINE Arylu& 70,
NenAer AID. s73 t.-,,e
Dover. Feb. 27.-The passenger
steamship Maloja, a 12,431 ton ves-
sci belonging. to the Peninsular and
Oriental line, struck a mine and sank
within half an hour two miles off
Dover. today. More than 40 passengers
were drowned or killed.
The Maloja left Tilbury yesterday
for Bombay with mails. 11s passen-
gers of all classes aboard, and a crew
numbering. about 2s0. most of them
Lascars. Other passengers. were to
board the ship at Marseilles.
The steamer was opposite Shak-
sphere cliff when an explosion shook
her from end to end. She listed i'm
mediately to. port. High seas were
running and the captain tried to run
her aground bit the engine room was
swamped and the ship became un-
manageable.
! The, plight of the vessel was OBJ
served and dozens of craft went at
full speed to her rescue. One Of them.
the British tanker Empress Of Fort
William Of 2.1Sl tons. struck another
mine and sank near by,
y Aboard the Maloja everything pos
stble was done to get the passengers
end crew of. All the boats had al
seady been swung out before she
stFaack an q precautiola against acci-
dent. and all thase aboard had suffi-
Client time 70 put. on life belts. i'm
strectiona in the use OF which had
been given the previous evening.
& Boat after boat and, a number OF
rats we're sent away but several per-
into the water. and, were
picked up by the surrounding craft.
3 was at first thought that all had
been saved but later several bodies
Mfrs washed ashore and their NUM-
bee wea gradually added to, during the
- I. s..r -I
0NinE, to tho tact that Dover is un-
Aes s,.strtct military law It was possible
s. ehtaiH only meagra details from
shoss rescued. The captain said that
The :, passengers and crew behaved
spleudidly.
,.sThe passengers were for the most
pAft British officials in the Indian
aetvice. the most prominent being
1ndes Oidf,eld OF the Indian high
court Only one of the crew OF the
Epprsss. Of Fort William was
drowned. 49,, -, =, 49,. .sis,..,.1,.,,.
Up to midnight the bodies landed
from tho Maioja included is men. IL
women and four children, in addition
to IL Lascars. Among the dead Ia
Mrs. Mcleod, wife Of Gen. Mcleod.
!, IT was about 1880 /, o'clock in tile
morning that the disaster occurred.
The MalojA was. steaming down the
channel. children playing on the deck
and most Of the passengers carrying
iifebelts in their hands. Suddenly
terrific explosion blew in the side of
the second saloon and, 20 minutes
later the Maloja sank.
Just before. she went to the bottom
the vessel turned turtle and for a few
seconds the keel was visible above
the surface. According to eye wit
nesses. there was second explosion,
and while under water the vessel
righted herself again. her masts being
visible before she finally sank.
The captain and officers stuck by
the ship to the last. Though all were
saved. not one OF them left the ship
in the boats. They were all picked
UP out Of the water. The captain
from the bridge directed the lower
fns OF the boats, and called on every
body to keep calm and everybody
maintained a wonderful calm, for the
scene Immediately after the explosion
was one sufiiciently terrifying to
cause a panic. Several children were
blown to pieces and the deck was
covered with wreckage and wounded,
but there was no sign of q panic.
: Only a few boats could be lowered
md. the heavy sea made the rescue
work difficult. The majority of those
saved We're on RATS, Of which the
chip carried q large number. Most of
the women and children lost their
lives. owing to the fact that one boat
already In the water drifted under
another which was being lowered aud