The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1918-01-16
STEAMSHIP texan
GOES DOWN OFF THE
ATLANTIC COAST
No Lives Lost as Result of Collision,
According to Adviccs to
Navy Department
VESSELS SENT TO RESCUE
Messages Indicate the Steamer Will
liamcttc May Have COllided
with Big Ship

Washington, Jan. 14.-No reports
have been received at the Navy De-
partmcnt from vessels ordered to the
assistance of the Amrican steamer
Texan, reported early in the day in
distress off the Atlantic coast as the
result of Il collision. According to
naval adviccs no lives were lost in the
collision and officials are confident
that, even if the ship went down, help
was at hand to rescue all on board.
Texan Reported Sinking
An Atlantic Port, Jan. 14.-Agcnts
of the American steamship Texan, a
vessel of 1i,00 tons today received
adviccs from naval authorities that
she was sinking at sea. The location
OF the snip was not given.
The naval authorities did not state
the cause of the Texans distress, but
reports reaching shipping circles here
from other sources were that the YES
sci had been rammcd amidship in COL
lision with another ship.
1T was said a steamer which had
picked up the Texans S. O. S. calls
was hurrying to her assistance and
to the boats.
Nitrate for France
The Texan left here recently with
cargo of nitratcs, bound for a French
port, agents of the vessel stated.
In the absence of definite word re-
garding the accident shipping men
expressed the opinion that the Texan
may have encountered an iceberg. Eff
forts were made by government radio
stations to communicate with ships
with which the Texan might have
been in collision The fact that the
Texan apparently was sinking soon
after being rammcd, without word as
to assistance by another vessel in
saving the crew, made the accident
puZzlnG, naval authorities said
Struck Amidship
Messages reaching here from an
other port said that a steamer arriv-
ing there today reported that at 4 p.
m. she picked up an S. O. S. call from
the Texan, reporting that she had
been struck amidship and was sink
ing. The last message from the Tex
an said: "Good- byc-no more"
The message did not give the loca-
tion of the ship, nor did they say how
she was damaged. There were forty
three men aboard. The Texans wire
less operator reported that the star
board boats had been lowered, that
the aft boat was lost and that an at
tempt was being made to lower the
! forward boat. Oil from the ships
/ mold was poured on the Starb0ard side
in an effort to make the sea condi-
tions better for launching the life
| boats.
/ Willamette Message
| The ship which brought word Of the
Texans plight reported that she had
cndcavored to get in touch with the
, latter direct, but hat not been able to
do so. The vessel picked up 4 mes
! .,"Ge to ." from lic I.eamc" William
cite, saying: $50 to assistance Of
, Texan"
a rJverm..rut lsdio station picked
: W a message ll;c1 from the steamer
Willamette sent to an unidentified
ship, saying: "Will you escort me
back to ="
! The answer was not intelligiblc. Ma
val authorities who got the message
said they were unable to determine
whether the Willamette had been in
collision with the Texan or had been
damaged by the same agency that
sent the Texan to the bottom. Moth
ing more had been heard from the
1 Texan at noon.
Fragmcntary wireless messages
suggest that the damaged steamers
belonged to a fleet passing north.
That none Of the messages indicated
what had struck them aroused some
concern as to the actual cause of their
trouble