The Alaska daily empire., 1918-10-30
BODY OF JOHN E. PUCH AMONG x BODIES RECOVERED YESTERDAY--
 THE TOTAL REACHES 177 WITH 8
 UNIDENTIFIED -- WRECKER AT SCENE

1 fectly safe. Captain Leadbetter then asked if he should stand by all night or go to anchor, and Captain Locke answered Go to anchor" The King and Winge also stood by.
 The Storm Increases. October 25 the storm increased. Captain Locke did not wish to at tempt to land passengers. In any even, it is hardly possible that many could have been saved at that time. He stated that he was all right and for the Cedar to go to anchor. Steam was up on the Sophia and lights going. The King and Winge also took shelter and anchored.
 The Distress Call.
 At 4 50 D. m came an SOS. call from the Sophia, saying that she was laundering on the reef. The Cedar immediately got under way. but could not find the wreck. The storm was gale and so thick that the captain could not see the nose of his boat. He had to return to anchor. At daylight on the 26th made way to the wreck. It was still showing. The Sophia had been shifted entirely over the reef and nothing of the former showed. Im ,mediately began to look for signs of survivors, but saw nothing found raft with five bodies, but no sign of life. .ss All officers whom I have inter- viewed state that Captain Locke showed no lack of judgment and did what any level-headed sea-faring nan would have done. It is noted that the sos. call came in at 4:50 o'clock and that high tide was at 5:47. It thus seems that it was nearly high tide when the Sophia finally foundered. The statement of MT. Miller, the wireless operator on board the Cedar, shows that at 4:50 D. m. came the first SOS. call, the operator saying: Taking water and toundering. For Gods saks come and save us." The Cedar answered.: Coming full speed, but cannot see account of thick snow and taking heavy seas.' Communication was kept up until 5:20 p. m., when the Sophia's battery was so weak that
 1t was almost impossible to under stand. The operator of the Cedar told him to quit talking except for what was absolutely necessary so as to save his battery. He replied: All right, but for Gods sake hurry. Water soming in the room" No more was heard from him.
 How l. Happened.
 In regard to my own movements, left Juneau on the King and Winge at 500 a. m. October 27. Upon arriving Young's Bay, at 500 a. m., we saw gas boats picking up bodies. We feared the tides and winds might carry the bodies away and I instructed the captain of the King and Winge to start about a mile above the other gas boats and pick up what we could. By ten o'clock we had put thirty bodies on board. Other boats recognized from the King and Winge were the Estebeth, Monaghan, Sitka and am other small gas boat, the name of which I could not pick up.
 1 All the bodies found had on life preseryers and were floating in a | thick scum of oil From this l de- | duced that when the ship went over the reef she broke the oil tanks and that at the same time the pas sengers were swept overheard. i do not think that the bodies came from lifeboats or rafts. I saw no evidence of any person having been lashed to life rats, although five were picked up near the head of Shelter Island near wrecked raft.
 At ten o'clock we continued and anchored to the south side of Shel- ter Island, at which point the King and Winge gave a dory to the FL sinor, which was headed for her pa trol of Lincoln Island. The Elsin- or had on board five bodies which
 were transferred to the King and Winge, and the King and Winge instructed to return to Juneau.
 which she did, after transferring me to the Cedar near the head of Shel-
 ter Island at two p. m. It was too
 stormy that afternoon to land boats
 and we returned to the south side
 of Shelter Island, where we anchored
 for the night.
 On the morning of the 2Sth af-
 ter sending word to the Pacific going