San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-09-10
% SAILORS DIE
IN WRECK Of
7DESTROYERS
Warships Pile Up on Rocks
While Cruising in
Heavy Fog.
ONE SINKS QUICKLY
Steamer Also Smashed Up
in Pacific; All Saved
But Ten Men.
ONE SINKS QUICKLY

Santa Barbara, CAL. Sept. lc.-
Twenty three sailors dead, and fif-
teen injured; seven destroyers OF the
Pacific squadron of the battlefield held
fast between rocks off Point Argue!lo
light, i'm the Pacific ocean between
San Francisco and Los Angeles. these
are the outstanding consequences To-
day of the navy's major marine disas-
ter in Pacific waters.
The injured are being nurscd at hes
p:tals here, trainload of survivors Is
headed for SAT Diego, the naval base.
whiic the seven ships are fast ap-
preaching -ota. wrecks by the inccs-
salt pounding % the surf.
lie warshIps went ashore While
cruising from San Francisco to San
Diego Saturday night, shortly after .
O'Clock in dense fog. Mistaken posi-
ion in relation to the coastline Is le-
licved to nave caused the crash. The
destloyers we're speeding through the
fog, hugging the shore in single file
formation, when they piled up OIL the
rocks from 200 to 500 yards apart
about 800 yards off short.
Sin<s in Few Seconds.
Tile fatalities which resulted from
the wrecks were divided among two
destroyers. Seven were from the
Delphy and the others died OH the de-
stroyer Young, which turned turtle
and sank in one minute and 81 Sec
onds after she struck.
The other destroyers, the S. L. Lee,
Nicholas, Fuller. Chauncey and Wood
bury, went aground in a position which
gave their officers and crews bette:
chance for their lives than afforded
the crews on the other craft.
The Pacific coastline. between San
Francisco and SanDiego juts into the
ocean between odnHOshrdlushrdlush
ocean between Honda and Point Ar
guelo where the vessels were wrecked.
The naval wrecks came while the
destroyer Reno. a member of the
squadron, had left the cruising line.
attracted by open boat loads of sur
vivors from the wrecked steamship
Cuba, a passenger vessel. The Cuba
went ashore off San Miguel island
off Santa Barbara county Il hours
; before, and its survivors were picked
up by, the Reno, with the exception
of one boat load.
The remaining boat was picked up
by the Standard Oil Tanker W. III.
Miller in the Santa Barbara chann'l
while its occupants were rowing out
to sea in dense fog. under the iIu-
preston they were headed for shore.
The Miller will reach San Francisco
today. The Reno landed its survivors
at San Pedro last night.
Shipment of Bullion.
Reports indicated that all aboard
the Cuba were saved with the excep-
ton of Capt. c. J. Holland, the purser
and eight members of the crew who
were reported to have remained on
board to guard Shipment of bullion.
Last nigth it was reported that the
Cuba parted and sank. Whether the
captain and his associates foresaw
the end of their craft and padded to
San Miguel island in an open boat,
or whether they were caught unawares
and swallowed up with the sinking
ship was an unanswered question early
today.
The Cuba was bound from South
American ports to San Francisco when
she wetn ashore.
With a heavy sea running today.
the tugs Partridge and Sonoma are
standing by the smashed and twisted
wreckage of the seven United States
naval destroyers.
Guard Of Ten Men Left.
Two destroyers of the flotilla. which
were not wrecked, have left for San
Diego with part of the crews of the
stranded craft, while others have been
sent away by train. A guard of ten
picked men has been left at the scene
of the wrecks. Two more tugs are
expected to arrive at the scene today.
Until the high surf which is running
has subsidized, it will be impossible to
salvage any material from the seven
destroyers.
The Fuller and Woodbury. both are
high upon the rocks. the former listing
30 degrees TO starboard and the latter
no degrees to port. The Chauncey has
lodged high up inside the rocks. but
she has remained upright. The Young
is on her beam and is three-fourths
submerged. The Delphy lies in a SINH
lar position. but she is broken in halt.
On the beach under the cliff the s. p.
Lee is stranded with a 20-degree list
to port. The Nicholas is broadside
from the beach, listed 10 degrees tol