The Skyland post. [volume] (West Jefferson, N.C.) 193?-1988, 1935-11-21
TALES OF HEROISM
AND HORROR TOLD
BY SHIP SURVIVORS
San Francisco Manila Boat Crashes
in Mid Ocean With Results
OF Disaster

How survivors sang on wavelash-
ed rocks to keep up their spirits as
they saw comrades die, was told in
Manila, Thursday, when the de-
stroyer Peary locked with 43 per-
sons rescued from boiling seas,
where the ferighter Silverhazel
crashed Sunday.
Tales of heroism and horror re-
vealed one woman victim went in
sane before drowning and that the
vessels missing captain surrender
ed his life belt to a crew member,
then disappeared while trying to
save his pet dog.
The vessal carrying five passen-
gers and a crew of 40, crashed
while en- route to Manila from San
Francisco, and it was not until
Wednesday that all survivors were
rescued by RATS, either from the
wreckage or the rocks to which
they chung four days.
"We were on the rocks for two
night" said Mrs. JEANNE Zerfing,
of Los Angeles, one of the passen-
gers. "The entire party joined in
singing to keep up our spirits. Dick
Cook, second mate on the Silver
hazel, finally thought of making
RATS from lumber on the wreck"
On these, the survivors fioated
out to where rescuers from the
Peary and the destroyer Bulmer
could pick them up.
Other survivors told how Capt.
H. A. Lennard surrended his life
belt to an unprotected crew men,
Der as the last rift was ready to
leave the rock for the rescue craft,
100 feet away.
When all other were aboard the
raft, the captain tied his small pet
dog around his neck and plunged
into the water. He swan short
distance, but the dogs weight ap-
parently was to much, and both dis
appeared in the turbulent waters
of San Bernardina Straits. The
scene of the wreck is $50 miles
southwest of here.
Woman Went Insane
The Silverhazel's doctor, E. l..
Neffin- Elkins, said Mrs. Neil Will
iams, of Los Angeles, went insane
from terror before she slipped off
the rock and drowned.
The other death victim, whose
body was recovered, was Bernard
C. Mcpherson, apprentice seaman.
Mrs. Zerfng said she was alseep
in her cabin when the ship struck.
IT did not realize anything had
happened until my cabin compan-
ion, Mrs. c. E. Windham, of Los
Angeles, awoke me and said the
ship was sinking.
eve rushed on the upper deck as
the lower one was under water. 1t
looked as if the wreckage, damned
against the rocks, would slip off in
to deep water, SO the sailors made
chairs and used derrick to put us
on the rock. The waves were very
high and we almost were washed
off several times.
''The men made tents of material
from the wreck. We had lots of can
ned milk to drink and food from
the ship.
cit was evident rescue boats
would be unable to get close to the
rock because of the waves. Rats
were made aboard the Silverhazel.
Then we jumped off the rock and
swan to them.
"When it came my turn, I Jump
ed and started for the raft. Capt.
Lennard, who had the dog tier to
his neck but no life jacket, was
swimming near me.
''He grabbed me and tried to
help him, but he went down.
81 was in the water ten minutes
before I reached the raft. Ten peo-
pie on our raft had hard time
keeping from being washed over
board. Finally when we got near
the Peary, sailors dropped ropes
and hauled us abroad. This is my
first sea trip and it was night