The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 2, 1895, Page 1

VOLUME LXXVIIL—NO. 2. FORTY-ONE RESCUED And More Survivors of the Colima May Be Found. MANY FLOAT ON RAFTS. Burial of Fourteen Bodies Washed Ashore at Coahuayana. CAUSES OF THE DISASTER. It Is Clalmed That the Captain Lost His Presence of Mind When the Cargo Shifted. MANZANILLO, Mex., June 1 (via City of Mexico and Laredo).—It is now claimed that forty-one persons were saved from the wreck of the Colima. The statement is current here tha‘ the disaster was due to the captain losing his presence of mind ng to turn the overloaded vessel in h of the sea. ally believed that the steam- ghip San Juan could have saved more of the unfortunate victims of the wreck if such haste in departing from the scene of the disaster had not been made. The agents of the Pacific Mail here are strenuous in their denials of this state- ment. They declare that the San Juan eruised about for ten hours near the scene of the disaster, seeking to rescue any sur- vivors, and that all that humanity could do was done. They add that the kindest treatment was accorded the seventeen who were rescued and who are now on board the San Juan on their way to San Francisco. The steamer Barracouta is still cruising sbout in the hope that further survivors of the wreck may be rescued. Five persons were rescued at Maquila, where they still are. The steamer Mazat- lan was dispatched to bring them to some central point. A boat from the steamer which started for the shore was upset, and the crew with great difficulty reached land. The five persons rescued at Maquila and the six men of the steamer Mazatlan’s boat which was upset will be brought here over- land. Carriages have left Manzanillo for Magquila to bring them. Many victims of the disaster are known to have floated out to sea on rafts, boards and wreckage from the Colima, and it is thought some of them may yet be rescued. Fourteen bodies which were washed ashore at Coahuayana have been buried. The hour of the wreck was 11 A. M. The scene was twenty-four miles from the near- est shore. The captains of the schooners which weathered the storm, and who are now here, declare that overloading caused the wreck and that the Colima carried a top- heavy cargo. It is generally believed that more sur- vivors of the wreck will be heard from, aad that the work of rescue will result in the saving of additional lives. A number of those who have been saved were severely injured by falling timbers during the wreck. They are being well cared for here and all of them so injured will recover. MAKY THEGRIES GV, WVeteran Sailors Talk About the Causes of the Dis- aster. Captaln Merry Thinks That the Colima Had Run Out of Coal and Was Top Heavy. In local circles it was another day of theories as to the causesleading to the wreck of the Colima. Everywhere about town the subject was under discussion, end there is little apparent abatement in the interest manifested by all classes in this latest horror of the sea. Many homes are in mourning as aresult of news already Q obtained, and from many quarters come requests for fuller details relative to the disaster. Nearly every one has a different theory D. E. Griffith ,, First Officer. to advance as to the causes which led to the sinking of the ill-fated steamer. Even among those who possess an intimate knowledge of the Mexican coast, there is nothing Jike unanimity of opinion. “She went down in a hurricane,” said Agent Avery of the Pacific Mail Company yesterday afternoon. “Thisis all we know. ‘We have no more news than is contained in the newspapers, and are depending upon the press dispatches for our informa- tion.” “Nonsense,” says J. F. Chapman, the wveteran shipping commission merchant of & Galifornia street, who by the way, sailed MISS MARIAN { MISS PECK. EDITH PIXLEY . 4 ";;—::4'/ v QUEEN ANITA OF THE SANTA CRUZ WATER FETE AND SOME [Drawn from photographs.] it mss OF HER FAIR ATTENDANTS. g > ENNIE HUGHES up and down this coast for years before Agent Ayery was born. *“‘A hurricane on the Mexican coast in the month of May! ‘Who ever heard of such a thing? Itis simply impossible. A man can safely cover the whole coursein a canoe at this season. The winds come later.”” “‘She was fop heavy,” says Captain Wil- liam Merry, another veteran who knows John Langhorne, Second Officer. every foot of this coast. ‘“Her coal was about exhausted. Taylor intended to coal the ship before reaching Manzanillo. It would not require much of a gale, you see. The captain probably tried to ‘wear’ ship, and failing, went down in the trough of the sea.” i “An explosion of some kind blew out her bottom, and the natural result fol- lowed,” says Stevedore A. H. Herriman. ‘‘She carried a good deal of powder and in & manner expressly forbidden by law.” “Itis clear to me,” says E. H. Winton, another stevedore, ‘‘that she broke some of her machinery. Not many years ago a White Star steamer came near going down from the cause which 1 have mentioned, within halt a mile of the place where the Colima is reported to have been lost. A hurricane is outof the question at this season of the year. No one has ever heard of such a thing.” And thus they speculate as to the prob- able cause of this accident, which was at- tended with such frightful loss of life. All are agreed upon one thing, that is, that the steamer did not strike a reef or other obstruction. “This theory has been put in the back- ground by the testimony of many whose knowledge of the coast ir accurate and trdtworthy. The conclusions_as .to the depth of water where the ship went down are not so certain. Captain Merry puts the latitude at 18 deg. north and the longi- tude at 104 deg. west, approximately, and assigns to this location a depth of about 300 fathoms. Others place the depth all the way from 130 to 750 fathoms. “Of one thing we may be sure,” contin- ues Captain Merry, “she struck nothing. There is not a reef for miles below Manza- nillo. There can be no doubt that she was heavily laden, though-I am not proposed to say that she was overloaded. That she was out of ballast may be set downasa self-evident truth. “It must have been the case, from what we know, not from hearsay or even reports from the scene of the accident, but from our knowledge of the amount of coal the steamer carried. A top-heavy steamer of the Colima’s proportions is a bad craft to handle in even a light wind. I have never heard of a heavy hurricane on this coast at this season of the year; still such a thing might occur. The rainy season there com- mences about the middle of June, and is always accompanied by heavy winds. One thing is quite certain, the Colima did not go down as a direct result of a storm. This ! might have been a contributing cause, but when we know the whole story some other and more feasable reason will be shown.” Richard Lambert, ex-Consul at Mazat- lan and at one time agent of the Pacific Mail at that port, was seen by a CALL rep- resentative yesterday. In answer to an inquiry about the late disaster Mr. Lam- bert said: “I do not see how I can throw any light upon the subject of this unfortunate calam- ity. In five or six days the San Juan will arrive containing the passengers picked up at sea by Captain Pitts. From their state- ments only may we arrive at a solution of this unusual, and I fear reprehensible, multi-homicide. “The rainy season don’t commence down there until the middle of June, and the presence of a storm on that coast of Mex- ico at this time seems to me to bear the impress of exaggeration to say the least. The period for those short but violent hurricanes, called Chubascos, does not ocour until the latter part of the rainy season. I ‘““There is always a strong ground swell of more or less magnitude prevailing all along the Mexican and Central American | coasts. There are only two harbors on the coast, Manzanillo and Acapulco; the other ports are open roadsteads, and this con- tinual land swell renders the discharging and unloading of cargo while at anchor an exceedingly difficult task. In the absence of a violent storm, which, as I said before, | is unprecedented at this season of the year—and I speak from nearly eight years’ experience—the capsizal of a large, stanch, deep-water steamship like the Colima at sea in this season is wholly incomprehen- sible to me. It is barely possible that the eruption of the volcano at Colima and the reported adjoining seismic disturbances may have produced local atmospheric conditions similar to those produced by the methods employed to create rain artificially. In that event, however, I hardly think they would be severe enough to capsize the Colima, which has weathered many a Ole Hansen, Third Officer. winter storm much more violent than could possibly occur in the summertime on the Pacific Ocean in tropical latitudes. ““One is instinctively constrained to look elsewhere for the proper solution of _this new nautical enigma. It cannot easily be found in the vicinity of Manzanillo. “The great loss of life so far reported and the heavy insurance involved in this incident will doubtless stimulate searching investigation. About $90,000 of insurance s from this-port, sdded to $100,000' by the Messrs.. Echeguren at Mazatlan in one item alone, the other smailer amounts at Maz- atlan, San Blas and Manzanillo, the lives of about 160 passengers, approximately speaking, and the vessel itseif will take nearly a million of dollars out of the safe of the Pacific Mail Company, provided it can be shown that the primary cause of the E. D. Reardon, First Assistant Engi- a neer. accidentlies at Second and Brannan streets, 8an Francisco. “The hasty and perfunctory method of loading these steamships is, and must -be, an inexact problem. Through New. York and European freights must necessarily be stowed in the lower or second hold accord- ing to class, in order to make room for and conveniently handle the local freights car- ried to and received at about twenty dif- ferent ports between here and Panama. Bulky and heavy articles for intermediate ports are difficult of storage beiow, but exceedingly dangerous on the upper deck, to say nothing of the glaringinconvenien to passengers. 4 “When aboard the steamships at Mazat- lan it was always a query'in' mind why heavy bulky timbers and other classes of freight were piled on the upper deck when a schoolboy calculation of weight would disclose the fact that the vessel wastop- heavy and unsafe to encounter any con- siderable stress of weather. ‘‘Captain Cavarly, the oldest and most efficient captain in ‘the company and a gentleman of scholarly attainments, once positively refused to take some heavy ma- chinery from Mazatlan. The reason he then gave, if my memory serves me, was that it would make his vessel topheavy and he dare not cross the Gulf of Tehuan- tepec. “‘The habit of overloading and unwisely loading those steamships in order to show a large increase in net earnings may ope- rate as an effective stimulant on the Wall- street stock board, but the loss of the Co- lima more than cancels the gains thus made for a period of years. “Mr. Avery, the ticket clerk at the Pa- cific Mail office, has had large practical ex- perience on the coast as purser. - His opin- ions about the passenger probabilities are the most intelligent and accurate of any yet published. “If the passengers had proper notifica- tion of the. pending disaster instead of being kept in the dark until it was too late, and were enabled to, embark on the boats and rafis, if they can remain on the boats or rafts or can find an inlet to enter and land, we may yet hear better news; but if they attempt- alanding through the heavy surf, unless they ‘aré very strong and good swimmers very few can get to {was met. The boat containing Purser e the beach. There is a very powerful :xnder-] “What are those two points?”’ was tow to be encountered. “I still think that many will be found about Boca Apiza, unless an earlier fate Wafer and party may yet be heard from. He was a wise and conservative person.” Captain E. H. Winton, in expressing him- self more fully relative to the situation, said: “Iknow the Mexican coast better than Iknow the street on which I have lived for ten years. For over twenty ‘years I sailed up and down the coast,’and from the climatic conditions prevailing there I am positive that the Colima did not go down from the effects of a hurricane. You might as well talk about an equinoctial gale in the month of April as to assume that a storm would sweep the Mexican coast in the month of May. Itismuch more probable that the machinery gave out, and the ship being out of ballast, as she must have been, having only a little coal left, became unmanageable. It she went down in the latitude and longitude mentioned in the dispatches, then she found about 200 fathoms of water, There are no reefs anywhere along this part of the coast, as every mariner knows. 1f something comes from this disaster that will compel the Pacific Mail Company to pay more heed to the law in the matter of storing their cargoes, then those who went down to a watery grave will not have died in vain, ‘It is a notorious fact that their ships are grossly mismanaged, and that there is an utter lack of discipline among the crews. I have never been in the employ of the Pa- cific Mail, so what I say is not prompted by petty motives of spite. A company | that had any regard for the lives of its pas- sengers would not carry powder stored with general merchandise, and that is ex- actly what the Pacific Mail Company has been doing for years. Ihave great regard for the abilities of Captain Taylor, the officer in command. He should not be held responsible for the lax discipline in vogue. “When the matter is cleared up Iam John P. Ebbesen, Chief Engineer. convinced that the causes will be found entirely due to the gross negligence of the company.” “Ivis difficult to say just what caused the disaster until the court of inquiry is heid,” said Steuart Menzies. ‘Particularly is this true,” he proceeded, “with' regard to the loading ‘of the cargo. I would not like to say whether the vessel was over- loaded or not, because that no one knows except those immediately concerned with the loading of the cargo, though on two points I am willing to express my opinion freely.”. " asked. “The first is that the captain did not seem to know what to do in the hour of emergency. His ship was in the trough of the sea and for some mysterious cause was unmanageable. He should have putout his storm anchor and brought his ship’s head up to the wind.” “Will you kindly explain what a storm Dr. William Thomas Kirby. anchor is for the benefit of those not versed in nautical parlance?”’ Mr. Menzies was asked. “Yes, that's so. I do not suppose the term would be intelligible to the dwellers on land. A storm anchor generally con- sists of an old spar with a triangular piece of sail attached to it with a heavy weight in turn fastened on to the lower angle of the sail. The whole thing is then thrown over the bow, and has the effect of bring- ing the vessel’s bow into the wind. - Some- times the steering gear or some portion of the machinery getsout of order, and with- out the storm anchor itis impossible to get the ship out of the trough of the waves, and she' is at the mercy of the wind and rocks if there be any near. That isthe first point. Itseems hard to criticize the acts of a dead man who died at his post, butI am speaking of the accident from a nautical and practical viewpoint. The second count against the management of the ship, as the lawyers say, concerns the breaking of the seas over her. ““The captain should have put the crew and the passengers to work if necessary in tapping the tanks and spilling all the oil overboard., That would have prevented the ;seas from .breaking over her. And, again, if the. cargo had become shifted or was too heavy he should have tumbled as much as possible of it into the sea.” *‘Do you think the shifting of the cargo was due to the overloading or unskilled loading of the ship?” was asked. “It might, though, as I said, that isa hard thing to determine untit the court of inquiry has put the question to the suryiy- ing members of the crew. As a rule, though, in such weather as they have in those waters at this season of the year the shifting of a ship’s cargo might be thought to be due to improper loading. I under- stand she carried considerable lumber, and the shifting of that very likely had much to do with hampering the movements of passengers and crew in the hour of extreme peril, “But after all has been said, are we any nearer the solution of the causes which led to the terrible disaster than we were be- D —— Continued on Fourth Page. SINTA CAULS QUEE Miss Anita Gonzales Will Rule Over the Water Carnival. RESULT OF THE VOTING She Wins by a Heavy Plurallty' the Contest for the Floral Throne. THOUSANDS OF BALLOTS CAST. Friends of the Beautles Work Strenuously for Their Favorltes. SANTA CRUZ, Car.,, June 2. — The merry war of Santa Cruz beauties is at an end, and Miss Anita Gonzales has been chosen to preside over the Venetian water fete. Though this beautiful Santa Barbara maid has been in the lead from the begin- ning of the contest, it has not lessened the interest in the voting, and at no time until the ballots were counted after the polls closed at midnight was the success of any of the rivals assured. Thousands of white slips were deposited ins the ballot-box to-day. Yesterday Miss Gonzales had received but 1200 votes, whereas to-night she has 5499 to her credit. This shows the interest displayed during the closing hours. §. The counting of all the ballots will not be concluded before morning. A grand entertainment was given this evening by the East Santa Cruz Auxiliary for the benefit of the carnival at Lodtman’s Hall. The hall was packed, and each number on the programme was heartily applauded. After the entertainment refreshments were served, and the evening’s entertain- ment closed with a social dance. The affair was not only a social but a financial success. 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