The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, June 8, 1895, Page 4

4 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 1895. AFTERMATH OF THE COLIMA WRECK. ONLY EMPLOYES OF THE PACIFIC MAIL COMPANY TESTIFY TO THE CAUSES OF THE DISASTER. THE FEDERAL INQUIRY. Southern Pacific Attorneys Assist the United States Inspectors. MR. BREWER THREATENS SUIT. Witnesses Very Positive That the Colima Was Not Topheavy or Badly Loaded. What may be called the aftermath of the Colima disaster began in this City yester- day. There was an official investigation commenced into the causes of the wreck, a statement made by Mr. Rowan, one of the survivors, a solemn reticence maintained by Manager Schwerin and Captain Pitts and a big damage suit against the Pacific Mail Company threatened by L. R. Brewer, the wealthy coffee-planter whose wife and children perished inthe wreck. There was also a careful comparison made between the list of those rescued and the list of the passengers and crew—214 in all—known to have been aboard the Colima when she sailed away from Mazatlan. Out of this total oniy thirty-six are known to have been saved. One hundred and seventy- eight are dead and missing. It is gener- ally believed that all the missing are dead, for it is now nearly two weeks since the awiful wreck occurred, and there has been no word received that would lead to the belief that there were others rescued ex- cept those already heard from. In brief, these were the events of yesterday in the aftermath of the wreck of the Colima, Possibly there is more to come. Of course, the greater interest centered in the official investigation conducted by United States Inspector of Hulls Enoch S. Talbot and United States Inspector of Boil- ers William A. Phillips in one of the rooms of the Appraiser’s building. The Southern Pacific’s law department was represented by Attorney J. E. Foulds. The Pacific Mail Steamship Company;was especially represented by Ward McAllis- ter Jr. There were no other interests rep- resented in a legal way, though Attorney de las Casas and one or two other lawyers were present. Five witnesses were examined—all of them employes of the Pacific Mail Com- pany. Their testimony was all the same— all very hard on the sea and weather, all very light on the ship and her manage- ment. It was such a storm as had never blown before. Third Officer Hansen was recalled at the close of the session to re- mark, under oath, that he had never seen it blow so hard, even at Cape Horn. Manager R. P. Schwerin was present during most of the session and listened to the testimony of his faithful employes. ‘Though he said nothing at the time and declined to be interviewed, the testimony adduced could not have been otherwise than pleasing to him. -And. that it was pleasing to him might be further argued from the fact that the manager of the Pa- cific Mail Company paid for three type- written copies of the stenographic reports of the testimony of his five faithful em- ployes—one copy to be furnished free to each of the three morning newspapers. But the Carz had its own reporters at the hearing and from their work was enabled to have the full testimony set in type sev- eral hours before Manager Schwerin’s type-written copy arrived. The witnesses were Arthur K. Richard- son, storekeeper of the Colima; Ole Han- sen, third officer; Albert Carpenter, sea- man; Thomas Fries, seaman; Raymond Aviles, engineer’s storekeeper. None of the witnesses were cross-exam- ined, except Hansen, when recalled, very briefly. Some one asked him: “But supposing the mainsail had been set, would that have brought her around to the wind ?”” 5 Both Inspector Talbot and Inspector Phillips hastily answered: “He says no canvas would have held in such a gale.” But the stranger was persistent. smiled and returned to the charge. “I asked him if the canvas had been set.” And his persistency finally com- pelled Mr. Hansen to answer that had the mainsail been spread reefed the ship would have been brought around out of the trough of the sea, provided, of course— and this was very thoughtfully dilated upon by all concerned—that the spread canvas could have lived in such a gale, And this was the oily question asked throughout the entire hearing that was calculated to elicit an answer tending to show that human skill and foresight or a better loading of the vessel might have averted the disaster. 3 All manner of questions were asked as to the terrible strength of the wind. None of the witnesses were permitted to leave the stand before they had expressed them- selves very fully on this point. One of the witnesses was asked by In- spector Talbot whether the wind was not strong enough to blow the clothes off a man’s back. But that was too much for the faithful employe. He hesitated an instant and then answered in the negative. He ex- plained that it was the flying timbers in the water that'nearly tore the garments off the drowning and struggling men. A fair example of the manner in which the ques- tions were propounded is shown in a couple of inquiries put by Inspector Talbot to the witness Carpenter. “Do you think that the load on the burricane deck had anything to do with the loss of the vessel ?”? “No, sir,” said Carpenter. . “The deckload never started till it was cut loose ?”” “No, sir.”” It was suggested to Inspector Phillips that the witnesses should be asked how, in their opinions, the vessel could have re- o mained on her beams end and not righted if she were not topheavy and none of the cargo had shifted. Inspector Phillips did not put the question. No such questions as that were put to any of the witnesses, though their opinions and conclusions were continually called for in such a manner as to show that the cothpany and its officers were blameless. ‘When Raymond Aviles, the engineer’s storekeeper, had testified that fiffeen minutes before ‘she went down the en- gineer bad sent him on deck to order all hands below in the stokehole, it was sug- gested to Inspector Talbot to ask the wit- ness for what purpose the men had been He ordered into the stokehole, but Inspector Talbot declined to put the ‘question. Attorney Ward McAllister, who sat at the inspector’s elbow, was not the one who suggested the question, nor was it sug- gested by the attorney from the law depart- ment of the Southern Pacific. And it would have been a most pertinent question, for the witness had just inad- vertently volunteered the information that the coal had not shifted any after or hefore the vessel listed to starboard. He had not been asked any such question. It came out quite innocently and was not dwelt upon, but the examination hastened along to another poinf. Every witness testified positively and re- peatedly that until at least five minutes before the vessel sank she had been in no danger. Of course there were discrepan- cies in the testimony—discrepancies that a cross-examining attorney or inspector might bave made a great deal of. Forin- stance, that testimony of Albert Carpen- ter, who said he cut the two horses loose and also the two large bullocks that were penned up on the deck. He cut them all adrift about fifteen minutes before the Coli- ma sank. And, at the same time, he heard the quartermaster yelling for an ax. No testify. We have heard about all the expert testimony we need, unless more should present itself in the meantime. We are holding the inquiry open for that pur- pose. We do not expect 1o summon any- body else.” “Were the five witnesses examined to- day summoned by the Government?”’ was asked. “Well, no—not exactly. You see, we summoned Hansen. He brough the others along with him,” said Inspector Talbot. “But they are all employes of the Pacific Mail Company. Isn’t it the custom to hear both sides of the story ?"’ “Oh, these men are experts. We shall summon no others,” and the inspector spoke as thongh he desired the interview to come to an end. He turned to speak to Attorney McAllister. The six expert witnesses who were not examined yesterday, and who probably never will be examined, are: George D. Ross, boatswain’s mate, U.8.N.; Louis Zangaree, seaman, U. S. N., and the four Mexican seamen who had been in the ser- vice of the Pacific Mail Company, and were returning on the Colima to their homes at Panama—Juan Antonio Ramos, Jose Antonio Morel, Bruno Cedio and Antonio Saliz. All of these six—who were, perhaps, in positions to know as much about the cause of the wreck as any of those who testified yesterday—have made positive statements that directly contradicted most of the statements made yesterday by the employes of the Pacific Mail Company. J.W. Crew, seaman, U. 8, N. Louis Zangaree, seaman, U. 8. N. Antonio Saliz, Mexican seaman, residence Panama. Bruno Cerdo, Panama. Jose Antonio Merel, Mexican seaman, Tesi- dence Panama. Juan Antonio Ramiz, Mexican seaman, resi- dence Panama. Thomas Friese, seaman, Colima, residence San Francisco. A. Carpenter, seaman, Colima, residence San Fl}?nclsfim e ici us Rowan, steerage passenger, musician bound for Europe. o T e 3 Those who remained at Mexican and the way ports: .!lohn M. Thornton, cabin passenger, Aca- pulco. Louis H. Peters, cabin passenger, San Jose de Guatemala, Enrique Baeder, cabin passenger, San Jose de Guatemala. Domingo Albano, cabin passenger, San Jose de Guatemala. J. E. Chilburg, cabin passenger, Acajutla. Carlos Ruiz, cabin passenger, Colima. Angel Guitierrez, cabin passenger, Colima. W. H. Bryan, cabin passenger, McClellan’s ranch, near Coahuayana. J. J. Nouwins, steerage passenger, United States seaman, MecClellan’s ranch, near Coshuayana. Angel Santa Maria, McClellan’s ranch, ncar Coahuayana. Jose F. Pegiieres, seaman, McClellan’s ranch, near Coahuayana. ‘A. 8. Marin, McClellan’s ranch, near Coahu- ayana. K’ed Johnson, seaman, Acapulco. bert Gonzales, messhoy, Acapulco. James Aikman, seaman, San treatment for crushed foot. — Tangone, present location unknown. 0. Saliz, present location unknewn. Renz, Thomas Mexican seaman, residence icente, under resent location unknown. arabia, left San Juan at Mazatlan. T, BRUTAL TREATMENT. Gustave Rowan Tells of His Experi- ence on the Steamer San Juan. Gustave Rowan, one of the survivors of centers of Europe. Abouta year ago he came to this country, and in September secured an engagement of six months with Scheel’s orchestra in this City. Dur- ing Ysaye’s sojourn in San Francisco the great violinist heard Rowan play at a symphony concert, and after the enter- tainment sent for him to come to his hotel. Rowan accepted the invitation, and the acquaintancelthus established soon ripened into close friendship. Ysaye promised to get him an engage- ment in New York and arrangements were soon completed with Damrosch, who opens with his orchestra in symphony concerts at the Metropolitan Opera-house in July. | It was to keep this engagement that Rowan | took passage on the Colima for New York. When asked for further particulars of the diaster yesterday Rowan begged to be allowed to write a statement, to_be pub- lished over his own signature. His state- ment is as follows: Editor of the Call: As your paper seems to be the only one that dares to publish what the men say who were picked up from the Colima, I want to make a statement now if you will allow me to do so. You can find out what I say is true if you will see the other men picked up. Some of them will not dare to tell the }‘mth, Bfi they have been promised money to eep still. The Colima was lost because she was bnd]g handled by officers without capacity and bax men when the galestruck us. When I saw that the ship was going to sink I went after the life- preservers and commenced to give them out to passengers. The steward told me to let them alone, and ordered me forward. 1 was saved because 1 got a life-preserver, and if the others had been allowed toget them, t00, many would have been saved with me. The passengers were ke[&l peuned up till the last moment and then made to go down in the ocean like a pack of dogs. 1f some of the passengers had killed the stew- ard, who kept them from getting safety, it would have been a merci to the others. In spite of what he told me, I kept on giving out life-preservers, and by this saved some of the people from death. We were badly treated on the San Juan. My wounds were not attended to. When I was picked up, after twenty-nine hours on the ocean, with my ribs broken, a big gash on top of INSPECTOR PHILLIPS. one asked why the quartermaster asked for an ax, though in the next sentence Wit- ness Carpenter was very certain that the ship was in no danger until three minutes before she sank. And there is the testimony of Thomas Fries, seaman, who said he rushed to life- boat 3 and began cutting off its canvas covering, at which Mr. Langhorne, the sec- ond officer, ran up and called upon Fries to give him the knife. All this was fifteen minutes before the Colima gave her last list to starboard, and while there was, ac- cording to the testimony of all the wit- nesses, the most periect order prevailing among the crew and officers. Mr. Carpen- ter was asked what he and the setond officer wanted of a lifeboat when no one considered that the vessel was in the least danger. ‘Was it the witness, Carpenter, or Fries who testified, most inadvertently and un- expectedly: ‘‘Yes, there was plenty of time to have saved the people—to have gotten them into the boats and put off before she went down. Some did get into the boats, but they did mnot know how to manage them and were swamped in the sea?”’ The printed testimony will tell. ‘But this was not the kind of testimony that was wanted, and before the long-hand official reporter conld get the words down they were contradicted flatly by the clever- ness of the questioners, who finally brought the witness to admit, in general terms, that everything possible was done to save human life. And when the long- hand report of the witness’ testimony was read to him before he signed it those |- words ot his about there being plenty of time to have saved the people were omitted from it. It was Witnes$ Carpenter who testified— “We were working to save the ship, not—" then another question stopped him before he completed the sentence. And when Witness Hansen was re- called Inspector Talbot put the question in this manner, **Was it possible to have set a sail and have it stand in sucha gale?” “No, sir,”” was the answer. At one stage of the inquiry Attorney | McAllister, who had a scrapbook of Han- sen’s testimony made before the com- pany’s officials Thursday, suggested to In- spector Talbot that he should ask his ques- tions from the scrapbook. But Inspector Talbot refused to do this. Every reader may draw his own infer- ences from the facts of the inquiry. Per- haps it was a fair and impartial investiga- tion; perhaps it was not. At any rate there are many important witnesses who were not examined, and ‘who will not be'summoned by the Federal inspectors if they carry out the determina- tion expressed by them yesterday. At the close of the session—when the inquiry was adjourned until Monday afternoon—Ine- spector Talbot was asked if some of the passengers would not be examined. ““Oh, if they come here and want to tes- tify we will be glad to hear them, of course,” he answered. ‘‘But we shall not summon any of them. As they are not sailors they could not be supposed to throw any light upon what really caused this w; o “But there were six sailors on board who have not been examined,” was pointed out to the inspector. “Four of them are at the Marine Hospital and two of them at the Mare Island Navy-yard. Will none of these be examined ?” . “Not unless they come here and ask to I ; C cremreses e N Wi TNES.;) HANSEN. THIRD MATE OLE HANSEN TESTIFYING BEFORE THE FEDERAL INSPECTORS. A —_————— \\\\ i 2 e ‘/ " ‘m ‘ ! fi’fi‘:l : [Sketched by a “Call” artist.] INSPECTOR TALBOT. N, 47 Gans —— FS The two seamen now at the navy-yard— men of long experience in the United States navy—declared Thursday, openly and emphatically, that the Colima was top-heavy by reason of the deckload of lumber, and that at least a part of her cargo must have shifted when she listed. It was Hansen’s testimony that the deck- load of lumber had no effect upon the ship at all, and that even after it was cut away, just as the ship was sinking, the cargo of Jumber did not move two inches—though the vessel lay on her beam ends and her spars in the water—but was lifted off bodily as the Colima went down. Ross and Zangaree say the hurricane deck load of timber flew about in every direction after its lashings were cut, and several minutes before the vessel went down. And three of the Mexican sailors whose statements were published in the CanL yesterday are very positive on the same point. And the Mexican seamen also declare that the Colima was topheavy by the reason of the deckload of timber. But none of these are employes of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. And a correlative, if nota significant, fact is that their testimony is not wanted. Mr. Oriel and Captain Long’s accusations against Captain Pitts were not gone into at | the Colima brought into port yesterday by the San Juan, is in urgent need of medical treatment, but says that he has no money to pay a doctor. Twice yesterday he at- tempted to see the Pacific Mail people and obtain from them a guarantee that the services of a physician in his behalf would be paid for, but in both attempts he failed to get any satisfaction.. Rowan asserts, and his assertion is corroborated by others who came up on the San Juan with him, that his condition is due to a large extent to the neglect and brutal treatment of Dr. Robertson of the San Juan, who refused to attend to his wounds after he was picked up from his twenty-nine hours’ cruise on a piece of wreckage. According to Rowan’s statement he was put down in the steerage | after being rescued. and refused not only medical treatment, but milk, of which his stomach burned out by salt water was just at that particular time in sore need. . Hecharges Dr. Robertson with being intoxicated and sending a sailor who was also intoxicated to stitch up his lacerated scalp with a rusty needle. This he re- fused to submit to, and for the remainder of the voya%? received no care at all, ar- riving in Ban Francisco not only destitute but suffering severely from the injuries he received in his battle with the elements. Quite naturally he thinks that the com- pany should do something for him, and N RICHARDSON TELLING HIS STORY. the inquiry. And yet it was a serious ac- cusation—that Captain Pitts did not use sufficient vigilance in searching for the shipwrecked men, and that he was in un- seemly haste in getting away from the scene of the wreck, before, in the judgment of others, it was guite certain t there ‘were no more drifting ones to rescue. A full li the rescuedg ones is as follows: 3 Those who came to this port on the San uan: Ole Hansen, third officer, Colima, residence Franci; O R iohardson, storek Colima, resi 3 n, eeper, Tesi- dence San Francisco. i3 i Ramon Aviles, engineers’ storekeeper, Co- lima, residence San Francisco. C. H. Cus| Jr., cabin, residence Oakland. H. Sutherland, cabin, residence Seattle. a2 8- J. Hi b La‘)ayd, cabin, residence Birmin T cabin, residence Stockton. George D. boatswain’s mate, U. 8. N, he will make another attempt to see Schwerin this morning. His wounds are the best evidence of what he bas to say relative to the neglect of Dr. Robertson, His body is covt from head to foot with severe bruises, for which nothing of a healing nature has ever been applied. No examination has been made of his broken ribs, and internal E;]dnnest h-ox;;n :Mch he suffers constant acute pai ave not been prescril for. No stgtchea have been hkgn in his scalp and the wound refuses to heal. Four hundred and ei ht{ dollars—all the money he had in fiwl’ror d—his cloth- ing, and, what he valued most, his precious violin, 6n which he played for the great Ysaye, went down in the wreck. Rowan was a musician of high standin, and it promise. He was educated ai the Conservatory of Ghent, and has had engagements inall of the great musical ered | charge me if this | my head and bleeding from wounds all over my body, I was put down in the steerage instead of the hospital. I was so weak thatI could not take a single step to save my life, or even sit up, After four hours Dr. Robertson came to see me. He looked at my head, which was cov- ered with clotted blood, but did not look at my other wounds. He went awayandsent a sailor to stitch up my scalp. This man had a rusty needle, so I would not let him operate on me. The doctor did not offer to do anything for me after this, though I told him that I needed food that would give me strength, and bandages for m* bruised body. he next day I was worse and they put me in the hospital, but _the doctor did nothing to make me better. Iwas burned up inside from the sea water and begged him fora glass of milk, but he would not give me any. He got milkand gave much to first-class passengers, who were not picked up from the Colima and who did not need it. 1was injured inter- nally and suffered irenfly. I also asked the doctor to do something for me, but he refused to make any examination or to take any notice ot my condition. Others were treated in the same way if they dared to tell of it, but that is not my business. I have only to look out for myself. Iknow that I was treated in a brutal w‘lyl'md that I shall be many monthsin getting wel All my money, $485 in_cash, my clothes and my violin, a big case of Japanese china, value fsoo. which was intended for presents to m amily in Europe, and my violin, for which have been offered $400, were lost. I have no money and su e I must ao‘to the hospital. Mr. Oriel and Mr. Boyd will testify that what I have written in my siatement is the truth. Itis all true, so help me God. Ysaye, who knows me well and who got me an engage- ment to play in the Damrosch concerts in New York, which I had started for in the Colima, will say that [ am not the man to make a false statement. Isign myself, That portion of Rowan’s statement re- lating to his treatment on board the San Juan is corroborated by Arthur Leseur, a sailor on the San Juan, ‘'who was disabled with a broken shoulder at the time the survivors of the Colima were icked up by the home-bound steamer. Emm- is_a Frenchman and lives at the Hotel de France. He has made three trips in the San Juan as able seaman, and was formerly on the, Colima. Concerning the statement of Rowan, which was read to him, he said: “Itis true. Rowan and some of the others were treated like dogs. I heard him beg fora of milk, and heard the doc- tor refuse him, saying that he had no milk for steerage passengers. - The reason wh . Robertson did not attend to his wounds is easily explained. “Robertson was intoxicated most of his time on the wayup. Hedid not attend to his own ship’s crew. I suffered fearfully by reason of his neglect of my shoulder. I'have seen him drunk for three days at a time, and unable to attend to anything. I am afraid the Pacific Mail people will dis- want to go back when I am able. Rowan e doctor to do something for his wounds, and also asked for nourishing food, but was refused. He wasin an awful condi- tion when taken on board, and had to be carried from the steerage to the hospital. They gnt him in the steerage first. 1 was in the hospital when an attendant came u; and said that ‘he guessed the red-head Frenchman was going to die.” ““*All right,’ answered the doctor, ‘then bring him up here.’ ‘At this time Rowan had been a whole day in the steerage without so much as an examination of clc!lnm In_the hos- sim he fared not miuch better. Robertson evoted himself to the bottle most of the time and gave over his work to sailors and attendants who knew nothing about car- ing for sick people.” oo SR A THE OFFICIAL INQUIRY. It Has Been Begun by the Govern- ment Inspectors of Hulls and Boilers. The official inquiry into the loss of the Pacific Mail Company’s steamer Colima was begun by United States Inspector of Hulls Enoch S. Talbot and Inspector of Boilers William A. Phillips yesterday afternoon. The steamship company was represented by Ward McAllister Jr. and J. E. Foulds of the Southern Pacific law department, and R. P. Schwerin, general manager, and Alexander Center, general agent of the corporation, were there also and watched the rescued members of the crew as they testified. On one occasion both Attorney McAllister and General | Manager Schwerin were attempting to help out Third Mate Hansen by putting answers into his mouth, when Inspector Talbot interfered and said that any ques- tions put to the witness would have to be put through the chair. The witnesses examined were: Arthur K. Richardson, storekeeper of the lost steamer; Ole Hansen, third officer; Albert Carpenter, seaman; Thomas Grace, sea- man, and Raymond Aviles, engineer’s storekeeper. Arthur K. Richardson was the first wit- ness, and he testified as follows: ““We left San Francisco on May 18, and arrived at Manzanillo on Sunday, May 26. We took on what cargo was ready, and sailed about 4 o'clock the same afternoon. “Sho.rfly after sailing ran into a sea cov- ered with brown foam. I was told that in- dications were that a great storm had taken place or was about to. At this timethe water was not rough. It was not, as far as I am able to state, until about 5 in the morning that the gale began to get up. At 7:30 A. M. the porter came to my room and said that a sea had broken. into the cap- tain’s room and had carried away some of his effects, and that he wanted a new lamp shade, which I got for him. ‘‘At this time waves were continually coming over the Fort side amidships, and I bad cousiderable difficulty in getting in and out of my room owing to the wind and water. Some little time after this the waves began to come in over the lintel of my door, but the water ran out underneath the doors. Then alarge wave came over the top and nearly filled my room. *“This state of affairs kept on for half an hour, the waves continually coming into and flooding my cabin. Then the ship leaned away over to starboard at a pretty stiff angle; but she righted in a moment. She went oyver again to about the same angle, but did not right, and then the water commenced to burst in the wood- work over my bunk. At this moment I heard the whistle blow and somehow or other the water took me up through the hole in the roof of my room, and I found myself on top of a big wave in a moment. At this time no vestige of the Colima was in sifiht except an enormous amount of :grec age of different sizes and descrip- ion. “I swam to a large piece of lumber near me. Itturned out to bea hatch. Istayed there until the hurricane was nearly over, when I was thrown off and was unable to get back. I secured another piece of wreckage, and floated on it until I met the raft with the third mate, the engineers, storekee&)er and a Mexican on it. We en- deavored to padale toward land, as the tide was taking us out to sea. We made verfi little progress, and as soon as it was dark we stopped making any effort. We spent the night holding on to the raft and guarding ourselves from the force of the waves and floating wreckage as best we could. “Next morning at sunrise we commenced rowing again, and did not stop until the Mexican turned around and yelled “the steamer.” We then looked and saw the San Juan about a mile and a half away from us. “They launched a boat and up, and then went to search for others wgom they saw in the immediate neigh- borhood. Then they returned to the San Juan, and we were given the best atten- tion, 'bo_th medical and otherwise, possible. The doctor gave me his room, and I spent the time in bed until the morning of our arrival in San Francisco. I was landed in the Millen Griffith and taken to the com- pany’s office in a hack.” Captain Talbot asked: “Have vou ever been fo sea in any other position than that of icked us storekeeper?” Yes; as watchman on the City of Sydney last summer. Never as a seaman? No, sir. Now, about the sea-going qualities of the Colima, can you give me any idea? To my idea she was in good condition. Leav- ing San Francisco and going oyer the bar she acted well. How about the previous voyage? It was the same, except that she went faster. Do you know anything about the way the cargo was stored? ts into the guperknnd I smy; Very little on this trip, but what I saw was stowed com&w Y. Did it fetch away at all? Not that I know of. Was any effort to save the passengers made? Idon’t know. I couldnot see. Iwasin my room ell the time. ' How many$oats were on the Colima, do yon know? I believe there were seven. ber I cannot state. Do you know if the boats were swung out? No, sir; not from myown personal knowl- edge. l§ld you hear that the cargo had fetched away on board ship? 1 heard such remarks made. Do you know where the cargo was situated that fetched away? No, sir. Did you hear anything said about the steer- ing gear giving way? No, sir. Do'vou know who was in charge of the deck from 8 in the morning until the time the ship went down? 5 The captain was on the bridge, but it was the third mate’s watch. You have no personal knowledge of what was going on on deck ? Not the slightest. Inspector Phillips asked: From the time you got out of your room until the ship went down, how long was it? About & minute. Did you hear any orders given? 1 heard no orders. Did you hear an explosion? The exact num- No, sir. Did you see any steam escapini? No, sir. If there had been I would have been scalded, as I was next to the engine-room. Did you hear any remarks from officers 8s to machinery not working well? Not that I heard of. ‘When the testimony was read over to the witness he said: “In regard to the cargo shifting I want to state that the remark was made by the people on the San Juan afterward.” Talbot—Can you give us any idea how hard it was blowing? “Hard enough to pick tp pieces of wreckage as large as the floor of this room (about 17x24 feet) out of the water and whirl them around in the air.” Are you capable of jud; wiTe sou capable of judging whether the ship I was notin a position to ki . room ell the lim‘:.) i Ole Hansen, third officer of the Colima, was the next witness. The following state- ment which he filed with the inspectors earlier in the day was read to him: JUNE 6, 1895. To Captains Talbot and W. A. Phillips, Uni States Tnspectors. of Sicas Vesscis, San Fre ”"'ucf Cal.—Sms: The following contains from mem. oryp ‘o’!m h.n.‘ part of voyage made by steam- Left San Francisco Saturday, May 1 3 had fair weather to Manzaniiio, nywh(séhl %g?i we arrived Sunday, May 26; all well, and left port mentioned at'4 .M. same day with fair Weather and calm; heavy southeast swell to 6 P. M., When the swell increased, with strong ed:u-wn&hent wind and heavy sea from same rection, also heavy rain squalls during whole :ll( t. Monday, May 27, at about 6 a. M., wind bncrennd to & heavy gale and ship was hove to, Ant continued to roll heavily till 10:15 p. . Sea washed off our three starboard lifeboats, #nd at about10:45 4. . ship listed over tostar- and remained in that position about two :;Ti‘n?fit:pnaar‘che capsized and commenced st and sank i s o e atand outof sight in from ‘When placed on the stand he said : w Iwasinmy A. M. on the 26th of May, and discharged our freight and took in about six tons ot staif there was awaiting us. We sailed at 4 p. . and had fair weather, except a vell at time we left. At6P.M. 2 ¢ east-southeast wind r;ivmng' up and the southeast swell increased. Duringall of that night very heavy rain sgualls came up at intervals until about 6 A. M. on the 27th, when the wind increased to a heavy gale and hurricane. The ship was hove to. She answered her helm and we were hove to until about 9 A. . : “Snortly after 9 o’clock she fell off into the trough of the sea, but came to again at times until 10 o’clock. Shortly after 9 A. M. the captain sent down for the chief and the mate and told the former to give her more steam and go ahead faster. The captain was then trying to keep her head to the sea steady. We kept her that way until 10 o’clock, when she fell off to south by west and wouldn’t come head to the sea again. “At 10:15 A. M. she gave a_heavy roll to starboard and the starboard lifeboat was washed off the hurricane deck. She righted up again until 10:45,when she gavejanother heavy list to starboard and filled her main decks on that side with water. Before she had time to recover another heavy sea came along and shifted her over more. ell—three of them the time she gave that heavy 1| she sank was five or six minutes.” Inspector Talbot asked : How long have you been going to sea? Hansen—Thirteen years last April. What as? 54 Seven years as sailor on & sailing ship and the rest of the time on steamers. Who was in charge of the Colima when the storm came up? From 8 in the morning I was in charge of the bridge. Anybody with you? No, sir. “ The captain was in the pilot-house all the morning, however. The captain was really in charge of the deck, then? Yes, sir; he wason deck. Did thiswind veer any between 8 A. M. and the time the ship sank? Yes, sir. From E. by S. to SE.; it was veering all the time. It “oufli blow irom five to ten minutes in one direction and then change around two or three points. Would that throw her off into the trough of the sea when the wind headed her? Yes, sir. It would throw her off into the trough of the sea. About what time did the gale get so heavy that you hove the ship to? About 6 o'clock the morning of the 27th. What course were you steering at time you hove to? At the time I left the bridge, at 4 A. »., we were steering east-southeast; when I came up at8 A.M. we were heading her into the sea or southeast. ‘What sail did you have on when you hove to? We had no sails on. How long before the ship wentdown did you think she wouldn't live? About two or three minutes. Were the boats cieared away ready for lowering? They were in the davits. Were they swung out? No, sir. Theweather boats we couldn’t get out and the other ones were swept away. 'dHo}w bad was the sea? Can you give usany idea? I saw biz pieces of wreckage abont six feet square picked up and hurled ten to fiiteen feet into the air with about a ninety-ton force. You think it was impossible to get boats out, and people into them? It was impossible, sir. Now, in regard to'discipline aboard the ship, Was it good? As far as I could see it was very good. There 'Wwas no insubordination or refusal to do duty. Did you hear any orders given to the engi- neer? Yes, sir; shortly after 9 A, u. ‘What were they? The captein sent for the engineer and told him to give him more steam. Did you hear any orders to the chief officer? Isaw the captsin give chief and second or- ders, but did not hear what was said. Did you hear them express any opinion in regard to the chances of the ship? .No, sir. What is your opinion in regard to the way the ship was handled? Ithink she was handled as good as any man could handle her. How long wete you with Captain Taylor? Sixteen months'when I was quartermaster of thetgity of Sydney, part of wWhich time he was mate. Did you have any chance to read the barom-’ eter Tes, sir. Itstood at 29.80 at 3:30 A. M. The second officer read it at 7:30 and it was still the same. At 8 o’clock it was 29.75, Any trouble with steering gear? No, sir. In’going out of San Francisco did the ship show that she was tender? No, sir. How was she leaving Manzanillo—was she cranky? She acted very nicely. She didn’t roll any, but (Fnrhcd a good deal, owing to the swel We_ discharged some cargo going down, but took in about a like amount. Did vou have any personal knowledge of how the cargo was stowed? It was stowed good, as good as it possibly could be, and chocked off properly o she could not shift any. The lower hold was full. How was the lower "tween decks? a4 Ilkwns full,end so was the forward freight eck. What kind of goods in the lower hold? Part of it was flour. ‘What was in lower 'tween decks? Flour aft and forward was potatoes and mer- chandise. Was there any freight on the upper deck? Yes, sir. Lumber on the hurricane deck. About forty tons. Did that'fetch away? No, sir. Not until the lashings were cut away. Inspector Phillips—When was that? About three or four minutes before she went down. Was there any ballast put iz her? No, sir. It was taken out before she left San Francisco. There was, if I remember right, about 150 or 200 tons left in the stern of %\er in the lower hold. Do you know if all lower ports and dead. ‘We arrived at Manzanillo about u-.aol lights were closed? es, sir; becaunse I heard the captain order them closed at 12 o'clock the night before she went down. Who did he give the orders to? The steward and night watch; and he went around afterward to see that the order had been carried out. Was it possible for any passenger to open them again? No, sir. What is your opinion in regard to the loss ot the ship? It was dune to heavy weather, a strong wind and heavy sea and swell. Do you know if the Colima ever showed signs of weakness? No, sir. Did you ever see a looserivet anywhere about the ship? No, sir. Inmy opinion the Colima was & very strong ship or she could not have stood as log esshedid. as there any other cargo on deck exc the lumber? g oo Yes, a small wagon taken on at Mazatlan, ;3‘! ‘:‘here any uplosi;‘m? ¥ es; there was something like as if a B At 1c have been th . i it it have been the weight bei hr off lge safety valye? o R frenu Yes, it might have been. Did'the captain order speed increased during th{ gale? Yes, sir. Was the speed increased? Yes, sir. Did you hear any of the engineers or firemen Professor Charles Fauvel, M. D., the noted Specialist of France, WRITES OF VIN MARIANI THE IDEAL TONIC: «1 use it for my family, and prescribed it for over 20 years with unvarying satisfaction to myself and patients.” Descriptive Book with Testimony and Portraits OF NOTED CELEBRITIES. 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