The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 10, 1896, Page 5

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, FRIDAY, APRIL 10, 1896. TRAGEDY OF THE SOUTHWEST GALE. | caught by the waves and were badly The British Ship Blairmore Capsizes in Mission Bay. SIX SAILORS ENTOMBED. A Strong Wind Against a Flood Tide, Then a Sudden Lurching. NINE OF THE CREW RESCUED. Unavailing Efforts to Pierce the Iron Hull and Save the Imprisoned Men, First Mate Thomas Ludgate. Sailmaker T. Renebaum, Steward Samuel Kenny. Able Seamen A. Lynstrand and H, F. L . Apprentice Roland Emil Stegle. The British ship Blairmore capsized ¥ rorning in Mission Bay, hatfa n wharves of the Union Iron w s. In view of the peculiar combination of circumstances at the time, it is not aston- ishing that the five men and a boy who were ca up in the vessel’s hull were drowned despice the prompt efforts of John T. Scott and his men to release them A light, cranky vessel, heavily sparred aloft, against whose clumsy top-hamper biew strong fs of a southwest gale, and a flood tide pushing in a contrary direction furnished the conditions of yesterday's fatal marine drama. ht and Thursday morn- tery and squally, with i. It was so much so that Captain Caw of the E ‘more found it necessary to drop two anchors in addi- tion to the one already holding his ship's h . This was a precaution- ary mea. hat probably prevented the disaster fron ring earlier, but which later on a bringing it about. Tt tide be; as wes swep her over to star- ing manner. She ) tons of ballast aboard, and used his men to lower all per yards to the topgallant spars, that by lightening her in this she would withstand the double n of the water on her keel and the ind aloft. His judgment The old was defective. that might have easily out of the weather if |uared sails, succambed itable when bampered with be was actually tipped zver just v pine tree is grounded by the » attaches ropes to its top 1 puils while another uses the ax at its however. as airmore could not stand the pres- was thoroughly unprepared for r light load of ballast. evident to the saiiors aboard that e vessel was in great danger, and shortly r6 o'clock, when the wind was at its the men were ordered out to on all vessels in that part of v, every skipper saw that there was ood of a catastrophe. Caw alone appeared to be ob- It was livious to the danger that was threaten- Heordered his men between decks d into the bilge to scrape and clean the Captain Marshall with the tug Active was within a few hundred feet of the Blairmore shortly before she careened. He was towing a vessel down the bay the time, but, seeing the danger in which the anchored ship was, he dropped his hawser and put off to the rescue. His object was to make fast to the B'airmore on the weather side and help herself. He could have done wore by turning her nose into the wind out Captain Caw refused the profiered assistance believing his old ship would weather the gale. Captain Brokaw of the tug Alert was less than a quarter of a mile away. He ) realized the Blairmore's predica- and following the action of the e he steamed toward the ship. He had not gone far before the starboard main and fore yard arms were o the waters of the bay, the upper topsail yards following When the action of the flood ne to bear on these spars, there was on earth to prevent the capsizing, and Captain Caw, too late, saw the disas- ter that must follow. He and J. L. Watson were on deck near the after hatch in front of the cabin, and as with one voice, they yelled to their s to hurry from below, that the s going over. were ten men in the hold busily in trying to keep their balance work. Tbhat some of them at knew or felt they were in great danger is evinced by the fact that in the few moments, seconds in fact, which it took the vessel to make her last turn five them managed to climb up the hatch- and force their way out against the of er pouring in. r te Thomas Ludgate was with rew in the hold and with the others ade a gallant fight for his life. He imong the foremost to reach the main but as he grasped for the coamings @ l00se capstan bar, picked up by the rush- ir ers. was swepi into the hatch, ima cruel blow and knocking into the abyss. “t mate and Steward Samuel ere the only two men who are to be drowned that were seen by ho were saved. ¥ was in the galley where the star- boara door was wide open. When the ship careened the water rushed in, filling the place before Kenny could unhook the port door and make his escape. Although at decks Kenny's fate was no better than that of those who remained below. All this occurred in but a very short space of time, during which incidents crowded in upon the participants at a rate soon after. tide no powe K kn. those K rail hanging on to an iron belaying-pin with one hand and to his shepherd dog with the other. Second Mate D. McDonald, Third Mate William Melville, Carpenter J. L. Watson, and Apprentices J. B. Pope, A. Po\\'ell,‘ Henry Bell and Stewart Marwick had been | bruised and battered against the shrouds, | where they clung in despair and whence they were afterward pickea up by the small boats from the surrounding ships. It should be stated that the officers in i charge of the vessels around the Blair | more distinguished themseives by the | prompt and admirable work they did. No | sooner did the ship capsize than halfa | dozen boats were lowered from their dav- | its and manned for action. Itis due to this alertness more than to anything else | that so many lives were saved. The vessels | that did this effective work were the Ital- | jan ship Caterina Accame, the British ships Ellisland, Alexandria and British denced by the following self-explanatory communication : OFFICE OF UNITED STATES LIGHTHOUSE IN- SPECTOR, TWELFTH DISTRICT, ; 8BAN FRrANCISCO, Cal., April 9, 1896. Notice to mariners, San Francisco Bay, Cal.— Notice is hereby given that a temporary light- ship has peen placed sbout 100 yards west- | southwest of the wreck of tho ship Blairmore, capsized and sunk in six and a half fathonms of water one mile off Potrero Point, San Fran- cisco Bay, California. The vessel is a scow schooner, painted blue with white bulwarks, showing from sunset to sunrise every night two white lights, one from each mast, about thirty feet above the water. By order of the Lighthouse Board, FRANK COURTIS, Commander, U.S. N., Inspector Twelfth Lighthouse District. A e 2 PIERCING THE HULL. A Herolc Effort on the Part of the Union Iron Works Employes to Rescue the Sallors. Superintendents John T. Scott and James rush of air and water ceased. Even the ventilators stopped their gushing, and so the waters of the bay rolled over the sunken Blairmore. “With all of the buoyant air out of her the dead weight of the great iron hull set- tled three or four feet further in the mud before we could get at the men. Weknew | we were near some of them and if the ves- sel had been resting on anything like a hard bottom, as we had hoped she was, we could have rescued them if they were then alive. We fully unaerstood that we only had a bare chance of successin our humane endeavors, and we worked with all the skill and dispatch possible. We knew from the gushing of the water over the open places in the submerged part of the hull that the imprisoned air was es- caping fast, and that with the rising tide, which would fill the vessel when the hull was free of the air, would end all life within the great iron tank. We did our best to save the poor fellows and we were The Blairmore When Yesterday Morning’s Southwester Struck Her. When She Heeled Over and Did Not Recover the Ships Ellisland, | Alexandra and Caterina Accame Sent Boats to Her Assistance. Yeoman, and the American brig John D. [ A. Dickie of the Union Iron Works went | grieved when the effort failed. But it is} Spreckels. Far away, over at the Union I1ron Works wharf, lay the tug Rockawa; Superin- tendents John Scott and Dickie were aboard of her watching the threatened catastrophe through marine glasses. When it occurred they were not slow in acting. Thev went out to the rescue at once. | The masts and spars had all disappeared and the port side of herlazily swung in | the swash of the bay. There was a vast expanse exposed, however, perhaps 200 feet by 15 in surface, but hardly over three feet out of water. All entrances to the | ship were under water, and the air still inside the hull kept the vessel afloat. If the unfortunate five men within man- aged to escape the sidings and the ballast which must have tumbled dangerously about them during the roll-over, there was one chance for their being still alive, foat- ing in the hull at the air level in the | bilge. The Union Iron Works men say that | when they reached the vessel they could hear those within yelling and pounding on the vessel’s bottom. Superintendents Scott and Dickie and their workmen boarded the upturned huli, and immediately proceeded to cuta hole through the vessel's steel plates. They trusted that they could save the men be- fore the air rushing out would cause her to sink completely. The eighteen-inch hole was partly chiseled through, and with a strong blow | with a sledge the plate was smashed in. The compressed air within burst out, and as the tremendous weight of the hull | pressed downward the water gushed out in a perfect gevser to the height of twenty odd feet. The workmen hardly had time to et off the sinking hull to the tug, leav- ing their tools behind. | A moment later all of the British ship | Blairmore was hidden below the surface of | the bay. The ship lay in over seven fathoms of water, and it was not until late in the | afternoon, at low tide, that her side, ap- pearing like a huge whale asleep on the bay’s surface, peeped out as a resting place for the seagulls. These scavengers of the out to the wreck in the yard tug Rockaway at 8:15 in the morning, about an hour and a quarter after the vessel went over. They were accompanied by several workmen with their tools, and their purpose was to make an effort to rescue the six men im- prisoned in the iron hull. “When we reached the Blairmore,” said Mr. Scott yesterday afterncon, “all the other tugs and boats were gone and the side, or bilge, of the ship showed about three feet above the surface of the bay. It was a melancholy sight, that great vellow metal coffin of six human beings. Our ob- ject was to attempt their rescue, if they | were alive, by piercing the hull. We were well aware that this was a forlorn hope, as a hole drilled tkrough an iron plate would, if she were not aground, instantly liberate | the imprisoned air and send her to the bottom. Butwe could see that the air was escaping, because fountains of water were spurting up like big geysers trom the sub- merged cabin windows and ventilators. And to hurry us in our work, the tide was rising fast. *‘First we wished to ascertain if the hull was really aground and for that purpose took soundings. The lead line marked six and one-half fathoms or thirty-nine feet and we calculated that a ship her ton- nage would have a beam of about forty- two feet. This would let her rest on the bottom of the bay with three feet above water. ‘‘So we considered it safe to open the hull and went to work with our tools. We chalked out an eighteen-inch square in one of the plates, cutting almost tbrough the three-fourths of an inch thickness of plate. ‘When we began to hammer at the hull we heard the groans and shouts of the men inside and these spurred us on to hasten their aeliverance. The air kept gushing out of the ventilators making the water boil around them and the rising tide was | closing in upon us. I tell you we worked with a will, for it was a race between our chisels and the threatening water. We kept the tug close alongside ready to drop our tools and spring aboard if the hull suddenly dropped farther down. “All the time we could hear tne noise of the men inside imprisoned in the com- too sad a thing to talk further about and 1 don’t think I can say any more. Iwould have given anything to havg been able to | lift those men out of that sinking hull, but we could not.” e DGR H R THE DEATH-TRAP. Storles of the Apprentice Boys Who | Were at Work Down in the I Lower Hold. Stewart Marwick, an intelligent 19-year- old apprentice boy, was down in the lower | hold chipping the iron-rust from the ves- ‘sel's side. He was standing on a sort of | staging rigged over the dirt ballast that | lay on the bottom of the hull. Above him | was the between-deck, which is merely a | sort of balcony around a long and wide | open hatch. On this between deck was piled a lot of barrels of beef and a mass of heavy planking used in stowing cargo. When the vessel went over on her beam ends these barrels and planks fell into the | bold among the men struggling to escape. Second Mate McDonald had his foot crushed and Apprentice Siegle was struck down by the flying timbers, and it is pos- sible that some of the unfortunate men were more or less injured, possibly killed, in this manner. “The ship was rolling to starboard all morning,” said Marwick in an interview, “and as I knew she had been behaving in a cranky way I was alittle nervous. Pres- ently she listed so fdr over that 1 jumped from the staging and was making for the | ladder, but she came back and I thought she wasall right, and I went back to my work. “‘But she began to go again and the stuff between-decks began to slide to leeward. Farther and farther she went slowly but surely over till the deck was almost up and down. The beef barrels and lumber came flying down through the open hatch into the hold, and the dirt and rock ballast be- gan to pour a perfect avalanche to the lower side. Several of us made a break for the ladder for we knew the ship was gone. This ladder was not fastened, but stood on the ballast reaching up to the between-decks hatch. It was knocked down and our chances of getting out of | | | | | \-{u *STEWART? MARWICA W T ™ e TAAMILTON -BELL THREE SURVIVING APPRENTICE BOYS OF THE LOST BLAIRMORE. sea perched there ss if watching for the ad- vent of the poor sailors within. The British ship Blairmore of Glasgow, belonging to Thompson & Dickie, is of the same line as the Edenballymore, at pres- ent lying at Sausalito, and the Craigmore, now on her way here from New South Wales. She was a steel vessel, 264 feet in length, 39 feet of beam and 23 feet of hold. She was of nearly 1800 tonnage. She arrived here early in February with a cargo of coal, and owing to the low char- ters to be ubtained at the present time she was lying in Mission Bay, in baliast and being cleaned. Excepting the case of the Earl ot Dal- housie, when two sailors were drowned about eight years ago in this bay, no other capsizing of a sailing vessel has occurred in these waters. that can bardly be estimated. Captain Caw was perched high up on the wutherl\pln of the Federal Government is evi- 1 Commendable and prompt action on the pressed and foul air. We cut through the iron clear around the square to a thin skin just barely enough to hold the almost de- tached piece of plate in its place. “Then came the critical moment, and we prepared to break the piece in with our heavy sledge-hammers. The tide was be- ginning to lap over the plate which we had pierced, and in a short time it, too, would be beneath the water. “Then we struck together. Two good, sure blows and the piece fell in—and my God, I shall never forget what then took place. “The air seemed to heave itself out of the vessel in a solid body, and the hull dropped, 1 might say, right from under us. The water rushing in through the gaping hole would meet the ascending force from below and be driven upward fully ten feet with a tremendous roar. ‘“As ‘the hull went lower the upward the hold by that means was cut off. “I heard the second mate cry out when a plank or something struck him, and Ap- prentice Siegle was struck on the head. The whole thing passed so quickly that I can’t remember all that took place. I know we were all trying to escape; and it was every man for himself. The rolling, pitching and bumping of the barrels, boards and ballast on the one side of the ship made a horrible din, and that, with the knowledge that we would probably be drowned like caged rats made us frantic— at least it did me. +Then the water began to poura great flood through the open hatches, filling the hull. I found myself clinging to a beam with a death-like grip and somehow I managed to get out in the open air and on to the upper rail clear of the water. The second mate was helped up near me, where he clung groaning with his wounded foot. At Low Water the Seagulls Made a Roosting-Place Out of the Submerged Vessel's Keel, 4nd Even the Tugs That Carried the Curious to the Wreck Could Not Scare Them Away. uy IO | for all hands to save themselves. The water was pouring over the lee hatch combing and I doubt if any heard him. “I understand that the first mate in the hold with the men was knocked down by a heavy piece of timber and disabled. He grabbed a line, but the water running over the hatch washed him further down 1n the hold.”” Third Officer Melville was in the hold and escaped when the ship went over by clinging to a ladder. He says that the in- coming water drove the unfortunate men back from the hatches and drowned them like rats in a trap. There was no chance to help each other, and it was every man | for himself. Captain John Caw was on deck when his ship took her fatal roll, and as she settled in the bay clung to a boat. He held on to his dog and did not let the animal go until it was safely deposited in the Cromdale’s giz. When seen after the disaster he was so affected by the loss of his ship and men that he could bardly speak. ‘[t was so quickly done,” said he, ‘‘that 1 can’t explain how it happened. The tide was bearing us one way and the strong puffs of wind blowing us the other, and over we went. My poor ship bowed her- self down, and she's gone. But my poor men—that’s the worst of all. I can’t talk about it.” Captain White of the ship British Yeo- man stated thatone of his men saw the Blairmore going over. I ordered a boat called away,’’ he said, “and pulled away for the sinking ship. ‘We took several men off her rails, and she soon disappeared under the bay. I never | saw anything so quickly done in my life. under the water before he could hook on. Captain Barfield of the Alexandra sent his boats and crew to the rescue. The tug Alert was soon at the scene and tried to render assistance. Captain Brokaw says that the air escaping from the Blairmore’s hold threw streams of water fifteen feet high. It was impossible todo anything to save the vessel, and al- though the bay was full of tugs, they were powerless. Samuel Kenny, the cook and steward, was a native of New York, aged about 35 vears. He shipped aboard of the ship in this port March 11. First Mate Ludgate was 30 years old, a | native of England and unmarried. Seaman Henry Clark was a Scotchman and about 30 years old. Apprentice Roland Emil Siegle was a native of London, aged 18. Seaman G. Rennebaum was a native ot Germany and about 33 years of age. H. Synstrand, the watchman, was born in the Island of Mauritius about 45 years ago. gA: low tide in the evening a portion of the yellow huil could be seen above the water, with the waves breaking over it. Captain Caw reported bis loss to the Brit- ish Consul and an effort will be made 1m- mediately to recover the bodies by divers. It is estimated that the expense of raising the vessel from her muddy bea will be enormous. Mrs. Lena Levin, 8 young married woman, arrived here & week ago from New York in search of her husband, who deserted her. His name is Max A. Levin, and he came here about four months ago with another woman. He Men Were Sent from the Union Iron Works to Cut a Hole in the Bottom of the Submerged Ship. When They Had Accomplished This the Confined Air Threw Up a Stream of Water and the Ship Went Down. The ship sunk till only a part of her side ‘was above the water and we thought she would go down under us. We saw a num- ber of boats from other ships making for us as fast as they could come and we were taken off by the Cromdale’s gig. “8o our ship and six mates and every- thing we own is under the bay. Weap- prentice boys will probably be sent to the Edenballymore, now at Sausalito, as she belongs to the same firm as did the Blair- more. The Craigmore, another ot our ships, is on her way to this port. Maybe we will get in her.” Apprentice James Pope was also caught in the lower hold, and although struck with a heavy piece of flying timber, suc- ceeded in escaping from the deathtrap. He was thrown down to leeward with the falling ballast and almost buriea in the rocks and dirt, but miraculously made his way up through the hatch. +All the after part of the night the ship had been rolling over to the strong gusts of wind, because she was so empty and the ballast wouldn’t hold her steady. Once, about 2 o’clock in the morning, we jumped out of our bunks when she careened so far, thinking that her time had come, but she righted herself slowly. When she was empty she was as cranky as a dying top, because she was so heavily sparred. While 1 was at work in the hold I didn’t like the way she rollea—a sort of death wallow; but I chipped away at the iron rust and watched her list. “I can’t tell how I escaped from the awful uproar ana confusion of that hold. I did not hear anybody speak or cry out. ‘We just hurried for the ladder, which fell down upon us. We had no time nor breath for words. I believe some of the men were injured, if not killed, by being struck with the flying stuff in the hold.” Hamilton Bell, another apprentice, had been working below, but just before the ship went over was called up on deck by the carpenter. He had just stepped on deck and was almost thrown back in the lower hold by the careening of the vessei. Had he fallen there would have been one more unfortunate. 2 He made his way out of the lee scup- pers, into which he had been thrown, and found a safe perch on the upper rail. “I saw the captain hanging on to one of the boats,”” said he, ‘‘with one hand and on to his dog with the other. He became exbausted, and I believe the dog did much to hold his master up. The water swept everything not lashed off the upper deck, even the chickens in their coops. The cook, Bamuel Kenny, was in the cabin and he was lost. Poor Roland Siegle’s time was almost expired and he was going home soon to pass his examination for an officer’s berth. : “Last night as we were coming aboard he looked up at the ship and jokingly said ‘I wish the old hooker would turn over.’ That was a fatal wish indeed, and was granted with sad results. Siegle was 18 years old, and came from West Nor- wood, near Dulwich, London. He was the only apprentice-boy lost out of the six we had. “When the ship began to dip far down, Carpenter Watson called down the hold reach the wreck and take off some of the crew.” Captain Marshall in the tug Active was towing the ship Alexandra near the Blair- more when she went over. He immedi- ately cast off and hurried to the founder- ing vessel. He tried to get a line to the ship, hoping to hold her up, but she was The Cromdale’s fast gig was the first to; left her without means, and she was compelled to work to earn enough money to pay her fare. She is living with friends at 38 Birch avenue. She was vainly seeking to obtain & warrant yesterday for her husband’s arrest, as she had learned hie was to leave by the next steamer tor Australia with the other woman. The very mild winter in Britain has retarded the season on the Riviera, but Cannes 1s full. sacks, for $7.25. goods. to fit. to-morrow. of your life. 3 lEdWAlE of firms imitating our name and methods. Our only branch in S.F. is at 211 Montgomery st. forget for a long time. sale has set a buzz of talk going on over the entire city. No man who needs clothes and cares to make his dollars reach double length or so, will care to miss this sale. Black Cheviots, checks in nobby patterns, and stylish mixed grays—regular $10, $12 and $15 suits—single and double breasted The price is astonishing ? will be more astonished when you see the They are everything that good suits should be—best material, honestly made in the latest prevailing fashion, and warranted NEW TO-DAY. 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