The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, February 25, 1901, Page 1

his Paper not be from V., + e S The VOLUME LXXXIX—NO. 87 SAN FRANCISCO, MONDAY, DEWET FLEES IN A BOAT AFTER SUFFERING DEFEAT | AT THE HANDS OF PLUMER) Boer Leader Recrosses Orange River and Is Now Reported in Full Retreat With a Handful of Followers. : ol | | | | i | | i 1 PAPER TO | A SURREN- BY A LONDON ITCHENER FOR TOWN, Feb. rear Disse ntein on tie st that Ge t all shift for ge River nd Ge horses best SHERIFF HAS FUN | PUZZLING THE PUBLIC Two Men Accompany an Officer, but Observers Cannot Tell Which Is the Prisoner. « i 2 24.—C itn County, Ohio, ver on his way to cisco They her thé She Two men are Rife, interesting v wil the all righ to hi g us t want prisoner a dangerous crim- | K Pearce irs or " He doesn’t look hard- noddeu in the direction of | which side by side sat Dun- ] the prisoner?” responded the i say w. eve I sal Sherifr don’t be tender-hesrt et n and a pompom and taking fifty prisoners. i and are being pursuei by Colonel Plumer. d that General Dewet escaped to the opposite bank in a ing with a handful of foilowers. el Plumer engaged Genaral Dewet south bank of the Orange River, The Boers It is reported from | eral Delarey has besn captured. This success was preceded by a lesperate attempts on the part Boers 1« nge and | from the water | the Brak rivers. | wet, after unsuccessfully | » cross the Brak at Klip | » Orange at Reads Drift and moved along bank of | with one gun one pom- | nd laagered opposite Kameel Drift. | Plumer left miles west of the Boer moved northeasterly. At | tacked the enemy, taking | pursuit was contin- | es ks e Orang an wn Colonel Welgever- a Toward evening | ading troop sighted the enemy, who the Boers mov- Hopeto gered beyond range. Colonel Owen rged the spot where the Boer artillery was supposed to be and captured the whole of it. The enemy fled, leaving thelr | horses ready saddled and thelr cooking pots full. According to the latest reports | 400 Boers recrossed to the north side | the river. The Orange is greatly swol- . —_——— RECORD OF MAJOR HOWARD. Gained the Sobriguet “Gatling Gun” | During Riel Rebzllion. HALIFAX, N. 8., Feb. 24.—News of the | death of Major A. Howard, better known as “Gatling Gun” Howard, caused a sensation here, where he has been well nown. His connection with the Cana- | forces dates back to the Risl rebel- | when he was in clgrge of a | | | | sent out with the forces to west. Howard lived st Browns- les from Ottawa, and left r with the second contin- t to assume charge of a Colt battery the South African gn. Later he rps of 100 Canadian scouts leading them when he met his n cam | | Plague Attacks Children. CAPE TOWN, Feb. 2% —A white child died here to-day of bubonie plague, and three white children h e been attacked by the dfsease. A white man is suffering with the plague at Woodstock. ‘i—!—’—‘—l—H‘l‘l‘i‘l‘l‘l‘H—l—H«-fi—:—:—[—(—l—. FORSAKES A PULPIT TO SHARE A FORTUNE Denver Clergyman Coming West o Work With His Brother in Profitable 0il Fields. | ; Feb. 24.—The Rev. D. L.| ler preached his farewell sermon to his congregation in Asbury Methodist Episcopal Church to-day. and will start | to share his| fortune in. the oil flelds. He cen a clergyman in the Dakotas, w Mexico ond Colorado for twenty to-morrow for California bre her's e or six years ago one of the Raders loaned a friend $170 and took as security a mortgage on sixteen acres of barren land in the present Kern River ofl dis- trict. He tried to sell it several times, but no one wounid buy the property, and out of grim determination he paid the taxes and held on, trusting in the irriga- tion system of that district ultimately reaching his land and making it produc- tive. Instead of that oil was struck, and now the sixtecn acres are worth o fx- tune. | news developments to-day were: | calling an extra session in case Congress | | is able to agree upon a declaration of our | sion. | anad expensive extra session of Congress. | ture encouraging to those who were seek- | {‘L'nlted States to Cuba. | tions, now has precedence in the Senate PRESIENT MAKES OFFER 10 CONGRESS Names Conditions Al- fernative to an Exira Session. Declaration of Our Rela- tions With Cuba Must Be Adopted. —_— Speclal Dispatch to The Call. CALL HEADQUARTERS, 1408 G| STREET N. W., WASHINGTON, Feb, 24.—In the Cuban situation two important | That the President is willing to forego future relations with Cuba to meet his views. That the condition in the Democratic party is such that the question whether there shall be such declaration by Con- gress rests now upon the few _leading Democrats of the Senate, notable among whom is Senator James K. Jones of Ar- kansas, chalrman of the Democratic Na- | tional Committee. There has been considerable doubt as | to whether President McKinley would, | under any circumstances, be willing to | assume the responsibility of passing on ftution and relations with unless the constitution had first been sent to Congress. The President has | at last cons 1, in response to over- | | tures from almost the entire Republican representation in the Senate, to take charge of the constitution when it is sent here, provided Congress shall declare whether in its opinion the United States should have a right to intervene in Cuba; to have @ volce in the islands’ foreign affairs; to pass upon the question of the creation of an enormous bonded debt; to| | supervise sanitary and commercial inter- and to have coaling stations. If Congress meets this question, the President is willing to take the respon- sibility of conducting negotiations with Cuba without calling an extra session.. He | has told the Senators this and that ex- plains the remarkable activity among | Democratic and Republican Senators alike | in seeking to reach an agreement so that | they may return home and attend to| thelr private affairs. The Democratic party still remains an unknown quantity. A large majority of Republican Senators are pledged to the | programme of meeting the President's | views on the Cuban question in an amend- | ment to the army appropriation bill. The | most ultra opponents of any policy that | permitted the United States.to have any | hand tn Cuban affairs—Senators Teller and Money—have in a measure been won | over to the plan of avoiding an extra ses- | Before this plan can be carried out Senator Jones of Arkansas and his asso- clates must be brought into the fold. It was explained to-day that Senator Jones | might be willing to consent to this ar- rangement and permit the amendment to | come to a vote without filibustering, or | he might occupy the position before the country of assuming responsibility for | compelling the President to call a long | Senator Jones was asked this question to-day: “Are you in favor of Congress voting at this session on a resolution or amend- | ment to the army bill defining the status of Cuba so far as it relates to the United | States?” Senator Jones' reply was not of a na- ing to avold an extra session. “I should like to vote,” said he, more n favor of Senator Teller's resolu- | tion of April 1, 1898, in which we declared | Cuba to be free and Independent and dis- | claimed any intention of interfering with | her soverelgnty.” Benator Jones said emphatically that he would not favor any dictation by the He declined to | commit himself on any specific proposi- | tion until it should be advanced in the Senate. . There have been many conferences to- | day, but the whole question as to whether there should be an extra session or not | hangs to-night on the Intention of the | Democrats to permit such amendment to | the army bill as may be presented being brought to a vote. If they filibuster they can throw the whole matter over beyond March 4, and an extra session will be inevitable. Some very pretty tactics may develop this week if the Democratic members should prove stiff-necked. The army ap- propriation bill, to which it is proposed to attach the declaration on Cuban rela- | over other appropriation bills. The river and harbor bill is still far in the back- | ground. Fully 9 per cent of the Dem- | ocratlc Senators are deeply Interested in this bill. It contalns many items of the greatest possible interest in their com- mittees, and it may be used as a club during the closing hours of the session to bring about an agreement to reach a vote on the Cuban proposition. PRINCE IS JILTED AND ENDS HIS LIFE Karl of Croy Commits Suicide ieenus a Peasant Girl Refused to Marry Him. LONDON, Feb. 24.—The Vienna corre- epondent of the Morning Leader says Prince Karl of Croy has committed sui- cide because he was jlited by a peasant xirl. | not come up at an angle. FEBRUARY 1901. 25, PRICE F1VE CENTS. SEPULCHER OF THE DROWNED IS FOUND MANY FATHOMS DEEP Wreck of Rio de Janeiro Rests‘Ofie= Eighth of a Mile Southwest From Fort Point Buoy. Sea Holds Its Prey and No More Bodies Are Recovered by the Beach Patrol. thirty fathoms of water, an eighth of a mile southwest of the Fort Point buoy, lies the wreck of the steamship Rio de Janeiro. The location of the vessel was deter- mined yesterday afternoon by Cap- tain Hatson and crew of the Fort Point life-saving station. Many hours be- fore the thousands of sightseers wended their way to the ccean beach to gaze upon the placid waters beneath which the bodies of many victims of Friday's disas- ter still lay, the craws of the life-saving stations were at work, hoping to mark the spot where the Rio de Janelro took her last plunge and hurled 121 preclous lives into eternity. Fatality decided that the m) mission is to save life should vesterday be locators of the dead. Up and down the waters in the vicinity of Fort Point the life-saving crews rowed, and during the day they were watched by many thou- sands. Idle curlosity prompted the ma- jority of the sightseers, but in the vast assemblage were a few who longed for the consolation of sccuring from ocean's depths the bodies cf their loved ones. Those whom an error of judgment: had robbed of kith and kin had the satisfac- tion of knowing last night the location where their beloved dead lay sepulchered in the tangled mass of a steamship’s wreckage. : It was almost sunsct when Captain Hat- gon and his life-saving crew had thelr at- whose | tention drawn to masses of lumber com- ing to the surface of the water. The life- | saving boat hovered in the vicinity, and other pleces of wreckage from time to time floated upward. There was but little current at the time, and Captain Hatson stated that in his opinion the wreckage came straight up from the depths and did He marked the place on a chart as an elghth of a mile southwest of the Foit Point buoy. It is expected that to-day the Pacific Mall Company will have an attempt made by divers to reach the wreck, in order to recover the bodies which must be impris- oned in it. Although’ a careful patrol was kept along the beach and bay yesterday not a single body was recovered. A small amount of woodwork from the deck struc- tures of the Rio do Janeiro was found floating by some fishermen near the Heads. The terrible disaster which cost so many fives was made the subject of a cruel hoax. A beer bottls was picked up in the afternoon at Bakers Beach, and inside was a plece of paraffine paper on which was written In faint pencil lines the fol- lowing: “Rio Janelro all lost. Will try swim. ‘Wife and 2 children washed over. Wild- man.” g The evidence of Pilot Jordan is that Consul General Wildman was helping Mrs, Wildman over the ship's side when the vessel plunged beneath the water, and it is not thought poasible that the Consui could have written tl.e message. The Chinese Six Companies held a meeting yesterday and decided to reward the Itallan fishermen and others who helped to save the Lives and recover bod- fes of Chinese who were on the Rio de Janeiro. The money will be placed in the hands of the Pacific Mafl Company for distribution to those entitled to recefve it. b — | | — iy - P ‘ | ; 5 TO HAVE SUNK AND WATCH o SCENE ON BAKERS BEACH YESTERDAY, WHERE CROWDS OF CURIOUS AND EXPECTANT MEN AND WOMEN ASSEMBLED TO GAZE OUT OVER THE WATER WHERE THE RIO DE JANEIRO IS SUPPOSED FOR WRECKAGE. Purser Thomas Smith of the Alameda, who arrived in port yesterday, savs that eight or nine passengers on that steamer came within an ace of taking passage on the City of Rlo de Janeiro at Honolulu. The Alameda left the day after the Rio, and the passengers delayed taking pass- age for this city because of the fine weather which prevalled in the islands. It had been raining for a month or more, and the weather cleared up a day or two before the Rio salled. The fine weather continued, and so the passengers put off their homecoming untfl the next day. ‘When the Alameda reached port the pilot who was taken on board reported the news of the disaster. The passengers felt so grateful at what they regarded as a lucky deliverance that a testimonial was drawn up to Captain Herriman, signed by every one of the seventy passengers on board. ARE HURRYING THE INQUIRY United States Inspectors Begin an Investigation and Examine Mate of the Wrecked Steamship. United States officials, appalled by the tragedy of the Golden Gate—the loss of the Rio de Janlero—are hurrying in their effort to fix the responsibility upon whom it belongs. Heretofore investigation Into the causes of wrecks has followed the methodical lines of custom; but the sea had not vet quieted over the bones of the good ship wrecked Friday and the dead that went down with her when a summons was issued to those who might throw any light on the cause of her fate to appear and tell their various stories. United States Local Inspector of Bollers, Steam and Sailing Vessels John K. Bul- ger, United States Inspector of Hulls, Steam and Sail Vessels O. F. Bolles and United States Supervising Inspector of Steam and Sall Vessels John Berming- ham went Into session in the United States Appraisers’ building on Saturday morning and issued summonses to sur- vivors of the crew of the lost ship tc appear and make their statements. Gra- ham Coghlan, second officer of the Rio de Janeiro, was the most important wit- ness to appear, for he is the only surviv- ing oficer of the Rio competent to testify as to the navigation of the vessel. Pilot Jordan has made his statement, but he was not one of the crew. Graham Coghlan's statement was tran- | scribed yesterday. It will be signed to- day, and will be read in evidence when | the court of inquiry into the cause of the | loss of the vessel convenes. His state- | ment is general in its nature, full detalls as to the manner in which the vessel was navigated to her doom not yet belng given. Additional light as to happenings on board the vessel the night before her destruction was given by Mate Coghlan, however. Pilot Jordan, it has developed, remained up quite late at night and gave his di- | rections for the handling of the vessel to | keep her off the heads until the fog lift- ed in the morning. The purser busied | himself putting what treasure there was | aboard under lock and key, taking an in- | ventory of his stock of liquors and wines and closing them in the vauilt for the next trip. At 4 o'clock in the morning Pilot Jor- dan was called. He occupied ten minutes | tn dressing, a few minutes more in reach- | ing the bridge, and at 4:30—half an hour after the pilot had been called—the \'es-i sel was under way. Jordan was joined on the bridge by Captain Ward, and the | lost ship was headed for the Golden Gate, | and forty minutes later was caught in the | swirl of the ebb tide and hurled on the | rocks half way between Mile Rock and | Fort Point. The rest of the story has | been told in part. There is yet more to | tell, but not until the inquiry has been | completed will the truth be known-- | whether Captain Ward, Pilot Jordan or | unkind fate only must answer for the | lives of 121 human beings. | | LARGE CROWD ‘ VISITS BEACH Sands Near the Scene of the Disaster Occupied by Curious Sight- Seers and Souvenir . Hunters. R | Despite the knowledge that not a ves- tige of the wrecked Rio de Janeiro could be seen fully 5000 people went to the beach yesterday and sat for hours on the sands gazing toward the spot where all that ‘was left of the ill-fated ship was supposed to be lying. There was absolutely noth- Ing to be seen, but the crowd stayed on, relieving the monotony of hours of vigll e by an occasional rush t6 the water's edge, where frantic grabs wene made for any object that floated within reach with the hope of securing a memento of the disaster. The possessor of the smallest plece of wood that bore the least possible resemblance to any portion of a vessel's structure, on exhibiting his prize, was im- mediately surrounded by a crowd. An occasional tear and sometimes an audible sob told why some of the on- lookers stood there, gazing upon the wa- ters that had robbed them of loved ones. Curlosity doubtless prompted the rest. At the lookout station John Hyslop, marine reporter for the Merchants’ - Exchange. scanned the beach with his powerful glass In search of possible victims and wreckage. Earlier in the day Captain Varney and his crew of the Southr Side Life-saving Station patroled the vicinity at Bakers Beach, journeying to the limits of the life-saving station at Fort Point and acting in conjunction with the latter crew. In the afternoon there was a heavy surf running in from the sea and the breakers were rolling furiously over the Potato Patch on the Marin shore. This should serve to cast the wreckage and the bodies of possible victims within the limits of the bay. Outside the breakers roared dis- mally enough, and a great many of the thousands who crowded the helghts wan- dered down the beach below the Clft House to search for relics along the ands. Not less than 20,000 to 30,000 people visited the beach and heights during the | afternoon. The bay was dotted with craft of every description, but the choppyWstate of the sea rendered the condition of those occupying them anything but a pleasant one, but the desire to know of anything new concerning the wreck was greater than their fear of a ducking or the chilly wind, and they remained until late in the afternoon. The sands of Baker's beach afforded a resting place and greater opportunity for sight-seeing, and to this spot the largest crowd thronged. . Here also were the souvenir hunters gathered in large num bers, though their chances of securing a plece of the vessel to adorn their parlor mantels were considerably lessened by the breakers which the strong southeast wind drove high up on the beach. The police patrol is still on duty along the ocean front, but their vigilance has not met with any reward. The only thing of real importance to appear during th entire day was a skylight and a portion of the ship’s cabin, which came to the surface suddenly during the early hours of the morning.