The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 4, 1902, Page 3

\ THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SATURPAY, JANUARY 4, - 1902, SINVORS PRASE THE GLLNTY OF CIPAN HL JAD S SUBORUINKTE _ 0 TELL STORY OF THE DISASTER SRR T IR ' Walla Wallas Injured Master, Carrie Down With the Vessel, Rises on Wreckage and Is Rescued. UREKA, Jan. 3—Captain A. L. Hall, | master 0 e ed Walla Walla, ount of the dis- Francisco on for Victoria and s he to-day. “The as the night advanced the port side, well for- cer Lupp was on watch sing, especlally in was badly shat- the collision strik- Walla just forward of my bunk was struck and room on my table. 1 the bark, which I be- nan, judging from the sallors, rebounded and Walla Walla’s side. I tand by, but she drifted st to view. I could not bow on. have been broken, it er hull suffered mate- Little Confusion Aboard. be passengers who had not ed by the crash were aroused 1 began to fill imme- nk in thirty-five min- here was little confusiofon board. w kept the passenge! The crew ered to man the life n effort was made is was given up, ng at such an e was wasted on of Lhe passengers. the port boilers necessary to give the keep the gaping hole in he water. ments all the life boats h the exception of hed. One of these Or ten passengers. he water, but man- raft, which had ew minutes previously. was smashed by striking e water, but all the d by another life -five first and sec- on board and about e had no knowledge of the vessel striking us, thick that she was I we were struck. It was e time and the uncertain t extent with the ngers. I remained on Captain Sinks With His Ship. d the broke off and I e with it. Sighting nced swimming and £ it after a hard ed cn s. We floated about nd early in the evening few miles to the north e steamship Dispatch, g to Seattle. went down I was ar and badly posure, left me | forward being split into matchwood. she was injured, but I do | | Point Reyes about 3 o'clock on Wed: | with the tomfort of the passengers to n every way possi- |of the women rescued by him. Two in board by the | tion; in fact, | plying cléthing for the unfortunates. we were all more or less played out when Captain Johnson took us aboard the Dis- patch. “From the information I have concern- | ing the rescue of passengers and crew, 1 am not able to say how large the death list will be, but in my opinion it will not be less than twenty. A number were in- jured by the falling timbers. It is cer- 1ain some. of the steerage passengers per- ished in this manner, the housing to the “Among the survivors few were serious- ly injured, and while it may be possible many were shockingly mangled those for- tunate enough to escape were,singularly lucky. But few cuts and bruises came under my observation and these for the most part were received by the occupants of the life rafts. While not very rough, the sea was nasty and choppy and the continual wash over the rafits was a | hardship, especially to the ladies, many of whom were nearly in the last stages of exhaustion when picked up by the Dis- patch.” Captain Johnson’s Account. Captain Victor Johnson of the steamer Dispatch, to whom a majority of - the shipwrecked passengers owe their lives, was seen shortly after this vessel was docked at the rallroad wharf.. The Dis- patch was bound for Seattle and left San Francisco several hours prior to the de- parture of the Walla Walla. The latter steamer, being the faster, passed her at nes- day afternoon, gradually pulling away until ‘she was lost from sight. “About § o'clock on Thursday morning,” said Captain Johnson, “my attention was called to a small boat which was manned by three men and coming toward us. Owing to the fog we did not discover her presence until she was right alongside. As the boat approached nearer the men halled. This was the first intimation that I had that a marine disaster had oc- curred. The spokesman of the party in- formed me that the Walla Walla had been sunk by an unknown vessel off the Mendocino coast. The party proved to be three firemen from the wrecked vessel. We took them aboard and lay to the re- mainder of the day. “Several boats and rafts were picked up at different intervals, the last about 4 o'clock on Thursday afternoon. Some of the survivors were badly played out, es- pecially those on the life rafts. There was a nasty, choppy sea runming, and this; washing over continually, interfered such an extent that many were utterly [ exhausted when picked up. “Of the passengers rescued several were injured. One's leg had been jammed and two others were cut _about the head and shoulders. »Captain Hall was injured by & spar as the vessel went down. Several of the women were more dead than alive when taken aboard and with difficulty were resuscitated.” Women Display Heroism. Captain Johnson was loud in his praiscs particular, he said, were entitled to much credit for the caimness they displayed. According to Captain Johnson, the women were far more nervy than the men and gave valuable assistance in _caring for the survivors as each succeeding raft or boat was picked up. In most instances | it was with great difficulty that the sur- vivors were got aboard owing to the | heavy sea running. The captain and the crew of the Dis- patch were very careful to glve every | attention to the wants of the passengers and their wardrobes were depleted in sup- +- STEAMSHIP WALLA WALLA 15 STRUCK AND SUNK BY UNKNOWN BARK: ~* Continued From Page One. Walla- bow .on, well the port side. Re- the impact she forward again and ’s side as she here that the most de- incident of the awful plorable disaster occurred — deplorable yecause it there was no element of that heroism and courage that seamen are tunity is offered to save human lives. Lea 2 to her fate, the ship that 1sible for the collision to the night and was Those aboard themselves as best Possibly the stranger herself damaged, was un- able to shorten sail and heave to got so far her way back to llision; but, could not f the scene of th e colli faring men are loth to believe that ship’s officers could though se be guilty of craven desertion of imperiled souls, the fact remains that no trace of the French craft was seengon Thursday by vessels o display when the oppor-| o the disabled Walla| p were left| that she | ’s port side and so near ’ survivors of the Walla® Walla. mpossible to avoid a | The stranger struck| | she had inflicted or to succor Ithose in danger. { Walla’s side, refused to enter a | cruising in the vicinity to pick up Apparently she continued on her course, without turning back to learn the extent of the damage Following the crash there was but little excitement on the Walla Walla, and here the heroic con- duct of the American crew stands out in glorious contrast to the action of those aboard the disappearing bark. Officers and seamen stood at their posts. Boats were lowered and every effort was made to save the pas- sengers. Seamen were assisted by the cooler ones among the male passengers in fastening life-pre- servers around women and chil- dren. The latter were given first place in the boats. Not an offi- cer of the steamship left his post until the vessel began to settle. Captain Hall, himself badly in- jured when the prow of the bark crashed through the Walla lifeboat and went down with his ship. A piece of the social hall deck, to which he clung, broke off and bore him back to the sir- face and after a hard struggle he succeeded in 'reaching a life raft, TWO LIFEBOATS WRECKED. It was in the lowering oi the | boats that the first loss of liie oc-l ) a4 /,//'//(" Ay ol LOST FROM A BOAT. curred. Two of the small craft were smashed by colliding with floating wreckage, and a number of their passengers sank before they could be dragged aboard the life rafts. “The boats that finally got clear of the sinking steamship were buffeted about on a heavy sea and one was thrice capsized before it finally reached the shore near Trinidad. Of those who embarked upon it more than half were lost. The survivors en- countered great suffering, -drift- ing helplessly for nearly thirty hours before they reached shore near Trinidad. During that en- tire time they were without féod or water, To the steam schooner Dis- patch and her captain, Victor Johnson, most of the survivors of the wreck are indebted for their IT IS ALMOST CERTAIN THAT LOUIS H. BRIDE AND GROOM WHO ARE AMONG THOSE SAVED FROM THE WRECK OF THE WALLA WALLA AND TWO PASSENGERS WHO ARE STILL MISSING. DRUBE WAS of the heavy seas. When at last there appeared to be no hope ot further rescues the Dispatch abandoned her trip and put into port. SINK 'WITH THE STEAMSHIP. Captain Hall believes that a half-dozen or more persons went down with the Walla Walla. When the bark’s bow penetrated the steamship’s hold there was a crashing of timbers, and ' the staterooms in the vicinity of the point of contact were wrecked. Some of the steerage passengers, he fears, were either too badly in- jured to make their escape or were pinned in their quarters and were unable to extricate them- selves. Just as the Walla Walla ‘was settling beneath the waves her boilers exploded and the ship was rent asunder. Portions of the lives. The Dispatch, which was en route from San Francisco to Se- attle, was hailed by three men in a small boat, which, in the heavy atmosphere, was almost along- side before it was seen. The oc- cupants of the boat proved to be firemen of the Walla Walla, and Captain Johnson was soon in possession of details of the dis- aster. He at once altered his course and steered for the scene of the collision. For hours he cruised about, picking up several of the Walla Walla’s small boats, crowded with men and wcmen who had escaped death in the wreck. Everything was done for the comfort of the survivors, the crew of the Dispatch deplet- ing their wardrobes to supply warm clothing to replace the drenched garments of those who had for hours been at the mercy woodwork were hurled a great distance, and men who had at the last moment leaped into the sea with the hope of swimming to one of the crowded life rafts were either struck by the flying tim- bers or carried down by the suction. The officers of the Walla Walla are able to throw no light upon the identity of the bark that sank their craft. There was great excitement on the strange vessel after the crash, and the voices ot her officers could be heard giving orders to the seamen. The lan- guage spoken was French. Al- though Captain Hall, because of the injury he sustained in his stateroom, which was penetrated by the bow of the bark, was sev. eral minutes late in reaching the deck, the strange craft was yet so] statement of the cale price was kiven ’ - — near that he could hail her. This he did, asking that she stand by to render what assistance she could. The bark’s crew paid no attention to his appeal, and as she passed out of sight there was no evidence of an intention to lie to and lower her boats. R GETS WORD FROM HALL ON WRECK Continued From Page Two. ment of the wedding on account of her youth, but the groom's impatient ardor would brook no delay. The wedding was originally set for last night, but the cere- mony was performed un December 31 in order to allow the young couple to take passage on the Walla Walla for their future home in Tacoma. The wedding ceremony was solemnized by Reyv. Father Lagan of the Sacrel Heart parish. The bride, frightened by the number of rallroad accidents wkich have recently occurred, refused to travel by rail. She considered it safer to go by ‘water. T. W. Stream, the young groom, holds & responsible position In the Tacoma Ship Building Company. He is well known in Tacoma, where he is a member of a num- ber of clubs and societies, CONJECTURES AS TO IDENTITY OF BARK Shipping Men of Portland Think It ‘Was the Europe—Local Ex- perts Fear She Was Sunk. The general opinion among shipping men In this city is that the French bark that ran into the Walla Walla went down after the collision or was so badly dis- abled as to be carried far away from the scene of the wreck. The following telegram may throw: some light on the conjectures as to the name of the bark that cut into the Walla Walla: PORTLAND, Or., Jan. 3.—Shipping men here believe that the vessel which was in col- lision witk the steamer Walla Walla near Men- docino is the four-masted French bark Europe. The Europe left here December 11 for Queens- town with a cargo of wheat. Under ordinary weather conditions the Europe would have been farther on her journey, but for several weeks the weather has rough, and it is very probable, shipping men say, t the rope Wwas the' vessel in collision. a crew of thirty men. From Astoria on December 28 sailed the French bark Francls Coppe, bound for Queenstown. On December 31 the French bark Jean Bart, bound for Queenstown, left the same port. At Astorla are duc the French bark Bossuet, days out from Antwerp, and the French bark Du- quesne, 123 days out from Nantes. ——e—————— She carries LEAVENWORTH, Kans., Jan. - 3. . Leavenworth Light' and Heating Company's Rll.nt ‘was so0ld to-day to Redding/Bertron ichard S. Storris of New ‘While no out, it ‘understood to have been 000, ‘paper corres, STEAMER DISP SPLENDID N THEIR EFFORTS TO GET ALL PASOENGERG SAFELY ABOARD THE LIFERDATS [T HIS SHIP BUT LVES ATCH DOES RESCUE WORK PR Sl Occupants of Lifehoats, Drenched an Utterly Exhausted, Are Picke and Cared For P SRS S UREKA, Dec. 3.—Survivors of the Walla Walla disaster are all loud in their praise of the conduct of the officers of the wrecked steamship. They say that Captain Hall re- mained coolly at his post, calming ‘the passengers and endeavoring to get every one aboard the life rafts. In this he was ably seconded by his subordi- nates. of the disaster, it is .remarkable that there was no more excitement aboard. Not until the Walla Walla began to set- tle, before all had been taken into the lifeboats, was there anything resembling panic. The survivors encountered great suffer- ing before they were picked up. Heavy waves washed over the life rafts, drench- ing the occupants, and there was neither water nor food aboard. When finally picked up the women were utterly ex- hausted, yet during the time the boats drifted about they bore up bravely under hardships and the uncertainty of rescue. George Reiss of San Francisco, who was one of the crew on the Walla Walla, gave the following account of the disaster: “It was 4:10 o’clock when the French vessel hit the Walla Walla bow on. All of the passengers were asleep when the crash came, but they soon rushed out of their staterooms and the deck was crowd- ed. Captaln Hall went down in the steer- age and found a family of seven persons fastened in a room. Two girls of 12 and 14 years were pinned between timbers. The girls were released and the others as- sisted out of their berths. Lifeboats Are Soon Filled. “Every one prepared ‘to leave the ves- sel, the captain saying she would soon sink. Lifeboats and rafts were lowered. Life-preservers were put on and the pas- sengers were lowered to the boats. The vessel did not sink untij 4:45 o’clock, giv- ing crew and passengers thll’tg-fl"u min- utes to leave the steamer. Sixty-three persons were lowered, and the life-saving boats being filled the excitement grew in- tense among the remaining passengers. ‘Women screamed, and men and boys jumped off the steamer. Several, how- ever, did not leave until she started going down. The officers were cool and collect- ed, doing everything possible to save thelr passengers. ‘““We could learn nothing as to the cause of the collision. After the crash the French vessel withdrew, leaving the pas- sengers at the mercy of the high sea and lending no assistance whatever. ““We were drifting here and there, six- ty-three of us, in the lifeboats and rafts for more than five hours. The boat I was in had twelve survivors, two of them la- dies. Qne woman gave me a red shirt to signal the steamer Dispatch. We were recognized and soom were rescued. The Dispatch’s officers, learning of the wreck, searched for the others, and finally sixty- three were taken aboard. The Dispatch ‘was bound from San Francisco to Seattle, but pulled into this port to land the res- cued passengers. - en the Walla Walla was partly sub- merged both bailers exploded, sending pieces of the vessel in every direction.” Saves Mother and Wife. G. W. Streams was awakened about 4:10 o’clock on Thursday morning by a heavy crash, and making his way forward found the deck. strewn with rubbish and broken timber. “I went back to the statercom where my mother and wife were,” said he. “I took them to the saloon and-soon after- ward placed them on board lifeboat No. 1. The boat was lowered before it was filled. I climbed over and slid into it. We pulled away from the wreck and re- mained for some time outside, In twenty minutes the Walla Walla’s iights went out and we could see nothing more. As we left she was golng down rapidly for- ward anu before we were very far away we could step from her deck into the water. “We pulled slowly for Mendocino light, with a heavy sea and a wind In our face. We rowed hard all that day, but could gain but little headway with the strong, choppy sea. Toward evening we became_ thirsty and hungry and resorted to the hard tack which was in the boat. No one drank the water, as it. was very stale, and our hunger becam> so great that one orange was divided among four- teen. We were at one time from one-half to three-quarters of a mile from the Ran- ger, but she failed to sight us and we continued our progress in toward the Mendocino_ light, hoping to reach that place befote dark. As the heavy sea re- tarded our progress, we were compeilerl tolle in the open ocean all night. For- tunata'y the sea became moderately calm and we passed the night without any ac- cident. “‘About daybreak we once more started for shore and had a hard fight with the breakers. A woman's red shawl was used as a distress flag. It was holsted from a ole and at 10:30 o'clock it was sighted BY tne tug Ranger, which came out after a bark. - As soon as she sighted us she left the bark and came to our assistance and picked us up and brought us in short- ly after 11 o’clock.” C. W. Streams is the son of the well kxnown ship builder and tugman who is vice president. of the Tacoma Shipbuilding Company. Helps to Lower a Boat. Henry Guihin, pantryman on the Walla Walla, says that he was awakened about 4:10 o'clock on Thursday morning by a heavy crash. He dressed and went for- ward anc saw that the steamer had been pierced a little fore of midships. Hurry- ing back to his room he grabbed what clothing he could and went out on deck. “The captain stood near,” said he, “commanding every man to get into ths lifeboats. I let down lifeboat No. 4 and it was soon filled with twelve men and ! two women, and we immediately pulled nwag‘ There was a heavy head sea and we had a hard time to keep up. When far enough away from the wreck to avoid the suction from the ship we waited uutil she sank. Then, returning to the wreck ‘we found nothipg but drift wood. It was about fifteen minutes after we left her when her lights went out, and we turncd our course toward the shore. As we made no progress we remained in the open sea. and three hours later we were picked up by the Dispatch.” Says Firemen Proved Cowards. Mrs. R. F. Edgar of San Jose was on her way to Vancouver. She is a news- ndent and writes under the name of ““Cris McRae.” Mrs. r satd: 1 was reading my Bible on the night of the accident, when suddenly there came to me a presentiment that something seri- ous was golnz to occur. I got out of my bunk and placed my clothing so that I could easily reach it. I was wide awake when our ship was struck and the bells were rung to arouse us, I was fortunate in having my clothing wnere 1 could eas- {ly find it, for I had need for it all before brave Captain Johnson of the Dispatch Considering the appalling nature ! picked us up. Most of the passengers and crew were scantily dressed and some cf the ladies left the ship in their night clothes. ‘T was in’the third boat launched from the ship, The first boat contained threo firemen, who took a beat and did not heed Captain Hall's commands to return for the passengers. The second boat, con- taining about fourteen persons, launched a few moments after the firs and then came our boat. 1 threw mv clothes into the boat against protest and then jumped on top of them. ‘George Reiss, one of the crew of the Walla Walla, attached to the steward's department, proved himself a brave fel- low during the danger, and kind and thoughtful after the danger was passei. To him I owe my life. I cannot speak tdo highly of Captain Hall and his officers and ‘most of his men. Captain Johnson proved himself to be one of God's noble~ men. After picking up the first boat he spent the entire day in search of the oth- ers, and did everything a good man could to alleviate our sufferings and supply our wants. His crew also gave us every at- tention.” Entire Family Perishes. Mrs. Timmons, who was bound for her home in Dawson, was one of the two women who had to wear boys' clothes provided for them by the officers of the Dispatch. When interviewed to-night in the Western Hotel she sald she found them quite comfortable, but would be glad Wwhen the ladies of Eureka, who had taken her measure, should return with a supply of feminine attire. When asked to relate her experience she said: “I left the Walla Walla on the second boat. The waves were mountains high. never expected to be saved, but thought every wave that washed us wouid swamp the boat. The men were kept busy bailing to keep afloat. It was terrible, and whea the Dispatch hove 1nto sight I could scarcely realize that we were to be saved. God Dbless. Captain Johnson and his yaliant crew. I can’t say too mueh of their bravery and kindness. And Captain Hall, too, conducted himself as a man and a brave officer throughout. “The most lamentable sight I saw was a little girl who kept calling ‘T want my papa’ and refused to jeave the vessel. The ’fgst!lng'r. mother and four children were Blames Officer on Watch. A. B. Maclellan, traveling salesman for Murphy, Grant & Co. of -San Franecisco, who is going to Alaska, spoke of the wreck as follows: I was awakened by the crash, hurried- ly dressed and ran’ to the bow, port side, where the Walla Walla was struck. could plainly see the French bark lyln} away at a distanee of about 200 yards. She carried no lights, but I could see her plainly. I cannot understand why the of- ficer on watch did not see her. There must have been inattention to duty, else this accident could have been avoided. In our doat was a Greek sailor named C. Machio. He was the only one that knew anything in our boat and was of great service to g:éwgrag!%:’ln Jfihn?onfi Purser Stubbe and well o "‘Ee ety ell of the Dispatch deserve . son, one of the waiters, was ggflsho(se':ha wrent dow"n with_the sl(;lnp? e to-the surface again a on gorslk @ sald: . S S - “Some of the boys awake dressed fully, washed mfielnf?drorlxl‘:\:l - cigarette and’ went on deck. Thers was considerable confusion, of course. One boat filled with women and men had been lowered. Al Johnson, messman, was in charge. After all the boats were lowered rafts were thrown overboard. When the ship went down a mast toppied over and crushed the skull of a passenger on one of the rafts. . “The noise was terrible. I never shall forget it. I was sucked down with the ship. When T came to the surface I got Into a boat, in which there were four men and one woman. This boat was full of water and turned over. The woman swam to a raft. “‘One of the coolest men was Chief En- gineer Crosby.. The last I saw of him Continued on Page Five. ADVERTISEMEN' “To say a pleasant word to anyone was almost impossible.” "] was troubled with female weskness for eight yeass; and suffered more than I can tell,” writes Mrs. Gust. Moser of Ovando, Deerlodge Co., Mont. My disposition was affected to such an extent that to say . pleasant word to anyone was almost possible. 3 “1 had two - tions " performed by one of the most skilied surgeons of the West, but did not get relief. Then, against my doctor's strict orders, 1 commenced taking Dr. Pierce’s Favorite Pr=ucri&llon and *Golden Medical Dis- covery,’ and also fol- 1 the advice ven in the Common § jense Medical Ad- viser. “I continued this treatment for three months, and to-day am as healthy and well as a woman can be. Doctor Pierce enough | for his kind letters to me.r Womanly @is- eases, as ; rule, il the “di b= | P becamer of the extreme nerv- ousness and suffering they cause. Hap- piness 'as well as health is restored to the woman whose diseased condition is cured by the use of Dr. Pierce’s Favorite iption. After eight years of suffering and two fruitless operations, three months’ use of “Favorite Prescription” restored Mrs. Moser to perfect health. This great remedy for woman’s ills, establishes ity, dries weakening drains, heals in tion and ulcergtion and. cures female weakness. s e Moo T covers, sent Y of