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Show "STEAMSHIP sinks ON PACIFIC COAST BOILER EXPLODES ADDING HON. OR TO TRAGEDY THAT COST MANY LIVES Boats Are Wrecked While Being Put Over Side; Surivors in Water for Hours; Death Toll Runs High I'Jureka, Cal. Only wreckage remains re-mains of the San Francisco and Port-and Port-and Steamship company's liner Alaska, Which foundered in the 1'acitic oil the rocks of Blunt's reef, forty miles south of here, Saturday night with a known loss of seventeen lives and with thirty persons definitely posted as missing Monday and believed to be dead. The ship was en route to San Francisco from Portland, Ore. The Alaska had aboard 132 passengers passen-gers and carried a crew of elghtyjtwo. Of the passengers, revised lists Monday Mon-day placed ittie missing or dead at thirty-five. Twelve members of the crew are dead or missing. Surviving passengers and crew, numbering num-bering 107 were brought to this pon Sunday by tlie steamer Anyox, which answered the Alaska's distress calls-Some calls-Some of the survivors planned to leave for San Francisco aboard a special train arranged for by officials of the Hue which owned the Alaska. The authorities-made plans to hold an inquest over the seventeen bodies in the morgue here. Some of the deaths were declared by survivors to have been caused caus-ed by an explosion of the Alaska's boilers as the ship started sinking after af-ter twice hitting the rocks. Some of the passengers and members of the crew were blown into the sea. Many of these, it was said, succeeded in again boarding the ship or were res-sued res-sued by lifeboats after clinging ,10 wreckage until help arrived. Oil rising from Mie burst tanks of the ship was scattered over one lifeboat life-boat filled with survivors, talie ocean nearby was coated with oil and the bodies of the dead when recovered were covered with oil. So suddenly did the tradedy happen that the steamer's crew hardly had time to prepare the lifeboats, and many of these were reported wrecked while being put over the vessel's sides, spilling spill-ing their human cargo into the Icy waters. Muny of the survivors were rescued by the Anyox aflter they had Honied about in the water for several hours. J. H- Moss anu"C. L. Vilim, both of Chicago, said they reached a lifeboat which 'had been swept off the decks. Other lifeboats, they .declared, wfflit down with the ship. Captain Harry Hobey of the Alaska preferred to go to his death rather than leave his command, passengers reported. When Mr. Ross removed a lifebelt he was wearing and offered It to Captain Hobey, telling him to save himself, witnesses said the captain walked away, replying: "I prefer to go down with my ship." Althousii a veteran in the service, Captain Hobey was only 40 years old He assumed command of the Alaska three weeks ngo, and this was his third trip. Stories of heroism were again told by survivors of the ill fated steamor. Captain Snoddy and the crew of the Anyox were commended-for their rescue res-cue work. Accompanied by three seamen sea-men volunteers, Second Officer Andrew-Sinclair Andrew-Sinclair of the Anyox took a lifeboat from the Alaska and within thirty mln-irles mln-irles rescued thirty persons clinging to wreckage in the water. Tlie full story of the sinking of the Alaska did not become known until survivors had landed here. It was brought out that the Alaska was pro-reeding pro-reeding towards San Francisco in dense fog when she struck a submerged ledge of the reef. This shock was almost al-most instantly followed by another as the vessel struck an outcropping of tlie reef above water. Tlie Alaska struck the -reef shortly after 9 o'clock. Immediately wireless distress signals were flashed. Five miles away the steamer Anyox of Vancouver, Van-couver, B. C., Picked them up and disregarding dis-regarding fog and danger of striking the same rock as the Alaska, put on speed to the rescue. At 9 :30 o'clock the Anyox received the Alaska's final message : "We are sinking by the head." P.eforo the Anyox could reach the stricken Alaska the latter had sunk In the hot; the Anyox came upon a llf boat with survivors from the Alaska. |
