A LINER SUNK.

Gisborne Times, Volume VI, Issue 234, 11 October 1901, Page 4

A LINER SUNK.

COLLlsi-N WITH AX ICEBEIiG. . TIIKILI.IN<.' SIoUfFS TOLD 15V i briivivoiis. Deti-at- HK' receive-« in Lon.Vvt fro;.:! ; Vidor,a. 11. C.. .■-di’io an appa : disaster v, .0,. ,: bciallen the l wnuhan L'neii: XaTgation loiaprayb <a nurhip islander. The vessel struck an iceberg oil Imuglas Island at three o'cij.-k o”. the ; morning of hep'. 1-uh, and -auk nmeu minim s later. Sixty-live of too pa- e 1 ■ a ■ ' and crew were drowned. Ihe Islander. . which was on a voyage from Skagwav to j Victoria, carried 1-j passengers, all of

v, horn wen asleep when the accident occurred. They were awakened by a terrible shock, which was so violent as to hurl half the sleepers from their berths. The vessel was lurching through a heavy sea and a dark and storuiy night, and the oliicers had no warning of their danger until the islander's bows were crushed in by the iceberg, which -be ha-1 struck while going at full speed. A scene of the wildest panic loiiowed. men trampling women and children underfoot in a frantic rush for tlie boats.

The pilot, Leblanc, who was on the 1 bridge at the time of the collision, gives hhc following description of what ensued : " I realised I must run the steamer ashore at once. 1 ordered the helm hard a-star-board. and ran both engines full speed ahead, telling Captain Foote that our only chance was to get her on the beach. The captain did not seem to realise danger, and said : ‘ 1 don't think I'll beach here ; the beach is too steep. I will run for Hilda Bay. and the ship will be saved il we beach there.’ Several minutes wore lost in parleying, and then when Captain Foote decided to put the vessel on shore [ ran full speed ahead again, but the vessel bad taken in too much water, and was so much down by the head that her stern was thrown 100 high up, and she would not answer to her helm. An order was given to clear away the boats. This was followed by a rush of passengers. There was no thought about the women and children, but the men rushed to the boats, but the tackles and the ropes, and crowded into the crait. Had there not bee u such a rush oi pas- j sengers, I believe we should have sated the majority, if not all. although the time was short. ” But the passengers acted on the principle of every man for himself ; they clambered along the chains, loosed , the tackle, and crowded into the boats, shouting “ Tush off 1” I saw one fellow waving a hatchet, and threatening to kill anybody who attempted to crowd into the boat in which he was standing. As for the crow, they behaved well. They could not have behaved better. Captain Foote did not leave the bridge until the water practically lifted him off it. He behaved most gallantly, and did all he could to help rescue, lie was the last to leave the ship, and lost his own life immediately afterwards by the boilers exploding under the raft to which he clung. Those who were rescued owe their lives to the coolness of the officers and crew in getting the boats lowered without accident, and pushing the panic-stricken passengers into them. Many who jumped into the sea were picked up only to die of cold and exhaustion. The boats landed the survivors (107 of the passengers and crewl at Douglas Island, and the first officer was sent to Pincau for help. The steamers Flossie and .Tuno responded, and brought flic wretched people to Victoria.” Another account says that unfortunately the collision j-,imbed many of the state-room doors, and the inmates, despite their struggles, were unable to escape. Many heroic ofi'ovts to rescue them were made by the other passengers and the crew, but the, settling down of the ship made them abandon their endeavours and seel; refuge on the lifeboats and rafts prepared to take the survivors ashore. The Islander left Shagwav on the evening of September 11. Her safes carried gold dust to the value of Tlvd.OOO, and the passengers carried ten thousand dollars’ worth in addition. Some ol the passengers had terrible experiences. One of the rafts, bearing twelve passengers, were sucked down when the ship plunged under. It rose again, however, but this time only two of the occupants remained. Dr Phillips, of Seattle, with his wife and child, was in the state-room when the ship struck. He rushed out and returned after some minutes and told his wife and daughter to dress. He then ran on deck. At that moment the ship lurched and sank. Mrs Phillips and her child were caught bv the suction of the aii'sha!'t, and sank. The doctor was thrown into the water under the cabin door. He and the chief engineer were able to climb on to this piece of wreckage, and thus reached the shore in such an exhausted condition that it took hours to resuscitate them. One passenger, named Maclellan, reached land without even having his coat wet. The Islander was a steel twin-screw steamer of 1495 gross and -J7b not- tonnage, with a length of 240 ft, beam of 42ft, and depth of 14ft. She was built in IbSS at Glasgow, and was a very beautifully fitted and finished ship. Her speed was 14 knots.