The San Francisco call. [volume], September 09, 1900, Image 21

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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TIENTSIN. Aug. 30. via Shanghai.
Sept. 7.— United States Minister Conger i3
said to insist that Earl Li Hung Chang
shall be allowed to proceed to Peking for
a- conference.
Orders have been received from "Wash
ington that 5000 American troops shall bo
divided between- Peking, Tientsin and
Taku for the winter. _
INSISTS THAT LI
PROCEED TO PEKING
would appear that Japan Is preparing to
mobilize- a ntlll larger army for her ware
in-Asia. For a week past every mail from
the west has, brought letters from the
Japanese Government to Y. Takisha in
charge of Japanese laborers on the Ore
gon Short Line, instructing him to return
certain of his men for service in the army
and under these orders a number of men
have left for Japan. It appears that the
demand has suddenly become urgent for
yesterday - live cablegrams were rece'lvpil
by Takisha, all dated Yokohama, Septem
ber 6, and two more to-day, bearing to
day's date, all relative to the quick return
of men. 'There are about 1300 Japanese
In- the service of the Oregon Short Line
and while Mr. Takisha is not prepared to
say how many will be drafted by his Gov
ernment he anticipates a heavy reduction
on this account. •
SERIOUS CONDITIONS
CONFRONT CANTON
Sptelal Cable to The Call and New Tork'Her
/Md. \ Copyright, 19W, by the Herald Pub
lishing Company^
HONGKONG.. Sept. 8.— The - depression
of trade in Canton is serious. In five days
only, two steamers have. called for Shang
hai. The normal number;Is' five" daily.
More' than 60,000 unemployed ,wlir soon be
reduced to*a - state of 'starvation. A mag
istrate," ' realizing the . danger, . has . dis-'
cussed the- ,» situation .with the
andiurged the. restraining .of i Interference
with foreigners. • The magistrate has en-
his force* for withdrawal from Peking.
Further than that, the War Department
has taken steps to have at Taku a suf
ficient number of United States trans
ports to remove these troops to the Phil
ippines as soon as they reach the port.
These orders are preparatory, and do
not necessarily indicate that our Govern
ment has decided finally upon an, im
mediate withdrawal from China, It. is
simply placing itself in a position to car
ry out the pledge conveyed in the reply
to the Russian note in this language:
•The result of these considerations Is
that, unless there Is such a general ex
pression by the powers in favor of con
tinued occupation as to modify the views
expressed by the Government of Russia,
and lead to a general agreement for con
tinued occupation, we shall give instruc
tions to tho American officers in China to
withdraw our troops from Peking after
due conference with the other: command
ers as to the time and manner of with
drawal."
\ Special Commissioner Rockhill has left
Shanghai for Poking.. A. report by cable
from him dated yesterday, indicated that
he had begun the discharge of his duties
as a special observer of the present Chi
nese disturbances. . Reports also were: re
ceived to-day from* Consul General ¦ Good
now at Shanghai and Consul - Fowler i at
Chefu, both dealing ; with the conditions
of the missionaries. ., . _, > ; ,. - .
gaged 300 of the unemployed as ! soldiers,
v The Chinese arc warning foreigners to
clear out - of . Hongkong. I The destruction
of mission property i in i K wangtung : is
enormous... At Berlin mission the damage
Is. more, than 570,000.",. -¦ •¦ -, ¦ , •; ,".
stories about. the. allies at
Peking. are being > circulated' by the"-Chl
nese.\ ., - ...-¦.-.:¦ •-.-'-" ...'.' •* -• • ¦.-'
JAPAN RECALLING :: r
' SALT LAKE,; Sept 8.— A :.special to ; the
Tribune '.; from 7 Pocatello,- ':ldaho, v say's:
From £ information - : -'- originating : ; hero * it
with the May Flint years ago when she
was a steamer, and she never steared
right then."
Peter Claussen, one of the crew who
leaped overboard, said:
• "I realized that the odds were against
the lumber bark holding up 'when our
boat went down, and I made up my mind
that the best thing I could do was to
Jump. 'I didn't even stop to take off my
shoes. I swam about In the water for fully
five minutes before being picked up by a
rowboat. I don't think I could have held
out much longer."
Struck by a Spar.
. George Knoth was struck by a falling
spar and thrown into the water. Although
bruised and stunned from the blow he
managed to keep afloat until rescued by
a launch.
Second Mate Parker also Jumped over
board and -swam quite a distance before
being picked up. ;"
' Many of the crew went to the Sailors'
Home, at the corner of Main and Harrison
streets, after being taken ashore.
. The news of the accident spread rapidly
and many Inouiries were made at the
Sailors' Home and other plares for partic
ulars. It was at first reported that sev
eral lives had been lost, but so far as
could be learned at a late hour last night
all had been accounted tor. .,-. ;"¦,..
_The Vidette was In charge of Captain
EK>dd and carried lumber for Bixbee &
vrldrK*
The May Flint was owned and managed
by William Mighell. - The ship was an
iron, four-masted vessel. 3577 registered
tonnage. She was formerly the Persian
Monarch, and -was built by M. Millan &
Sons at Dumbarton in 1SS0. She was re
built in 1S35, was 351 feet long, 42 feet wide
and 16 feet deep. Her home port was San
Francisco. ¦• .
«mb HERE was a tragic feature of i
r R S5 last night's brilliant naval
pi demonstration not down on
g* the programme. Under the
glare of half a dozen power
ful searchlights and within full view of
hundreds of people the ship May Flint was
suddenly sent to the bottom of the bay
a? a result of a collision with the battle
ship Iowa, the crew escaping death as by.
a miracle. Four sailors leaped overboard
and were picked up by rowboats, while
the others were taken off the bark Vi
dette. onto which tbe men jumped as the
two vessels camp together, when the May
i-wung round after getting clear of the
Iowa. The May Flint was without a pilot
and was coming into port under full sail
when, owing to a light wind, she became
unmanageable and drifted across tbe bow
of the Iowa. The collision tore a bad hole
in the May Flint's side and she turned
turtle and sank five minutes later.
The May Flint was commanded by Cap
tain Woodside, and in addition to her of
livers, carried a crew of sixteen pallors,
,l carpenter and two Chinese cooks. The
names of the last three were not obtain
able last night. The others were: Cap
t;i j ni Woodside; first mate, '¦
Knight; second mate. Parker: sea
men. O. Christensen, Alex LInd, George
UoUer, Jamps Bullimore. John Hubert,
Lf*ny We«oott, fitgvert Olsen, D. Rose,
Edward O'Connell. Michael King. Ed
ward Walton, P. Claussen. Robert
Schroder. George Knoth, James Carton,
John F. Hubert, y; :
The May Flint left Seattle last Sunday
bound for this port. She had aboard 5000
tons of coal consigned to P. B. Cornwall.
The ship had a smooth voyage and was
in good working order when she entered
the bay. JO'
Captain Woodside evidently expected
dette remained afloat, and kneeling, the
crews of both vessels offered up silent
prayers of thanks. Captain Woodside and
his men were finally taken aboard a
launch and landed at the Brannan-street
wharf. i
W. H. Wescott, one of the ill-fated
ship's crew, tells a thrilling story of the
disaster. '
The Ship Goes Down.
"We were going along nicely." he said,
"'^ntil we gof'a-short distance ahead of
the Iowa. Here' the wind went back' on
us and as we had, na pilot it was a case
of waiting for the wind or to hail a pass
ing- tug. ¦ . *s • ¦' . . ' ,
"Then the tide began to carry u-> back
onto . the ¦ Iowa. . We struck her bow.
drifted away: almost immediately and
,went straight ; into ¦ the Vidette^ We had
no sooner collided with the bark than the
cry went up that our ship had sprung a
leak. ' ¦•-;•¦"•- ' '
"The horror of those next few moments
cannot ; be described.. 'It wasn't' the fear
of .being "drowned that overcame me so
much "as it was'the expectancy of belns
maimed by a falling block or' spar from
the rigging. One of the -men was struck
by a spar and hurled jnto the water, "He
was rescued by a ;rowboat.
j'l had about "given 'up, all- hope/ for it
seemed to me that even if we managed to
get aboard the Vidette she would be car
ried down with our ship.- -Every one
shouted ,for the boats, -but -there wasn't
time to lower them.' Those who did' not
Jump gotsafely aboard' the bark, and so
far, as I know all'the crew, have'been'ac
counted for. . \ Ta5J» '"..-. _ '. ¦• ¦ •
"I am not one of , the superstitious kind,
but I will say that on more than one occa
sion I have had a presentiment 'that the
old ship ¦ would - go -down ' some rday, ¦ and
now. my fears -have been realized. ¦ I was
But the ship was fated and almost be
fore the crew fully realized the danger
that was imminent she had drifted across
the Iowa's bow. Although the crash was
a severe one it was not thought to have
seriously damaged tha big collier. She
was finally got clear -of the , battleship
The swell from a passing steamer
started her to rocking and she became un
manageable. Two of the crew, Michael
King and William Moore, were at tho
helm, but although they exerted them
selves to the utmo3t to avert threatened
disaster it was no use. The ship was at
tho mercy of the tide. The captain and
his crew realized that nothing short of
a miracle could prevent a collision
with one of the numerous vessels in the
vicinity and yet, although the tide was
air the while carrying the doomed ship
down toward the Iowa, the lingering hope
that a fresh breeze would catch'the sails
and bring her once more under control
kept Captain Woodside from calling for
assistance. v ;
There were a number of other Illumi
nated boats in the vicinity, and now and
then one of them would throw Its blind-
Ing searchlight upon the battleship and
sailing vessel! The May Flint had gone
but a short distance ahead of the Iowa,
when tho wind that had been carrying
her so nicely died into a light breeze and
tleshlp became almost stationary.
that the owners would send a tug to pilot
her in,- but as none appeared he decided
to try and enter unassisted. There was a
fair breeze, which carried her along nicely
for some little distance.
At a point opposite the Brannan-street
wharf the ship sailed in front of the bat
tleship Iowa, which was lying £t anchor,
gorgeously decorated ior the naval pa
rade. ' ; .'¦
.There was a fearful displacement of
water as the ship went under, but the VI-
During the brief interval that the ves
sels lay side by side the May Flint's crew
leaped aboard the bark, but when safely
on her deck the situation was almost as
perilous as It was on the dpomed ship, for
there was but one chance *in ten that the
May Flint would not carry the bark down
with her. With the 5000 tons of coal and
probably an equal weight of water in her
hold there was. a suction that it seemed
must carry everything in the vicinity
down with her. '>>¦¦¦.
After the vessel had swung broadside
onto the lumber hark she drifted around
the Vidette's bew and went down.
But to launch the boats 'would have
meant death for those who might have
undertaken- the task. There was no time
for that. The ship was sinking like a
piece of lead. The roar of the water as
it Rushed into the ship's hold, the falling
of ths ship's spa«*» and rigging onto the
deck and Into the water, together with
the wild shrieks for help from the frantic
seamen, made a scene not soon to be for
gotten by those who witnessed it.
Meant Certain Death.
"To the boats!" roared the captain In
a voice that-was heard above the fright
ened cries for help from the sailors. ¦
It was at this thrilling moment that the
extreme test of nerve and presence of
mind came to the sturdy sailors.
only to drift still further astern and cql
llde with the bark Vidette. loaded with
lumber.
Then It was that the May Flint's crew
realized that their vessel must go down.
It seems- the Iowa's bow. had worked
havoc with the ship's hull, ripping a hole
sufficiently largo to cause her to fill rap-
Idly.
<3-rea,t Collier IDrifts "Upon tlie Io"wa/s Ttsucn and
Plunges to ttL© Bottom of tlie DBeiy--A.ll
Hands Are Saved.
SHIPS AT
HERCY OF
HURRICANE
Several Vessels Wrecked
Off the Coast of
Florida.
BARK SOUTH AMERICAN
IS DRIVEN ON A REEF
Beports of Various Disasters Daring
tha Recent Storm, and It Is Prob
able That Many Seamen
Have Perished. £ !
MIAMI, Fin.. Sept. 8. — The ateel
bark Sonth American of Liver
pool, laden with mahotrany, and
bound from Santa Ana, Mexico,
to Falmonth, Ensland, In a total
wreck on French Href, Florida,
forty-three mile* Month of Sllaml.
The eaptaln and ereir, less three
men left on the wreck, nrrlved her»
this morning and are being cared
for by the cnxtomx officials. The,
hurricane »trnck the Sonth Ameri
can Tnridnr, when oft Careynport
light, at 9 p. m., and at 2:"O a. m. of
the 5th innt.. the bark, with all her
ennvn* blown away and annianntjr
able, wan hnrled npon the reef*.
The vf»«rl will prove a total loss,
bat her enrsro niny be "invert. *
Captain Schjonemann of the South
American report* that on his nay
to Miami he paaaed the following
Htranded -vemtelat
The (onr-maited nchooner Jame*
Dndgre of Philadelphia* in ballast*
lnalde tbe reef* and afloat.
A »fi<ifl frith only the «tnmp* of
her maul* showing; nnme and na
tionality nnknonn; crew preanm
ably lost.
•A Norwegian bark with no one on
board and the bnrkentlne Coldoon,
laden -with lumber, previously re
ported.
There Is another vessel on the
reefs and a steamer reported ashore
north of this place.
HOUSTON, Texas. Sept. 8.— A hurri
cane accompanied by a heavy rain
has been blowing along the Texas
coast and fcr a hundred miles in
land to-day. Galveston is shut off
entirely. The last report from Galveston
stated that the guif waters were en
croaching rapidly on the beach and that
the flood had extended into the* residence
portion of the city for several blocks. The
waves were very high and boisterous in
the bay, and considerable damago was
being done to email craft, though thesis
boats were not then In any danger. Th«
rain had been very heavy all day, and
traffic wa3 entirely suspended. There haa
been no casualties, and but little damage
except along the water front. The South
ern Pacific wharves under construction
had been damaged to the extent of $23,000.
Inland there has been much damage to
the cotton crop, the lint being blown and
beaten from the open boll3, and the. ric»
crop has suffered severely, as It was
nearly ready for harvesting.
At midnight the wind 13 blowing sixty
miles an hour and great damage is be
ing done to business houses and residences
throughout the city. The Associated Pres3
wire Is the only one that Is working, all
other telegraph and " telephone business
being shut off. The electric light plant
has been closed down, as the wires be
came crossed with the telephone wires
and several persons were shocked, though
none was seriously hurt. Several great
brick and Iron stacks have been blown
over and tin roofs are aa numerous on the
ground as on the houses. The streets are
utterly deserted. So far there have been
no casualties.
The storm haa spread to the Interior and
there Is great anxiety in this city. Per
sons are offering extraordinary sums to
the telegraph companies to get messages
through to Galveston and other points,
Obut nothing can be done for them. Up to
midnight telegraph nothing had been
heard from Galveston.
| NEW ORLEANS. Sept. 8.— A erpecial
' from Houston. Texas, says:
There is an unconfirmed rumor that the
hurricane played havoc with the town of
Rockport. on the lower coast, and that
the great clubhouse built by E. H. R.
Green near there has been blown away,
with loss of life.
The damage done about New Orleans by
the storm was "trifling. Dr. O. H. Buf
ford and Sergeant Quinn of the United
States military forces, who were reported
drowned, turned up safe and sound at
Fort St. Philip to-day. The greatest
damagf) done by the storm has been to
the cane crops.
LOWER PORTION OF
GALVESTON IS FLOODED
SAN ANTONIO, Tex.. Sept. S.— Possibly
the last dispatch out of the flooded city
of Galveston was received in San An
tonio to-night by Jerry Girard, announc
ing the death of his brother by drowning.
The message left Galveston at 8:13 p. xz.
The entire lower portion of Galveston to»
then flooded and the people wero huddled
on higher ground in the pouring rain for
safety.
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 8.— A special
from Dallas, Tex., says: All Texas Is In
the keenest state of doubt and uncertainty
to-night concerning the fate of Galveston
island and city. It Is said that the bridges
leading from the inland to the island have
been swept away by the terrible force of
the wind and the rolling up of the water
In the bay. The bridges are four In num
ber, three for railroad uses and one the
"Galvcston County public wagon and pedea
trian bridge. It seems hardly creditable
that all these bridges could be swept away
without the city suffering tremendously.
Epedal Cable to The Call «aS N«ir York Her
ald. CcryrlRfc*. 1*00, by tb» Herald Pub
llshicr C'omrasy.
BTTRTTN', Sept. 8. — I have had a
conversation with, a highly
placed personage of the For
eign Office. He declared that all re-
ports of compromise on the- part of
Germany were false. Germany has
already definitely refused the- Russian
proposals and has informed all the
powers of the text of the note doing
so. It is expected here that Russia,
the United States and France will
evacuate Peking and that America
will be forced to place its gjeat inter
ests in Peking under German protec-
ticn.
Washington political circles have
been unpleasantly impressed by the
indiscreet and sometimes false press
notices. Germany uill not publish
her answer to the powers, desiring to
avoid giving the impression that she
is taking action at the head of ths
powers in opposition to Russia.
It is worthy of remark that the
Wolff bureau has already published
three different versions of the Em
peror's speech at Stettin- In the last
edition the -words "I am convinced
that ay plan will succeed," have been
stricken out. Such is the censorship
cf the imperial speeches.
Cf.1 I BUREAU. "VTEULnCGTON
HOTEU WASHINGTON, Sept 8.—
Tfccre Is excellent reason to believe
tt-.r.t th© Emperor and Em
pv.fs Dowager are •willing:
to rpfjrn to PeMnff If jrnaran
'.ped prrF-nal protection and assured that
their empire Trill not be partitioned- An
Important advance In the work of restor
ing- peace In China -will be made should
the lrr.p r riai family return to their capi
tal. Before this can occur, however, Eev
«>ral preliminary stages xmist be passed.
These include:
L Restoration of complete harmony
emor.g the powers.
2. Modification of Rasela-'s proposal to
entirely withdraw from Peking and of
Gerir.ar.y's announcement of her purpose
to remain.
3. Preparation of a plan wWch will ap
peal to the povrers, or at least a larye
majority of them, contemplating the with
drawal of troops in Peking with the ex
ception of an International forc« suffl
cier.tly strong to guard the foreign letra
fc!one. which are to remain in the capital
lor the purpose of conducting peace nego
tiatlor.s Trtth the commissioners to be ap
pointed by the Imperial Government.
Difficult as would appear the accom
plishment of these three alms, the Presi
£«:t does not despair of success. It Is
Ecknowledg-ed by officials and diplomats
alike that the critical stag© of the Chl
rese trouble Is now at hand.
Russia has not Indicated any Intention
to modify her announced purpose- to re
tire from Peking?, and Germany, with Von
¦Waldcrsee hastening on the ocean to
China, does not relish the Idea of evacu
ation. But looking into the future and
seeing- the possibility of friction between
the powers, the increase of starvation
among the people residing between Taku
and Peking, and with such Increase a
renewal of the attacks by Chinese upon
the foreign troops and finally of extensive
operations by the allies when Von Walder
pee arrive*, the President is anxious to
trivs about as prompt a settlement of th*>
trouble as events will permit.
Purh promptness will probably not ac
cord with Germany's policy, but Russia's
evident fear of German territorial ag
grandizement In Northern China has
plared the St. Petersburg Government on
th<* Fide of those nations desirous of pre
serving the territorial integrity of the em
pire. With the United States. Great Brit
ain. Russia. Frcnce and Japan a unit for
:n rariy termination of the difficulty an']
supporting a plan which will not Injuri
ously affect German Interests, the belief
prevail* here that within a croiparatlvely
F hnrt time a satisfactory conclusion can
b" rP3"h r -(].
Thfro> ia hardly an official or diplomat in
Washington who does not believe that th<
trot:!,!. <;»n be ended much more quickly
v.ith tin i oval family in Peking. The in
formr.tion. therefore, that the Emperor
end I'mprrss Downprr are williner to re
turn is extreme!? gratifying-. Hnrmnp
r.rnong th«» powers, upon which fo much
stress Is laid, and fo much actually de
pends to r<\ieh a mutually satisfactory
rolution. is more easily obtainable at thi«
rrnment than would be possible after the
arrival of Von Walderree or even after
the withdrawal of lh<* Russian and
French troops to Tientsin and the diviwon
of the allies into two camps. Such divi-
Fion would m«an that the two groups of
rMirr.s wouM proceed to obtain B.itisfac
tion in aornrii.ir.ee with their own partic
ular j>ollci«'!« and by F-uch method as each
might <!eem expedient. The President is
therefore striving to harmonize the con
flicting views of the powers, and the pl»n
•which appeals to the common sense of the
diplomat? here contemplates the with
drr.wal of a majority of the allies to a
point outride the walls of Peking, the re
mainder - of the international force to re
nr.in as a guard to the legations, whicl)
ere to be charged wlllt the work of con
("iKifnfr nr"iri» np~nlfatlnns
AMERICAN FORCES
PREPARE TO WITHDRAW
WASHINGTON, Sept. 8.-Orders have
been cabled to General Chaff ee to prepare
Unless Some Understanding Is
Beached Before Von Waldersee
Lands in China There
Will Be Trouble.
AMERICA STRIVING
TO SECURE HARMONY
Germany Notifies the Pow-
> f ers She Will Not Retire
From Peking.
RUSSIAN
PROPOSALS
REFUSED
SHIP MAY FLINT GOES DOWN AMID
GAILY LIGHTED CRAFT ON PARADE
Pages 21 to 30
Pages 21 to 30
PRICE FIVE CENTS.'
SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 1900-FORTY PAGES.
VOLUME LXXXVIII— ]NQ. 101.
SAILORS LEAP- FOR LIFE FROM THE SINKING COLLIER INTO THE WATER '-'' AND UPON THE- LUMBER - LADEN - BARK
'•; VIDETTE, WHILE SMALL BOATS AND EXCURSION CRAFT HASTEN '; TO tTHE- RESCUE. '
The San Francisco Call.