Rensselaer Journal, Volume 10, Number 38, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 February 1901 — PERISH AT GOLDEN GATE. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

PERISH AT GOLDEN GATE.

Big Vessel Sinks and 122 Persons Drown. CONSUL JVILDMAN IS LOST. The Steamship City of Rio de Janeiro Strike* Upon Mile Rock in a Fog, Back* Off and Settle* Down —Struggle for Life Boat*. Th? Pacific Mail company’s steamship City of Rio de Janeiro, while entering the San Francisco harbor from

the orient during a heavy fog Friday morning, struck a sunken rock and went down in about fifteen minutes in thirty fathoms of water off Fort Point A large number of lives are known to have been lost, but owing to the confusion following~the terrible accident and the failure of those who managed to get ashore to report their safe arrival at the Merchants’ exchange or the Pacific Mail office, it is impossible to fix the exact number of those who went down with the vessel. It is thought that 130 perished. Capt. William Ward, the Ship’s master and an old employe of the Pacific Mail company, went down with his ship. As nearly as can be learned, there were 201 persons on board the ship. Vessel Strikes a Rock. The City of Rio de Janeiro was on her way in from the oriental ports via Honolulu with a valuable cargo. It sailed from Hongkong Jan. 22 for San Francisco via Yokohama. Quartermaster Frederick Lindstrom gave the clearest idea of the striking of the craft and let it be known that the mass of rock with which the iron prow came in contact was Mile rock, against whicn a pretty stiff current was setting. The rock is in a line off Fort Point with Point Lobos, and two-thirds of a mile from the San Francisco shore. His explanation was that the vessel struck head on, crushed in her bows and filled immediately. Instantly the decks were crowded with the passengers and crew and the Chinese steerage passengers rushed up from below and tried to crowd into the boats... The members of the crew, headed by Capt Ward and his assistants, kept the Chinese and the white men off while the boats were being lowered. By this time the ship had 'backed off and was settling down by the head.

DON MANUEL SILVELA.