Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 19, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 October 1897 — GO DOWN TO DEATH. [ARTICLE]

GO DOWN TO DEATH.

Fate of the Passengers on the 11lStarred Triton. The gunboat Maria Christina, which left Havana for the scene of the wreck of the coasting steamer Triton, bound from Havana to Bahia Honda, Pinar del Rio, which sank between Dominica and Mariel, returned, accompanied by the tugbekt Susie, which went with her. The gunboat had on board nineteen and the tugboat twenty-three of the members of the lost ship’s company. The Triton struck the rock during a heavy rainstorm. Her cargo shifted, and fifteen minutes later she sank in 120 fathoms of water. A scene of terrible confusion and panic ensued as soon as the passengers realized the meaning of the crash. In a wild struggle they rushed for the boats. The first boat that was lowered capsized immediately, and all of its occupants were drowned in the whirling waters. The next was struck by an enormous wave and turned over, drowning twenty, but the frail craft was righted again, and eight who had been thrown out regained. Four soldiers on planks whom the strong currents carried east of Havana, opposite Morro castle, were saved by a pilot boat going toward Cardenas. Many became food for sharks. Those who were rescued tell heartrending stories of the scenes during the terrible quarter of an hour before the Triton sank. Just as the Triton was sinkinc Captain Ricardo, her commander, committed suicide by shooting himself with his revolver. It is impossible to give the exact number of those who were lost, but it is estimated that they were no fewer than