The Searchlight (Guthrie, Okla.), No. 486, Ed. 1 Friday, August 16, 1907 Page: 2 of 16
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THE SEARCHLIGHT
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MORE ABOUT THE WRECK-
Many friends and neighbors called
at the Martindale and Rockwell homes
last evening and today and expressed
their sympathy to the bereaved par-
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Chaa. H. Martin-
dale, in the loss of their six-year old
daughter, little Ruth, who was the joy
and life not only of the Martindale
home, hut the Rockwell and Edmoud-
eon homes as well.
Mr and Mrs. Martindale and Mr.
and Mrs. Elias Rockwell arrived in
tihe city early yesterday morning
over the night Santa Fe, from Idaho,
their train being four hours late, but
on account of the fatigue from their
iong journey they did not let tiheir
. presence become known until late
yesterday evening.
Mr. ami Mrs. Rockwell escaped
from the awful disaster without a
scratch, but both Mr. and Mrs. Martin-
dale were badly injured ia the ex-
plosion following the collision ana
vcre in the hospi'al at Eureka for a
week. Mr. Martinaale's left leg was
b.itily twisted and horribly bruised
• am' hU right heel was cut in thiee
piaces. clear f> the bone and his .eg
fro:,> t<he knee down was black and
blue and swollen to such an extent
that it ihad to be lanced twice and
Is still in a very bad condition. He
is not able to move about without the
«id of crutches. Mrs. Marti idales
body was covered from head to foot
vitb soot from tihe explosion and phe
srstiined several ugly <"uts on the
forehead and left side, besides being
l-iuised generally.
The employes of the Southwostoru
11on foundry! after closing down Ihe
j.^ant last evening marched in a body
tr- tihe Martindale and Rockwell hemes
vt.ere they presented engrossed res-
olutions of condolence to their em-
ployer, Mr. Martindale. and their fel-
low workman
Relate Story of Wreck.
Saturday evening, July 20, they
were told by their captain that they
were nearing Emreka. They were all
pretty sick, as they had been out at
pea nearly two days, and Mr. and
Mrs. Martindale, their daughter Ruth,
Mrs. E. E. Butler and children, Dor-
othv and Gertrude, had retired to
their state rooms about nine o'clock.
Mr. Butler and Mr. Rockwell, who ihad
not yet become affected with sea-
sickness, stayed on deck until about
eleven o'clock when, feeling the
sickness approaching, they retired.
The nine people in the party occupied
two state rooms on the first deck ad-
joining the dining room, Mr. and Mrs.
Martindale, their daughter Ruth, and
Gertrude Butler, occupying one state-
room and Mr. and Mrs. Fockwell.
Dorothy and Mr. and Mrs. Butler, oc-
cupying the other.
The first }ihe party knew of the, dis-
aster was when they were awakened
in the middle of the nigiht by a rap-
ping on the door and heard the offi-
cer on deck say: "We're struck! The
ship is going down! Everybody on
de k as quick as possible!"
They scrambled into tiheir clothes
asqulckly as possible, (hurrying to the
deck where mothers were crying
helplessly for their children and
everybody was in excitement and not
knowing wihat to do. The last seen
of Mr. jjnd Mrs. Butler and children
was in the state room where they
were dressing, buf*H is supposed they
were on deck when the ship went
down .as tihere were over 25 families
aboard the ship with children and
not one was known to jump over-
board, but stayed with their ohildren.
Mr. and Mrs. Rockwell's Experience.
Mr. and Mm. Rockwell quickly de-
ided that it was best to jump over-
board as they knew that the suction
of tihe boat in going down would take
them Hinder and perhaps get pinned
down by a piece of wreckage, so they
Jumped into the water with their life
preservers on. The Rockwells were
among the first to jump into tihe
water which accounts sfor their not
being injured in the explosion. Thu
net saw the passengers jump-
ing overboard and tihen the great,
boat went under, which was followed
by the explosion of the boiler. Mr
and Mrs. Rockwell etmick close to-
gether and drifted away from the rest
of the passengers, alone in the roar-
ing, angry waters, sixteen mile* from
latif. An untynown woman drifted
up to tihem and she, together with
Mrs. Rockwell, clung to Mr. Rockwell
until daylight wherethey were picked
up by a life boat and taken aboard
the San Pedro, cold, shivering and
almost exhausted, as the water was
very cold.
Found Mrs. Martindale.
On board the San Pedro Mr. Rock-
well heard some one calling ihls name
and after dilligent search found Mrs.
Martindale, in a stateroom below,
completely exhausted. He took his
wife and Mrs. Martindale, who were
almost naked and freezing to death,
covered them with hot blankets and
was getting ihot coffee for them when
water began spurting into the state
room where the San Pedro "was struck
by the Columbia. Before they could
get on deck the state room was full
of water and in a few minutes the
captain ordered everybody to again
put on life preservers.
Mrs. Martindale, badly injured,
separated from her daughter and
husband by the explosion and be-
lieving them to be drowned, was
crazed by grief, and refused to put on
a life preserver, which was finally
forced over her head. This was about
seven o'clock in the morning and the
captain, seeing that the ship was
doomed, ordered the men to cut the
lumber on the boat and make rafts
for tihe people. They floated around
for over an hour before they were
rescjed and taken aboard the George
Elder, a steamship, which was at-
tracted to the secene of the sinking
San Pedro by a flag of distress and
the fog ihorn. The George Elder,
after taking the surviving passengers
aboard, sent out life boats and gath
ered up the people from the wreck
ages.
Mr. and Mrs. Martindale'* Experience.
Mr. Martindale was standing on tihe
dec kof the Columbia with ihis daugh
ter Ruth under one arm and his wife
under the other and jumped into the
water just as the boat was going
down. The explosion which followed
the sinking of the vessel badly In-
jured Mr. and Mrs. Martindale, and
probably Ruth, as she was never seen
again. Separated by the explosion,
Mrs. Martindale was found.clinging
to a timber which drifted alongside
the San Pedro, aboard wihich she was
found by the Rockwells. She was in
the water five hours or more and was
unconscious nearly all of that time
Mr. Martindale was paralyzed from
the waist down by the explosion, ia
wihich condition he remained three
days. After floating helplessly about
for an hour he managed to get hold
of a floating cabin door on which he
was for three ihours. About four
o'clock he was passed by a life boat
containing six of the crew and two
officers of the Columbia, who refused
to take him aboard despite his ap
peals. About five o'clock Mr. Martin
dale got hold of a large piece of drift
wood and before the was taken up by
a life boat, about seven o'clock, he
had gathered up eight other people
on the raft with him.
He was so exihausted when picked
up that he was unable to sit up and
was laid in the bottom of the boat
in six inches of water until they
reached the George Elder an ihour
later. He was unconscious when
taken aboard ship, falling back twice
into the water, and finally had to be
carried aboard. The doctors worked
with ihini over an hour before he was
brought to, and when the Gteorge
Elder reached Eureka at one o'clock
Sunday afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Mar
tindale were immediately sent to the
best hospital in the city by tihe relief
committee and the Masons, where
they remained for a week receiving
treatment for their injuries. Mr and
Mrs. Rockwell stayed at a hotel while
in Eureka and say tihat the Masons
and citizens of Eureka did everything
possible to give them the best of
treatment. Both Mr. Rockwell and
Mr. Martindale are 32nd degree
Masons and carried their certificates
with them.
Witness Htfrrible Sight.
Mr. and Mrs. Martindale saw a
man draw a revolver and ahoot him-
self through the head Just as the
Columbia was sinking.
Mr. and Mrs. Martindale were al-
most naked when they reached the
George Elder and had to borrow cloth-
ing to be taken to a hotel in Eureka
where they remained In bed until
clotihing could he secured.
Mrs. Martindale and Mrs. Rockwell
lost all of ftielr jewelry, among which
was several valuable diamond rings.
Mr. Rockwell and Mr. Martindale lcfct
all their money and the former lost
a valuable watch.
Their Return Trip.
Eureka is a hard place to get out
of and tihe party in coming home had
to go either by way of Portland by
steamer or take a long stage journey
overland through the mountains to a
railroad. The latter tr.lp they were
not able to take on account of Mr.
Martlndale's injuries. They reached
Portland Tuesday, July 30, and left
tihere that night for Weiser, Idaho.
They left Weiser Sunday night at
12:30 and arrived home early yester-
day morning.
Think Butler Died of Heart Failure.
The steamer Roanoke found Mr.
Mr. Butler's body Sunday afternoon
between San Francisco and Eureka,
under a raft, face upward. His body
was taken aboard and.examined by
the captain who was of tihe opinion
that he died from heart failure or ex-
posure, as his body was not bloated
as is usually the case in drownings,
and when ihi3 body was moved blood
ran out of the mouth, another indi-
cation that he was not drowned.
The Ronaoke took tihe body to San
Francisco where Mr. Martindale re-
covered it and shipped it to Guthrie.
Postal Card Identifies Butler.
The body of Mr. Butler was identi-
fied by a postal card which was found
in ihis pockets addressed to himself,
in care of C. H. Martindale, at Guth-
rie. A ring which had his name en-
graved on the inside was another
means of identification.
Blame Crew and Officers.
Rotih Mr. Martindale and Mr. Rock-
well do not hesitate to say that the
crew and officers of the Columbia
neglected their duty, otherwise most
of the passengers would have been
saved.
In the first place all of the crew
who were not on duty when the
danger signal was given rushed to tihe
life boats nearest the "water, cut loose
three boats and pulled off for shore
without trying to save any of the
passengers. These tihree boats land-
ed at Eureka without a single man
being even wet.
The fact that fifty of the sixty
members of the crew and officers of
the Columbia reached Eureka without
being injured is evidence enough that
they were not trying to do much in
the way of trying to save the pas-
sengers. Those of the crew on duty
and the passengers could not get five
of the life boats loose from the steam-
er, being fastened near the upper
deck, and they went down with the
steamer, wihereas if the ship crew
would have first gotten these boats
loose, many lives would have been
saved.
Not a Single Child Escaped.
Mr. Rockwel and Mr. Martindale
say that there were about twenty-five
children aboar dtihe Columbia and not
one is reported saved. The youngest
person rescued was 15 years old.
Her name was Effie Gordon. The
Butler children drowned were Dor-
othy, aged seven, and Gertrude, aged
ten.
Mrs. Martindale Still Has Hope.
Mrs. Martindale, the bereaved
mother, still ihas hope of some day
hearing from her daughter. She thinks
the body will be found along tihe
coast soon and she expects to hear
some word of her child almost any
day. The Masons and city officials
of Eureka stil have men patrolling
the beach in search of bodies and
have offered Indians that live there
$10 for every body they find.
A BRAVE OLD MAN.
Carson City, N'ev., Aug. 9.—To start
out at the age of nearly four-score to
make a third fortune, and to have the
attempt crowned with success, is rath-
er a strenuous undertaking for any-
one. And yet, that is what former
United States Senator Wm. M. Stew-
art, once known as "the Silver King"
of Nevada, has done.
Busy with plans for developing his
mining and other properties, Senator
Stewart allowed his eightieth birthday
today to pass almost unnoticed. He
was reminded of the anniversary, how-
ever, by* the receipt of several mes-
sages of congratulation from some of
his former associates in public life,
men whom he has met but seldom in
recent years but who still remember -
the lavish hospitality which the Neva-
da senator was wont to dispense dur-
ing his many years of residence In the
national capital.
Few men, even among the money
kings of bonanza days, have had a
more varied and wonderful experi-
ence than Wm. M. Stewart. The ac-
cumulation and loss of two immense
fortunes and the winning of a third
at an age when the great majority of
mn are relegated to the retired list
seem but minor incidents in his won-
derful career. Among the roles he
has filled In his time and the most of
them with marked success have been
those of senator, lawyer, editor, ora-'
tor. Yale college man, Indian fighter,
prospector, speculator and scientific
farmer.
He was born in the State of New-
York, lived a while in Ohio, then went
to Yale to study law. When the cry
of "Gold in California" was raised in
'49 he came West, and. between the
law and ore mining, grew so opulent
that he became known as "the Silver
King." But when he was elected sen-
ator from Nevada he plunged too
deeply into the extravagances of cap-
ital life, and at the end of twelve
years found himself poor. But he did
not despair. Again he came back to
the West for a fortune, dug it out of
the earth ir, the form of precious ore
and soon found himself again a mil-
lionaire. Power returned with for-
tune, and in 1887 he was again elected
to the United States senate.
For a time he was a greater power
in politics than before. He was at the
head of that group of Republican dele-
gates who withdrew from the St.
Luois convention in 1890 because the
majority refused to agree to a bimetal-
lism plank and declared for the gold
standard. Stewart was an ardent s<l
ver man and the success »f the go'd
standard cause dealt him a hard blow
Unwise speculation and other nnrc-
munerative enterprises in a few year;-
reduced him once mora to the lower
financial level.
So, two yars ago last March, his
term ended, he bade good by ) io his
friends In the senate and returned
once more to the scenes of his former
triumphs to again wrest fortune from
the rocks.
When he 'returned to Nevada the
last time it was known among his
friends that he was almost "down and
out" financially. But he went to
work with his old-time courage and
with his knowledge of mines and min-
ing things ere lone began to come
his way again. He made several
lucky strikes and investments and al
most before a year had elapsed he
l ad made a good start toward retriev-
ing his fortunes. 1! is believed that
he is now worth at least u qirirter of
a million anil possibly much more. He
has shelved his social and political
ambitions and declares that this for-
tune—his third—will not go like the
others.
President Samuel Compers of the
American Federation of Labor is writ-
ing a book on "Organized Labor in the
United States."
A Tramp's Revenge.
Williamport, Fa., Aug. 10.—A tramp
who was put off a ennsylvanla rail-
road train at Ridgeway, Pa., today ex-
ploded nitro glycerine under the cars
and Ave men were killed.
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The Searchlight (Guthrie, Okla.), No. 486, Ed. 1 Friday, August 16, 1907, newspaper, August 16, 1907; Guthrie, Oklahoma. (https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc284787/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), The Gateway to Oklahoma History, https://gateway.okhistory.org; crediting Oklahoma Historical Society.