As regards the exact course of events on board the Jui An it is impossible to speak. When our representative visited the scene of the disaster yesterday afternoon all the survivors had disappeared, and only the wreckage a short distance from the shore, the ship's boat stove in on the beach and a small quantity of salvage testified the vessel's experience. There was, however, a well defined story ing residents, and this may be related. 4 The Jui An apparently intended to call at Woosung to disembark a few passengers there, and then proceed to Nantungchow or some similar port. Her voyage from Tsungming was, however, attempted while some of the strongest winds of the typhoon reached the Yangtze estuary and while heavy seas were running. Her old tim-hers were unable 1o withstand the rude buffetings of the storm, and they parted, developing a wary, serieus leak. In particular her bottom umbers seem to have gone.
Seaing that his ship was making water rapidly, the Chinese master seems to have resolved that the only hope of safety lay in steaming hard to reach port. thus the story is current that to obtain a bigger head of steam the cargo was. requisitioned. Part of this was kerosene oil and cotton cloth, and it is said that her boilers were fired with these. Even so, the course was unavailing, and as the water gained so rapidly, the captain decided to beach her. He according-45 made for the shallow water at the point where Paoshan City pracucally meets the sea wall, the same pout where the puddings of lhe cable companies are situated.
Beyoxp Herr or Hep.
This seems to have happened about 8 a.m., and shortly afterwards une harbour master at woosung received information that a staumer Was ushore of aoshan and in the heavy seas then running was pounding herself to pieces. 'I'he only boat available to navigate this part of the river was the Pootoo, the launch of the Port dlealth Officer, and this was at once commissioned for the work. livery effort was made to reach the stranded vessel, but the heavy seas rendered it impossible for the Pootoo to get near her. At the time the wind was at its worst, and the launch never had a chance to carry out any work. It would have required one of the heavy tugs from Shanghai to operate in a sea such as was running, and they could not be used owing to the shallow water in which - the Jui An lay. It was reckoned that she could be in very little more than 10 ft., while a tug of the weight necessary to tackle the waves would draw at least 15 ft. In the circumstances no assistance could be forthcoming from the seaward side.
What now happened it is impossible to state with precision. When seen in the afternoon the Jui An was about*300 or 400 yards from the shore. The stump of her mast protruded well above the level of the water, but everything else was awash. The whole of her in the possession of the neighbour- superstruction had been washed
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.