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NEW ORLEANS TIMES - PICAYUNE July
28, 1910
MOMUS ARRIVES AFTER CONQUERING ELEMENT (FIRE)
Captain John Sumner Boyd
The steamship Momus of the Southern Pacific Line, completed a most memorable
trip of her career yesterday, and when she moored at her wharf, at the head
of Louis Street, at 9:30 o'clock in the morning, the hundreds of people
standing under the steel sheds crowded to the water's edge to welcome the
splendid vessel and her brave master, Capt. John Sumner Boyd.
The Momus left New York Wednesday, July 20, 1910, and on her 2,000 mile
journey through the Atlantic ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Mississippi
River she had encountered a serious conflagration and been jammed by
contrary currents into a mud bar.
The fire was in a measure a great loss, but in the end it will prove a
lasting benefit to the Southern Pacific Company, whose fleets of passengers
are made up of the finest coastwise vessels afloat, for it was the means of
showing that the company's ships are basically fireproof and that with such
an able commander as Capt. John S. Boyd in charge it is next to impossible
for any loss of life to occur among the passengers from the accident.
Every passenger among the hundred or more travelers on the Momus had only
words of highest praise for Capt. Boyd. The captain showed a wonderful
coolness in the face of peril, the judgment he displayed in handling the
situation was the result of years of experience, and the manner in which he
brought the ship through the reef's of the Florida coast to low water, where
he could flood the compartments aft, placed him in a class of commanders by
himself
The captains first thought was of his passengers, his next consideration was
the ship, which represents an investment of a million and a half or, more
and his mind a rest upon these two important issues, he turned his attention
to saving the cargo. The fire originated in nos 3 and 4 holds in the after
part of the ship. It was first discovered about two o'clock in the afternoon
on Friday.
An SOS was sent out by wireless and was answered by the Comus, the ship
Alamo and a United States Revenue cutter. The Momus flashed her latitude and
longitude to the Comus and that she was headed across the Gulf stream in as
straight a line as possible for the Florida coast where she would be beached
and flooded, if found necessary. Captain Boyd replied to the Alamo and to
the cutter, thanking them for the proffer of assistance, and telling them
that the Comus was coming.
CAPT. JOHN SUMNER BOYD
At 4 o'clock in the afternoon Captain Boyd concluded that to extinguish the
fire he would have to flood his ship, in other words, sink her after part in
shallow water. The distance then to the Florida coast was 180 miles, and the
Captain nosed his boat, headed due west, cut through the Gulf stream and
made the best time possible for the shallows.
At midnight when the ship was still a considerable distance from land, a
lookout sighted another vessel coming through the gloom from the northwest.
It was the Comus and she was ready to lend all the assistance possible. At 2
o'clock in the morning the ships were about two miles from the Florida
shoreline, in fifteen fathoms of water, and there they came to a standstill.
Captain Maxson came aboard and it was decided to transfer the Momus
passengers to the Comus. The sea was as smooth as glass, a perfume laden
breeze was wafted from the shore, and to add to the beauty of the tropical
night, a great moon rode high in the heavens, and touched the ripples with
silver. The women and children were first and it took about three quarters
to complete the transfer.
When the passengers were all safely aboard the Comus, Captain Boyd set his
ship in motion again and slowly moved her into six fathoms of water, turned
her bow out to sea, and ordered the flood gates to the rear compartments
opened. The stern of the ship slowly settled in the water, and soon the
entire rear of the ship was in the sea up to the rail, while the forward was
clear of the flood. The ship was submerged in twenty seven feet of water,
and her stern rested partially on a reef and partially on a sand bank. The
fire was put out in an instant and the Momus was saved through a display of
faultless judgment upon the part of her commander, Captain John S. Boyd.
The next morning, when the fire was known to be completely extinguished, the
passengers were returned to the Momus and continued on its voyage to New
Orleans.
___________________________________________
CAPT. JOHN SUMNER BOYD, VETERAN SKIPPER
LOSES LIFE AT SEA
Commander of the ship Momus disappeared from Ship in The Gulf of Mexico Last
seen Sunday Just Before Dawn 29 November 1914
Is Believed to Have Fallen Against Vessel's Taffrail and Into the Sea
Somewhere out in the Gulf of Mexico, just before dawn Sunday morning, Capt.
John S. Boyd, senior commanding officer of the ships of the Southern Pacific
Fleet, found the sudden and tragic end to his long and brilliant career as a
sea Captain. While the full details of the end of a useful life ever will
remain a mystery, everything indicates that the Captain's death was
accidental.
Capt. Boyd disappeared from the deck of the Momus, one of the ships of the
Southern Fleet, between 3 and 4 o'clock Sunday morning. The ship at that
time was on her way to New Orleans, heading northwest through the Gulf, with
the Dry Tortugas about seventy-five miles astern.
Rain had been falling Saturday night, and the sea, agitated by a stiff
breeze, rose and fell.. The Momus held to her steady course, and with the
action of the waves rolled monotonously from side to side. Everything was
snug and secure.
The watch forward and the watch aft were in their places but the ever
watchful Captain, winner of several bitter fights with death in the
trackless deep, sought the deck to make certain, it is supposed that the
orders of the night were being carried out, and he was never seen again.
CREW'S VAIN SEARCH
At eight o'clock Sunday morning a mess boy went to the Captain's cabin under
the bridge, to get, as was his custom, the Captain's order for breakfast. No
response to the repeated knocking caused the boy to think that Capt. Boyd,
always an early riser, had gone to the bridge. An hour later the boy
returned to the cabin, and failing a second time to find the captain,
notified Hilmer Anderson, acting chief officer. Mr. Anderson went to Capt.
Boyd's room and found it vacant. The bed was made up but a depression on the
side was mute evidence that the occupant of the cabin must have sat there
for a moment, perhaps while he took off his shoes, which were on a rug close
by.
Mr. Anderson was alarmed. He called the crew to quarters and ordered a
search for the Captain. The search took in every part of the ship, but
revealed no trace of the missing man. Mr. Anderson then knew that the sea
which Capt. Boyd had loved so well had claimed the gallant old man, and the
Momus made the rest of her journey to New Orleans with flags at half
mast--the death sign.
Mr. Anderson conducted a close and careful investigation. He questioned
every member of the crew and traced Capt. Boyd's movements up to 3:45
o'clock Sunday morning. At the hour the captain was seen on the afterdeck
near the taffrail log. An oiler working in the aft of the ship, noticed the
captain alone.
Captain Cotter presumes in his report that Capt. Boyd who was subject to
occasional attacks of vertigo, had such an attack as he was walking on
number 3 hatch, which caused him to stagger against the low rail abreast of
the hatch, which wasn't high enough to save him from falling into the sea.
There was no one on deck close enough to no. 3 hatch to hear any outcry if
he made any. Captain Cotter's investigation substantiated the Momus second
officer's report, to the effect that the Captain was in good spirits when
last seen, and that he had no enemies aboard. He was last spoken to by the
wireless operator and the second officers.
John S. Boyd was born in Boston, Massachusetts, 61 years ago, and entered
the services of the Southern Pacific Company in 1882, two years before his
marriage. He was second officer on the freight steamer El Dorado, and
rendered excellent service when that vessel went ashore off the Bahama
Banks, in a storm. His ability soon brought him to the top of his
profession, and 20 years ago he was given a captain's billet.
New
Orleans Times Picayune July 28, 1910
Tribute From All the Passengers on the Memorable Trip
The following document is a document to be preserved in the records of the
Southern Pacific Fleet, July 26, 1910. We the passengers of the steamship
Momus, en route to New Orleans from New York, July 20, hereby present our
thanks to for his kindly consideration for our safety and comfort during the
fire on shipboard July 22, and 23. We congratulate him, his officers and men
on their unprecedented achievement in their method of conquering one of
man's dreaded foes----a fire at sea. We express to Captain C.P.A. Maxson of
the steamship Comus, his officers and crew out gratitude for their kindness
and attention during our stay as refugee guests aboard their ship. We
congratulate the management of the Atlantic steamship lines of the Southern
Pacific Company on having in their employ commanders of such splendid
seamanship as Captain Boyd and Captain Maxson, and crews of such exemplary
discipline and efficiency as those aboard these two ships. Be it resolved,
that this testimonial be presented to Captain Boyd and a copy be sent to
Captain Maxson, and that another be forwarded to the Southern Pacific
Company. (signed)
E.E. Prevost, New Orleans; Miss Lusalie Bartholemew, Passaic, NJ; Mrs.H.E.
Neuhaus, Houston, TX; Mr. and Mrs. George R. Rea, Bay St., Louis, MS; W.
Polk Flower, New Orleans; Mr. and Mrs. Tom S. Maben Jr., Dublin, TX; Mrs.
P.H. Jones, Baton Rouge, LA; John Connelly, Galveston, TX; Mr. and Mrs. Paul
Berge, New Orleans, LA; Mr. and Mrs. S.B.B. Runnion, Long Beach, CA;
Theodore Duval, New Orleans, LA; B.J. Hawthorne, Timpson, TX; Hans Hagen,
Los Angeles, CA; Frieda Tishbein, New York, NY; Agnes Conant Merriam,
Phoenix, AZ; Linda Spence, Margerretta Spence, Dallas, Texas; Harry T.
Hughes, Orange, CA; P. Daries, W.H. Nynne, New Orleans, LA; C.D. Terry,
Corsicana, TX; Mr. and Mrs. Louis Q. Blount, Pensacola, FL; Mr. and Mrs. H.N.
Cromwell, New Orleans, LA; Lee W. Squier, Philadelphia, PA; Robert B. Ben,
Wesson, MS; M.E. Alling, Springfield, MO; J. Kennedy, Houston, TX; Isaac
Vernol, Mrs C.A. Vernol, 5305 Chester Ave., Philadelphia, PA; T. Smith, New
Orleans, LA; Mr. and Mrs. Fred J. Lotto, New York; James J. O'Hegerty,
Hoboken, NY; Sadie Moskovitz, Houston, TX; Kate Ben, Wesson, MS; O.F.
Curtis, Bath, MO; J.P. Falk, Chicago, IL; J.M. Alexander, Fulton Thompson,
Jackson, MS; D.T. Hillsman, Giddings, TX; Mrs. K. McKenzie, Galveston, TX;
T.P. Hawthorne, Timpson, TX; Mrs. L.F. Shoroy, 619 S. Hill, Los Angeles, CA;
Mrs. Isabel Midance, Miss M.C. Midance, Ramon Midance, Guatemala, Central
America; J.S. Withington, Jr., Savannah, GA; Henderson B. Deady, New York,
NY; Felix Goodman, Baltimore, MD; H.A. Moss, Mrs. H. A. Moss, San Antonio,
TX; Mr. and Mrs. Gus Witte, New York, NY; Mrs. J. Birba, Orleans, LA; S.L.
Shapiro, New York, NY; Edward D. Rose, Penn Yan, NY; R.J. Bernard, H.J.
Werbe, New Orleans, LA;
Abe Siegel Onelousas, L.G. Meyers, NY, NY.
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