Cornelius Allison was a first class passenger on the Valencia and one of the 19 survivors picked up from the second raft by the Topeka. In his sixties, he had been a sailor years ago and because he had some experience on ships he gave more forceful opinions than other surviving passengers. The contradicting accounts from the various survivors makes finding the accurate details of weather and specific events hard to pin down.
The Valencia Disaster
1. The Valencia 2. The Voyage 3. The Boats 4. The McCarthy Boat 5. The Bunker Party 6. On the Valencia 7. The Rafts 8. The Turret Raft 9. The Rescue Ships 10. The Aftermath 11. The Survivors 12. The Lost
The West Coast Trail
Prologue 1: The West Coast Trail 2: When to Hike & Fees 3: Trailheads 4: Getting There 5: Considerations 6: Campsites 7: Shipwrecks 8: Routes 9: Sights & Highlights
Cornelius Allison comes from a perspective of a tough old sailor who has seen a lot of the world and doesn't scare easily. He evidently has a lifetime of experience on ships and has seen a lot of stormy seas. He testified during the Seattle investigation that, "the surf that finally battered the Valencia to pieces could not be called high." He criticized the rescue ships for not attempting any assistance. "The vessels at sea stood off and made not attempt to lower a boat... There might have been some excuse for the Queen's not coming in closer, but there was a tug lying alongside of her that did not come any closer than the large vessel. It all looked wrong to us." Asked about the weather when they were picked up by the Topeka, he replied, "It was a trifle foggy, but there was no wind blowing. The waves did not have combers on them. I do not see why a boat could not have been lowered." The Victoria Times Colonist on Feb 7th, 1906 reported on the testimony of Allison, "When the first life raft was lowered the witness said it rode the seas fairly well. He said the raft on which he and seventeen others embarked also had no difficulty in riding the waves. He understood, he said, this raft had a capacity of twelve, although eighteen crowded onto it." The article went on to quote Allison, "The vessel which others aboard the wreck said was the Queen was standing about three-quarters of a mile off when the last raft left. Our object was to reach this ship, but before we had traversed a third of the way to where it was the vessel blew her whistle and steamed away. She made no effort at rescue, as far as I knew." Cornelius Allison is in the Topeka Raft survivors picture, above right. This photo appeared in the Seattle Star newspaper on January 26th, 1906 and shows seven survivors from the Valencia's second life raft and Cornelius Allison is the older gentleman in the bottom row on the right. He is also recognizable in the photo of the survivors from the second raft boarding the City of Topeka. He is the white haired man sitting in the boat with the white life jacket on.
