Ok, the "-t 1 1" was because in your sample there were no columns, so I "invented" some.

to explain a little more...
file.txt
dataA 1
dataB 2
dataC 3
you want to sort by the values 1,2,3 you would use "-t 2 32" [column 2, seperator 32 ($chr(32))]
to sort by dataX .. "-t 1 32"
file.txt
1:A
2:B
3:C
here if you want to sort by A,B,C it is "-t 2 58"
or to sort by 1,2,3 "-t 1 58"