The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1883-01-30 00:00:00

THE SINKING OF THE MAIL STEAMER.
CIMORIA.

40 0 LIVES LOST.
111•1111ATIVOI Or 11011V11141 S.

The Hull steamer Sultan (Captain )imoo) has been
seized by th. Hombnar entboritiee on • charge of
running at full speed in • dome fog into the Cimbria,
and continning h r journey without any attempt t
sues the sufferers by the esteem 'ph.. Out of 522
persona 011 b axed tit' Ciuthria only yg were eiwod.
The Cimbris sailed us Thursday from Hamburg for
New 'York with ft 22 Dolls on board, these being 110
officers and crew, and 102 paseezgers, of whom 24 were
cabin and the met ernig ants from Keel Prusaia,
Hungary, and Rossi,. On Fri lay in.,reing at cw,,
o'clock, when off Bookies Reef, the engines we-, nut
at half-.peed on account of • dense fog. Ten minutes
later the whistle of another steamer was h'a'd. The
Cimbria stoppol at once, but a few minute' liter was
struck on the p .rt side by the vessel which hornet out
hi be the British Steamer Sultan, from Hull, Captain
Cattail The Oa ,ck was., violent and the dime);, so
great that the Citabria tank within fifteen minutes
after the collision. Boats were at once lowered, and
lifrobelta d' 'tutted t . the posnangars. wh , thronged
the docks in their riled cl.,thes. The o'hcers and
crew behaved a Imirally. The women .11-I ehildren
were placed holt in lb boats. N 1 gni 1,7 7 got
off clear • but No. h, bring ova c rowdel. capsized at
once. 1c he work was extrent sly difli.u'r, because
the ship heeled over t st arbiter I. Toe find officer
held burning in chest, and went down with the ship.
The second officer was witting spars loose iron the
deck until the water reache I him. lie was pielessi up by
one of the boa's. Thu thir I en' fourth officers and
the second engineer w. re also saved, but the captain
and the North Sea lit d went'lwo wilt the ship,
standing on the brides. The .0 rivors drscribt the
moment of the ship's sinking as terrible. The air was
Sited with the cries .1 the ilrooning. Hundreds
remained floating for • sh ft time till benumbel by
the Icy water. In a few Mn'tLes all was over. The
Sultan arrived at Cuxhaven on Saturday night with •
large bole in her ho cc, iseven feet ab tre the waterdine,
but water tight. The o 4: t tin and mew refuse to give
any informs'ion. Tne captain has made an official
statement before ths British Consul at Hamburg,
whioh is not publish ,1. It is said the Suit atee Ink.
nut did not LI) the Conbri e4l grem light till within
150 mt. No boats wee lowered from the Sultan,
and nobody was rrecuri by her. (i.e report dates
that the Sultan's officers hove been arrested at Ham-
WIT e terrible catastr tithe of the sinking of the
Cimbria will plunge many families in Austria an
Hungary into mourning. There were 72 Austrians
an 1 Hungarians on board, of whom very few hove
been saved. All acc mute agree in Mating that the
catastrophe was due ti the fog. An eyewitness
states that the mane after ths c lilsion was terrible.
On all aides were men, women, and children wil fly
imploring aid. Captain Hansen and the first Milner
remained on deck until the ship sank, and ore
believed to have perished. Toe ship was bound for
New York, and had emigrants on board from all
parts of Germany and Austria.
Only two of the passengers wee Americans—
Christian Boehm and Joseph Guota. Among the
missing is • young German writer, Herr Leo
Habit-
mans, of Vienna, who is well known for his descrip-
tions of Russian life. The linters Roomer, who were
profeseknual singers, are among the virtu's.
The English ship Theta has saved MI passengers
and seamen of the steamer Oinabria, and landed them
at Cuxhaven. The captain did his utmost to render
them comfortable, and deserves full praise lot his
attention. The two boats had drifted about for twelve
hours before the Theta sighted them
.

An eye witness, a cabin passenger named Waged,
relates that being in his berth like all the other pas-
sengers, his attention was attracted by the slower
movement of the engines, and the continued *nand
of the steam whistle. Then followed • dreadful shock.
Fearing the worst had happened, he rushed on deck,
awakening his fellow -pese•nger in his berth. He found
the first officer, Herr Carlowa, occupied in lowering
the boats. Ile ran back to the cabin, fetched a life-
belt, and returned on deck, There be found all lb*
passengers and the seamen frantically endeavouring
to lower the boats. This was not possible, as the ship
had heeled over on one etle. One boat was lowered
and cepa:id immediately. The second one also
capsized, and all the kmates, chiefly women, were
drowned. He a.ked the first officer what to do. The
officer replied that all was lost. "Save yourselves
(he added) if possible in the shrouds." He urged as
many passengers as pos.ible 'o go up the rigging and
helped them, but most of them were quite bewildered,
and others nearly frantic. One of the sic Rut
Indians returning t their wigwam., having
been at the Zoological Gardens In Berlin, brandished
his tomahawk against the officer, land had to be di..
armed. The yelling, crying and tumult were indescrib-
able. Oas married couple cut their throat+ in order
to die together. The steamer Sultan was seen for
about an hour. It lowered one boat, but it did not
COM. near the Cimbria, perhaps because it was afraid
of being drawn down by toe fait sinking ship. Tne sea
washed all over her. Tee first officer, Herr Carlows,
disappeared beneath the wav s &dug his duty, and
many of the passer:elm with him. Life belts had
been distributld, bet the coldness of the water chilled
many to death. High up perched in the rigging there
were with one some 25 persons, and under them the
ship's surgeon, who encouraged us with the hope that
the Sultan would rescue us. The first engineer showed
Bengal lights until the sea washed him away. Teen
in the deep darkness and with the thick fog around
us the cold became insupportable. Several of thoss
in the rigging became delirious and let go their hold.
The surgeon leaped at 8 o'clock in the morning into
the waves to make an end of it as he said. The ilea
rose higher and the limbs of those in the under shrouds
became swollen and stiff by the perpetual straining
and cold. ** At about 10 o',lock we sighted lc secludes
the narrator) the Bremen barque I:Lament, Captain
Heseloop, who saw us, lowered a boat, and saved the
seventeen remaining, but with great difficulty. I
reached the barque at 12 o'clock noon quite worn out,
after ten hours in the rigging and the water. We
were received w.th the greatest humanity. and
brought to Bremerhaven on Sunday. "The Umbria
sank in ten minute, after thee
The terrible fact seems now to be established that at
least 416 lives were loss by this appalling accident.
Several persons were killed by the collision itself,
owing to the flying about of large splinters, planks,
Ike. One wronger cut his throat in a fit of Insanity.
Another in the shrouds begged his neighbours to push
him into the sea, he being too chilled to move. They
ranged, and he let himself fall headlong into the waves.
An elderly woman was washed away from the deck,
boldiag her Bible in her cramped hands, and singing
loudly funeral hymn.. There was a oomplany of
SwedLhsisir, re eingaied for New York on board. Two
of them, girls, having lifebelts, swam about • long
time Irma:tally crying" Help, help I Save us." The
people in the ringing replied. " Come to the rigging;
we cannot move." The girls, half benumbed, no
longer able to swim, cried out f ir the last time, " We
cannot come," and disappeared beneath the waves.
The highest wales met be given to the ship's captain,
officer., and the whole of the crew, most of whom
perished in endeavouring to save the passengers and
to do their duty.
A corrected list makes the total on board 522, being
120 mew, 402 passenger., including 87 children, and 72
women, of whom only three girls were saved. Among
the lost are 300 German,, and 100 Austrians and
Hungarians. Tie rest are Russians. Out of 24 cable
passengers 17 were saved. There were on board 25
emigrants from Berlin, 44 from Hungary, three
Russian families,
_together 18 persons, six Chippeway
Indians, and 13 French sailors on thsk way to Havre,
everyone of whom perished.
The German Preen continues to attack the captain
of the Sultan violently for deserting the sinking vowel.