New-York tribune., 1873-12-24
TIE VILE DU IA VRE DISASTER.

sTFAMRR-INCIDENTs ON BOARD THE LOCH EARN
AND TRIMoUNTAN.
[The following letter from Mr.. Rudolph A. Witt
haus jr., to his father in this city, is furnished to
The TRIBUNE for publication:
My DEAR FATHER: In my last L gave you
sketch of my experience in connection with the sink
ing of the Vile du Havre. / will now give you my
opinions concerning the cause of the accident, &c
From all that | can gather from officers and men, l
conclude that the blame rests entirely With the
officer on watch on the steamer, whose duty 1t was
TO get out of the Loeb Earns way and 1t appears
that instead Of doing this he did the very opposite
altering the course of the steamer so as TO run nght
across the bows of the Loeb Earn-at least SO says
the officer who watch on the latter boat AT
the time of the collision. The French officer had
the good taste to get drowned after his blunder
In any case, it is an acknowledged rule
of the sea that the steamer is bound to get out OF
the way of the sailing craft; and as the night was
magnificentlv clear and calm, the accident can only
have occurred through some inexcusabe blunder OF
those in charge of the steamer. After the accident
if it can be so called had occurred and while the
shin was sinking. the officers and crew behaved in
the most cowardly manner the latter l know, and
the former believe, looking out for themselves,
and leaving the women and children to look out for
themselves; the only exception saw being the doc
before the ship went down, going below.
told him he would not have time to get up
again. TO winch he answered that he must
look after those who were crushed in their
state-rooms He never came up gain. significant
fact and one needing comment, Is, that not a
single passenger was taken from the sinking ship
by BOATS all being picked up IN the water; while at
least twenty ofthe officers and crew reached the Loch
Earn without wetting much as the soles OF their
| shoes, OF Capt Surmont's conduct know nothing,
| as did not see him until we met in the cabin OF
| the Loeb Earn; those who saw him spoke well OF
him. and do not think that he is directly to blame
for the collision, although he is TO blame for not
having his crew under better discipline and for not
having his boats in condition to be promptly low
cred Capt Robertson of the Loeb Earn makes still
graver charges than these against the Frenchmen
YOU will see by the inclosed newspaper cuts. In great
contrast with the demorazed condition of the crew
was the GOODNESS of the passengers, the women
and children: no screaming or running about with
| ont an object The women in knots, praying
onietly while the men looking around for life
| bnoys OF pieces of wood, making efforts to
get one of the boats which the crew had abandoned
clear of the ship, so that it might float when the
| vessel sank.
| shall profit by my experience, and never trust
| NV life at sea to the care of Frenchmen. They
rot AT their duty in the hour Of danger. The steam
| ers of the Cunard line good enough for me In fu
ture. At the moment of the collision the
| ship was in charge of the second lieutenant
which corresponds to the third officer IN an English
ship. and he had the deck alone. Now in the
| Cnnarders there are always two officers on watch
together either first and third second and fourth,
| so that one of the first two officers is always Oh
| deck.
| Wber The Trimonntain came alongside the
| och Earn the question came up to what portion
of the survivors should be transferred Inc LADIES
did not wish to undergo the dsagreeable operation
| of going from one ship to the other IN open boats
especially in their semi-nude condition, but as 1t
was advisable that some persons should DC trans
ferred Capt SurmOnt decided to send his officers
| and crew to the Trimountan, both he and Capt.
| Robertson advising that the ladies should remain
where they were the latter being confident that he
coud not only keep his ship aioat, but could even
get into port before the Trimountain. Mr.. Beknap
| and then went forward and examined the hole in
| the bows of the Loeb Earn, and decided imme-
diately to protest strongly against leaving the ladies
| ON half-wrecked ship while there was o sound
| one alongside Mr.. Belknap then spoke to
| Capt Surmont. using very strong language,
telling him that the public would think very i'll of
il IL he sent his able bodied seamen into q sound
shin whilShe left the women where they were. The
result of this eypostnlatiOn was that Capt. Surmont
got scared into different decision, and went into
the cabin and told the ladies that they must be
transferred Capt. Urquhart of the Trm0untain say
ing that he had room for all of All but two male
Messengers and fireman taken in safety to the
Trimountain. When l read the account of the
abandonment of the Loeb Earn shudder to think Of
the days of anxiety the ladies would have suffered,
and the difficulty there would have been to get them
10 the British Queen in gale of wind and heavy
sea had not Mr. Belknap taken the decided stand
he did
Language fails me in expressing my admiration Of
and gratitude to the galantry and generosity of the
officers and of the Loeb Earn and Of the Tri-
mountain. The former saved the greater part of us
from the water and both gave clothing, and did
all in their power to make comfortable pos
sible under the circumstances. The French crew,
on the contrary, were mob Of brutes and COW ards
Capt. Urqnhsrt is in every way polished gentle
man and thorough seaman. The discipline on his
shin contrasted strongly with what we had seen on
the Willie du Havre. The agent of the Company in
Cardiff Mons. BOcande had dressmakers, tailors,
shoemakers &c, &c, at the hotel, aud gave to all
of us what clothing we needed at the expense Of the
Con,pany and he gave also to each of us f6 to
take us TO Paris, and we were all glad to get even
such rough clothing ss Cardiff afforded to enable US
to 20 Oh immediately.
We left Cardiff at 1890 p m. on Monday, and
reached the Charng Cross Hotel in London at $780,
After dinner felt quite i'll and retired very early,
~ had only slept two hours out OF the previous SO
hours. Next morning felt very much better, and
took Turkish bath to get md Of the coating of dirt
which had been assanalatna on me during the last