The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1874-01-01
The Late Ocean Disaster.

Letter from n Passenger
Case of the COIIikiOu-He.
rOism Of the sPassengers-
French Crew d Mob Of Brutes
and COwarGs. ~
NEW YoRH, Dec. 23-Thea Trib.
une tomorrow will publish a second
letter from Rudolph A, Witthaus, T.,
who was passenger on the IL
fated Vile du Havre, to his father
in this city. He writes as follows:
"Inr my last I gave you a sketch
of my experience in connection with
the sinking of the Vile du- Hayre.
I will now give you my opinions
c51verning theeause ofEhe accident,
&c. From all that I can gather
from the officers and men, I conclude
that the blame rests entirely with
the officer on the watch on the steam
er, whose duty it was to get out of
the Loch Earns way, and it appears
that instead of doing this he did the
very opposite; altering the course of
the steamer so as to run right across
the bows of the Loch Earn; at least,
so says the officer who was on the
watch on the latter boat at the time
of the collision. In any case, it is an
acknowledged rule of the sea that a
steamer is bound to get out of the
way Of q sailing craft, and as the
night was magnifcently clear and
calm, the accident can only have oc-
CURED through some unexcusable
blunder of those in charge of the
steamer. .s +,
'After the accident (if it can be so
calied) had occurred, and while the
ship was sinking, the officers and
crew behaved in the most cowardly
latter I know, and the
former I beieve-looking out for
themselves, and leaving the no
men and children to look out for
themselves, the only exception being
the doctor, Mr. Oudiot, whom I saw,
three or four minutes before the ship
went down, going below. I told
him he would not have time to get
up again, to which he answered, that
be must look after those who were
in their state-rooms.
"He never came up again. A sig
nifcant fact, and one needing no
comment, is that not a single pass
enger was taken from the sinking
ship by the boats, all being picked up
in the water, while at least ctwentt5;
of the officers and crew reached the
Loch Earn, withoutl e ting as much
as the soles of their shoSs.
"Of Capt. Surmount's conduct 1
know nothing. Those W no saw him
spoke well of him, and fdo not think
be is directly to blame for the col
ision, although he is to blame for
not having his crew under better dis
,ipline, and for not having his boats
N condition to bepromptly lowered.
"In great contrast with the demon
alized condition of the crew was the
GOODNESS of the passengers, even
women and children. There was no
or running about without
IN object. The women were in
znots, praying quietly, while the
men were looking around for life
1uoys or pieces of wood, or were
efforts to get one of the boats,
which the crew had abandoned, clear
If the ship, SO that it might float
when the vessel sank Language
ails me in expressing my admiration
II and gratitude to the gallantry and
generosity of the officers and crew
# the Loch Earn and of the Tri-
mountain. The former saved the
,reater part of us from the water,
md both gave US clothing and did
il in their power to make us as com
ortable as possible under the circum
tances. The French crew, on the
on 5rary, were a mob of brutes and
owards.