The Morristown gazette. [volume] (Morristown, Tenn.) 1867-1920, 1875-05-19
THE ILL FATED SCHILLER.
Total Number Of Lives Lost
Three Hundred and Eleven.
Women and Children Swept Of
BY the MerciIess Waves.
The Brave Captain Thomas Per-
ishes at His Post.
A Scene Terrible and Heartrend-
ing Beyond Description.

3 ing Beyond Description.
LONDON, May 9.-All day long th
d details of the Schiller disaster hav,
been coming in; unfortunately n,
more persons are reported to be say
ed. Bodies are constantly beins
picked up; among the recovered ar,
those of @. Leonhardt. Carl Schmidt
Q Mrs. Reirderer and child, Mrs. Beck
er, Mrs. Ridgway and Master Her
] mine West, and also men, 5 womer
and children altogether "a bodie;
have been found. The total numbel
of lives lost is 311.
THE VOYAGE.
Mr.. Paiernan, the second officer o'
the Schiller. and Henry Sturm and
Mr.. Frall, first class passengers, have
, been interviewed. From their mar
ratives we gather that the voyage
was moderately good until May 4th
The last three days it was impossible
to take observations. The ship was
out of her course half mile at the
time OF the catastrophe. Capt. Thorn.
as was on deck night and day for
four entire days. At seven o'clock
on the evening Of the 20th there was
a dense fog, the sails were taken in,
the engine put on half speed. and
the fog bells used. The Bishops
light was unseen, although only half
a mile distant. At one o'clock we
struck on the reef, and after four
buips, the steamer settled down.
There was a violent sea and the tide
7 was rising.
INTENSE DARKNESS.
The darkness was intense. Most
of the male passengers were awake,
and there was the usual rush for the
boats, but nearly all the boats we're
slowed. One boat, with few sail
ors, left the ship,
CowARDLY,
refusing aid. Two boats were saved.
The Captain endeavored to compel
obedience by firing a revolver over
/ their heads. During two hours six
cannon shots were fred, when the
powder dampened. Distress signals,
rockets, and blue lights were unan-
swered at midnight. The fog lifted
in a minute, revealing the lighthouse,
and the waves sweeping the decks
and carrying away the victims.
TERRIBLE SCENES.
At 2 o'clock the deck house, in
which were the women and children.
was swept away. The cries and
shrieks of the victims were heart
rending. Then followed ghostly
silence. The smoke stack fell, crush
ing some Of the boats, and two 9TH
ers were carried away. The remain
der followed the Captain to the for
ward bridge. Each succeeding move
took fresh victims. Some persons
sought refuge on the mainmast and
| some the foremast.
THE BRAVE CAPTAIN.
At o'clock the Captain and two
other officers were on the bridge.
The Captain descended for moment
to render assistance. and was swept
away. Thus perished brave man.
Says Mr.. Sturm :..'At this time about
ten persons we're clinging to the rig
ging of the mainmast, and thirty to
that of the foremast. The ship had
covaded, her yards touching the wa
ter. The tide was rising. At FIVE
o clock the fog had lifted. The SUR
vivors shouted. but their cries were
unavailing. At o'clock the main
mast, and at a quarter to 8. the fore
mast, both of iron. fell. Then two of
the st. Agnes boats came and res
cued a few who had managed to keep
afoat." 1t was reported yesterday
that there were 103 women on board.
The survivors were taken to-day from
Penseance to Plymouth. whence they
will be sent forward to Hamburg,
where the greatest excitement pre-
vai's. 1t is asserted that life saving
belts were issued to the women. It
is certain that most of the passen
gers found none
EFFORTS TO SAVE THE WOMEN AND
CHILDREN.
The order was given that the first
boat should take the women and
children. This boat capsized. Pale
man says that seven boats were
launched and only two lived; the
others were STAYED and swamped inn
mediatety cries for help lasted un-
til o'clock. and the last voice heard
was that of little child in the cab.
in. 1t is not probable the boats could
have lived even if they had been
c,,oaoerF,,Ilx, 6IIoJ TIL
ber saved is A, and 40 bodies have
been recovered.
Mr.. Dorrien Smith. of the Scilly
Islands. writes to the Times that
many additional lives were lost be-
cause the guns and rockets fred from
the Schiller we're thought to be mere
ly ordinary signals of arrival which
have frequently been the cause of
false alarms.
Among the bodies recovered and
already identified are those of Geo.
Leonhardt, Rowne Luerehne, Andre
Peterson, C. Schmidt, Mrs Reirderer
and daughter. Mrs. Becker, Mrs.
Ridgway and Mrs, West.
Fifty corpses from the Schiller
have come ashore or been landed at
ST. Mary's alone. The dead are much
mutilated. Fiftg-six mail bags. in
Guiding q from New Zealand, were
saved from the Schiller.
The steamer Pammania sailed from
Plymouth during the night for Ham-
burg without taking any of the sur
vivors of the Schiller. The state
nents made by the officers Of the
Schiller add nothing to the particu-
lars already telegraphed. All ac-
counts agree that the panic which
followed the strikin0 ar the shin waa