The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1883-01-26
WATERY GRAVES.
Collision i'm the North Sea of the
Steamers Sultan and
Cimbria.
The Latter, with ago Souls on
Board, Almost Instantly
Founders.
Over Three Hundred Lives Known to
Have Been Lost.
Gable Dispatch from London.l

The Hamburg American steamship CHM
bria disabled in collision, went to the bot
tom of the North sea last Friday. Hundreds
found watery graves The Cimbria left
Hamburg with twenty-three cabin passen-
gers, 1862 steerage (rnainly German artisans),
and crew numbering o. She grounded in
the Elbe, but was taken off without damage
and started on her voyage Thursday after
noon Friday morning, in thick
fog off Borkum, she came in coils
ion with the steamer Sultan, and
sustained such severe injuries that it
became apparent she must sink almost at
once The officers did all in their power to
rescue the imperled passengers Withouta
moments loss of time life-belts were dis
tributed and the order given to lower the
boats This, however, in consequence OF
the vessel keeling over on her side, was
found to be very difficult on one side and
absolutely impossible on the other As the
second officer was still engaged cutting the
spars loose, so there should be as much
driftwood as possible tor people to cling to
when the inevitable laundering should oc-
cur, the vessel with plunge went down
He seized hold of n spar, but as several
other passengers chung to it, was obliged
to let go, and swan TO boat This boat
was subsequently picked up by the Theta
The second officer steered the Theta TO Cux-
haven Seventeen other persons have been
saved by the steamer Diamant, from the
Wesser lighthouse, making hfuy-siX thus
far known TO have been rescued The num-
Der of lives lost is estimated at fully 300
The passengers We're mostly em1grants from
Eastern Prussia Among them were six
American Indians, who had been on exhibit
ton in Berlin for some time. A survivor
makes the following statement:
"The weather was clear and damp up to
Us o'clock, says the survivor, @but heavy
fog then set in, which continued and in
creased in density. The engines of the
Cimbria were kept at full speed until 30,
and at half speed till ., after which they
were kept at slow speed About ten min
utes past the whistle OF another steamer
was heard, and the engines of the Chnbria
were stopped instantly. The Sultan's green
light was not observed until she was only
$50 feet off from the Cimbria The latter
was struck abaft the bulkhead, on the port
side, keeled over TO starboard, and speedily
sank"
AS soon as the Hauiburg-American Com
pany received intelligence of the dreadful
disaster they took prompt measures TO res
cue the shipwrecked passengers. The
steamer Hansa and four largest available
vessels. at Cuxhaven were dispatched TO
search for the missing boats The West In
dia steamer Bavaria also left during the
night with similar object Up to ii o'clock
Sunday night nothing had been heard from
the vessels out securing the ocean
The steamer Sultan has arrived on the
Elbe. The officers and crew absolutely re-
fuse to give any information concerning the
collision. The Captain has submitted
statement to the British Consul, but this is
inaccessible. The Sultan has large hole in
her bow seven feet above the water line.
The Cimbria was an iron vessel built at
Greenock, Scotland, in 1867. She had six
transverse water tight bulkheads, and three
iron decks Her length was 329l% feet on
the water-line, her breadth of beam forty
feet two inches, her depth of hold thirty
three feet and her gross measurement 2, 94
tons
The Cimbria is the third steamer lost by
the Hamburg American line within the last
few years
Survivors say the last moments OF the sink
ing Cimbria were terrible. The air was
filed with the agoniZed shrieks of doomed
passengers After the steamship had plunged
TO the bottom hundreds iioated around for
n shert time until benumbed by the icy
waters and then sank to rise no more. They
say that after having left the Cimbria their
boat was capsized, and they sought shelter
in the rigging OF the fated Steamship They
remained in this position ten hours, freez-
ing from cold and expecting every moment
to he their last
The women and children on board the
Cimbria were first placed in boats. All OF
the survivors praise the conduct of the Cap
tain and crew of the Cimbria who never
in the power of man to save life until they
themselves were ingulfed in the waves
They affirmed that while they were in the
rigging the lights of the Sultan were clearly
visible, and that their cries for help must
have been heard on board the Sultan, which.
instead of coming to their rescue, steamed
away.
rising young German writer, Leo Haber-
man, of Vienna well known for his excel
lent description of Russian life and the
Sisters Romner, professional singers, and
well known as the "Suabian Nightingales"
who had recently been performing in Berlin,
persisted Berlin suffered severely by the
disaster. Six families lost their bread
winners majority of the passengers were
poor Prussian, Hungarian and Russian peas
ants. There were also on board fourteen
French sailors, who had only taken passage
at Havre. OF the women on board the Cam
bria only three were saved.
The Sultan was seized and her officers i'm
prisoned by the German authorities at Ham
burg.