Omaha daily bee., 1883-01-23
Additional Details Of the COL
liSiOn and Sinking Of the
Cimbria,
The Terrible Struggles Of the
Drowning Hundreds De-
scribed by Survivors.
The Officers and Grew of the
Sultan Arrested and
Jailed.
The Steamer Seized by tho Govern
msnt and an Investigation
Ordered.

LOST ON THE STEAMER.
NV YORK, January 90 During
the d.; many people called at the Off
ces OF me Hamburg. American steam
ship lne in this city, making inquiries
conct roing those ON board of the Ill.
fated steamer Cimbria. All the dis
patches but one came through the As-
sooiate ID press. 1t was learned in this
city that among the Loaf pnssen gers
were three singers, two brothers aud
sister named Schuberth, who were
under engs g ,meut with Roster and
Biole.
THE CONDUCT OF THE SULTAN.
j. +. Meyer, agent of the Hamburg
American line, says he could not un'
derstand why the Sultan did not
pick up some of the boats Of the CHM
bria. He thought 1t very strange con-
duct on her part to leave them TO per-
ish. He feared great many lives
were Lost, for after being struck as she
was the vessel would not have hoated
more than fifteen or twenty minutes.
The central compartments of tho yes
sci, where the engines and coal bunkers
are situated, are very large aud are
necessarily connected by passage
ways. In the event of such an acci
dent as collision there would be no
time to close the compartments, and
the weight of water would sink the
vessel at once. Meyer said 1t was
probably fear of the passengers, who
were Americans and returning tour
ists, who generally ship at Havre,
Meyer said last evening that later dis
patches from Hamburg made him feGr
that no more persons were saved than
those already heard from. He thought
it probable, from the dispatches, that
not more than two boats got away
from the Cimbria. The large proper
tion of sailors who were saved he
thought was due to their better
knowledge Of swimming and holding
on to any floating piece of wreckage,
He was confident that many more
lives would have been saved il the yes
eel had remained on an even keel
Tho Sultan reported when she arrived
that she had been in collision with {
steamer, probably the Cimbria. 'If,
he said, "the captain of the Sultar
suspected he had been In collision
9th tho Cimbria he must have know
That hundreds OF lives were In peril
He knew she was an emigrant vesss
and why did he not stop and see hov
badly she was iDjured2"
Out of 23 cabin passengers z wer'
saved. They were only flight o
stairs from the deck and had bette
chance of escape than the steersg
passengers, who were two flights down
Three women were saved, Miss Atten
dorf of the cabin and Mrs. Pfreife
Ropf and Miss Sprout of the steerage
George, August and Katenka Romme
who were in the second cabin and ar
among the missing, were we'll know
through Germany as the "Snsbial
Nightingales." They sang South Ger
man songs. They were billed to ap
pear at Bials and koster next week
Roster engaged them three weeks ago
He showed their photographs to man.
sympathizing friends last evening, ant
George Rommer was 20 years of age
He and his sisters were in Biberache
Wurtemberg. Katenka, who wa
, 10 years of age and very pret
ty, sang before the emperors 0
Germany and Austria when she wa
seven years of age. Augusta was 2l
Her brother played either accom-
paniment to his sisters singing.
. The cargo of the Cimbria oonsiste
of miscellaneous foreign merchandise
and sss very valuable. The vesse
was insured partly by the insuranc
fund line and partly in the insuranc
a companies. Inquiries were made q
, the docks In Hoboken by people VIII
. expected friends on the Olmbria. Tn
| Rugia, of the line, wasi at the doc
{ preparing to sail next Thursday. On
, of her officers said there was stron
/ possibility that some of the boats {
the Cimbria had been picked up b
a sailing vessels and taken to channC
;. ports, where they will coon be hear
q from. The place of collision was |
. the ocean highway and much fr,
a quented by all kinds of vessels. TIL
chief officer of the Clmbria, +. Kal
i. Iona, he said, was single man.
{ He was glad to learn the second
i third and fourth officers had bee
q saved. A sailor of the Rugia said th
4 Cimbria had been one Of the stauncf
a est vessels on the line. She had fou
n rtermasters-Plat, Wulfen, LaI
;. heiser and Henry Bernstein, OF whol
a all but Bernstein were reported saved
a He was a native of Prussia and has
family. The Cimbria had eight boat
"a four large ones aud four smaller one
These could not posatble accommodate
AT people aboard even if they had ha
ample time TO embark. The lari
buat had been known on pinch
q hold forty men, and the small boat
). perhaps twenty or thirty men, 30 thi
:. at most only 28O persons could hay
got into tho boats. There was I
time to rig rafts or other convenience
or to get half Of the boats ahoat. III
boats always contained supply
= fath water, and barrels of bread a
n kept ready in case of emergenc
J. The cyeW are drilled for action In tin
& OF accident aud go to their fixed pla'
n when tho necessity occurs. Each bo
d has a mast ard set Of sails 80 that II
/. crew would not bs entirely dependel
d on the oars. The boats are strong
l. made and could stand great deal
Il