Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-01-31
Narrating the Details Of the Elbe
Disaster.
TALES TOLD BY TIE SURVIVORS
indignation Against the Offending
Vessel Expressed.
FAILED TO "STAND-BY"

The horrible details of the loss CT the
North German-Lloyd steamship Elbe and
her human freight are being discussed here
by crowds of people gathered at different
places where the survivors remain, al
though regular blizzard is blowing, and.
under ordinary circumstances. very few
people would have veptured out of doors.
The bitterly cold weather prevailing, and
the lack of news from any point along the
coast, shows that there is little If any.
hope of any other survivors Of the disaster
reaching land.
A hfeboat, supposed to have belonged to
the Elbe, has been washed ashore near
Yarmouth. In the boat were number of
life-belts and oars, and it is believed to be
the boat from which the fishing smack
Wild Flower rescued the few persons who
escaped from the steamship after the col
lision of yesterday morning.
Everybody here is asking his neighbor
the same question: "How did 1t occur?'
And nobody seems able to give u salts
factory answer.
A handful of the survivors, who wero
clustering around a hotel fire this morning
INDUCED in the most bitter criticisms of the
still unknown ship which rammed and sunk
the Elbe. They all claim that she should
have stood by the Elbe, and that if she had
done so great many lives would have
been saved. This, CT course is q matter
" hch cannot be decided until ell the facts
in the case brought to light by the
court of inquiry which will inquire into the
matter.
Doubt About the Crathic.
The agents Of the North German-Lloyd
Company at Southampton have been in
constant communication with the German
vice consul. who has been upon the spot
ever since short time after the disaster
became known. 1t Is not definitely cstab-
lished that the Crathie was the offending
steamer. There are several interesting
points in this distressing story which re-
quire definite explanation before all the
facts in the case will become generally
known.
For instance, there are people who be-
lieve that a second steamer may have
foundered. They base their opinions on the
fact that the Ramsgate life boat put to
sea yesterday evening In answer to sig
nails Of distress supposed to have come
from steamer. But the life boat has not
returned, and as she got away in blind
ing snow storm 1t is believed that she is
lost and that the steamer she attempted
to assist also went down.
Then again, the word "Azonia" is brand
Yarmouth SO people say that it could not
be the boat from which the Wild Flower
rescued the survivors of the Elbe The
name of 'Azonia" is not known in shipping
circles here.
The German vice consul and the agent of
the North German-Lloyd Company have
cautioned all the survivors of the crew OF
he Elbe to furnish no information Of any
description to anybody until they appear
L,fo tlo oP Inn, nd ho
men are strictly obeying these directions.
very little can be gathered, except from
the passengers, who, of course. are, not
posted on maritime rules and regulations
and are therefore unable to furnish the
facts which might enable the mystery Of
the sinking OF the Elbe to be cleared up
as promptly as most people wish.
Neither Pilot on the Bridge.
It seems, however. that neither of the
two pilots was on the bridge of the F.lbe
at the time of the collision. The German
pilot ceased his duty when the Elpe clear
ed from the Weser and the turn of duty
OF the Trinity, or English pilot, did not
commence until the steamship entered the
waters of the Isle Of Wight, and the sur
viving officers of the Elbe refuse to say
who was in charge Of that steamer when
the collision occurred: but it is supposed
to have been Third Officer Stollberg, who
was one Of the survivors Stcllberg is un-
derstood to have asserted that the steam
er which sank the Elbe was out of her
course, and he is said to have admitted
that he saw green light on the port bow
Of the E!be shortly before the collision
occurred. He describes the third life boat
lowered, and which, 1t is still thought, may
have escaped, to be about twenty feet long.
She cleared the Elbe all right and a num-
Der of people inside of her. Stollberg, how
ever, does not believe 1t possible for her to
have lived for any length of time in the
heavy sea which was running at the time
Of the accident.
The Point of Collision.
Chief Engineer Neuzell says that the
stem Of the unknown steamer struck the
Elbe about $50 feet forward of the rud-
der, or Just abaft the engine room. The
engines were not damaged by the collision,
but the water soon poured in, and, al
though the steam pumps were put to work,
in about three minutes time 1t became
useless and the engine rooms were soon
deserted for the upper deck.
The English Pilots Statement.
Later in the day, at the request of the
agents of the North German-Lloyd Steam
ship Company, Greenham, the Trinity pilot.
made the following statement:
when l came on deck with some of the
passengers Capt. Won Goessel was in
charge. The first order given was to swing
the boats out. but not to lower them until
further orders. The next order was for
crew to go to their stations. Then fol-
lowed the order for the women and chill
dren to go to the starboard boat, in which
it was proposed to save them. The first Of
these orders were given by Capt Won
Goessei, and repeated by Chief Officer Will
helm. The captain was on the bridge, and
believe he went down with his ship.
"The next order which heard given was
to lower the boats. There was no con-
fusion whatever, nor was there a panic.
Every order was executed with the great
est calmness and propriety
AT the time of the collision there was
a high sea running and a strong wind was
blowing from east-southeast. 1t was bit
terly cold and there had been nineteen
degrees of frost on the morning before the
day of the collision. The lanyards and
boats, grips and falls, were frozen, and
the lanyards securing the falls had to be
chopped in order to save time, but that
would have been done in any case in the
event of a collision. The Elbe went down
about two minutes after we left her side"
The explanation given by the surviving
officers of the Elbe, as to the proportion Of
the crew saved to the number of passen-
gers saved, is that the following orders
were given by the officers of the Elbe: The
children were to be saved first, and then
the women, and they were to be placed in
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