Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1895-02-01
AN OCEAN HORROR.
Three Hundred SeVenty-Four Lost
Steamship EIbe, Just Out of Bre-
men Sunk in the North Sea.

Steamship Elbe, Just out OF Bre-
men Sunk in the North Sea.
A cablegram from London, Wednes-
day, tells the story of an ocean calamity
that occurred early that morning. The
North German Lloyd steamship Elbe,
bound from Bremen for New York, was
sunk in collision with n small steamer,
the Crathie, 80 miles off Lowestoft early
that morning The Elbe carried 395
But 2l survivors have been landed, but
few Others may still be ahoat in one of
the ships small boats. At 10 o'clock in
the evening the number of lives was given
out at $50. Mail Clerk II. H. Hall of
Dennis, Mass, and Mrs. Hermana San
ders of Falmouth, Mass, were the only
New Englanders on board. There were
IA number from New York, and from the
West, but the larger number were pro-
posed immigrants of the United States.
Among the lost is Henry n. Castle, a
prominent man of Honolulu, and his
wife. 1t was at first hoped that the re-
ports of the disaster had been eXagger-
ated, and that most, if not all the paSsen-
gers and crew had escaped, either by
means of the ships boats or by being
picked up by passing vessels. But as
time wore on it was apparent that the
first reports of the sinking of the steam
er had minlmized the horrors of the dis
aster. Many dispatches were forwarded
to Maa,lu to the commander of the
steamer Crathie, asking him if he had
rescued any of the Elbe's passengers.
Up to late hour, however, no answers
were received to these dispatches, and
the belief grew that the Crathie, after the
accident, had rather sought her own
safety than to rescue the people on the
doomed Elbe. 1t has since become
known that the Crathie ran into port and
reported collision with large steam
er, whose name its captain did not learn.
The Graf lies bow was stove in, but she
did not leak.
From the details now at hand it is
learned that the Elbe was proceeding
along at her usual rate of speed and keep
ing the ordinary loOkOuts. The night
was dark, but there was no gale. Sud-
denly the forward lookout on the Elbe
reported to the officer on the deck that
the lights of a steamer were close abroad
over the port bow. Before the course of
the Elbe could be changed, 50 as to
sheer her off frem the approaching
steamer, the latter struck her just abaft
the engine room, going through her
plates as though they were pastebOard,
and sticking her nose almost through
the hull of the Elbe. For a time the
Crathie held the Elbe on her nose, but
then her engines were reversed AID she
backed out of the aperture she had made
AS she did so, the water rushed into the
Elbe in a torrent and she began immedi-
ately to settle.
The officer in charge of the ship at
once saw that the vessel was doomed,
and gave hurried orders to clear away
the hfeboats for launching. Three of
the boats were cleared, swung outboard
on the davits and lowered but one of
them, shortly after it got clear of the
steamer, capsized, and it is thought that
all of its occupants were drowned. The
first boat contained the third officer,
chief engineer, purser and about twenty
of the passengers. They were picked up
by the fishing smack, Wild Flower, and
taxed to Lowestoft.
When the Crathie steamed away, leav-
ing the Elbe to her fate, the water rushed
in as stated, filling the steerage and
cabin Immediately. The passengers
were in bed. The bitter cold and rough
sea had prevented any early rising, and
no one except the officers and crew on
duty were on deck when the ship was
struck. The shock and crash aroused
everybody.
The steerage was in panic in a mo-
ment, and men, women and children,
half dressed or in their night clothes,
came crowding up the companionways
They clung together in groups, faciI G
the cold and storm, and cried aloud foI
help or prayed on their knees for deliver.
ance. The officers and crew were calm,
For few moments they went among
the terrorstricken groups, trying tc
! quiet them, and were urging them tc