The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1895-02-01
Three Hundred and Seventy
five Persons Drowned.
NO HOPE FOR The MISSING.
The Crathie Made No Effort to Save
the Passengers.
Why So Many Of the Crew Were saved
-Roagh Experience OF tbs Oniy
Woman who Escsped-Liss oe the
steerase Passengers and These
Tsckss Holders who Remained ~
Bremen.

Lowestoft, England, JAN 3i.-aAs far
as asceTfalfled, 3s4 of the passengers
and crew OF the Elbe are missing.
Bitterly ccsd weather is prevailing,
and the hack Of news from along the
coast shows That there is little If any
hope of any survivors of the Efbe dis
aSter reaching land. A iifeboat has
been washed ashore near Yarmouth. II
is believed To be the boat from which
the fishing smack Wild Flower rescued
the few persons who escaped I1yzTi sssssza sasssza
steamer after the collision yesterday
morning. The survivors claim that the
unknown ship which rammed and sunk
the Elbe should have stood by the Elbe,
and IL she had done SO q great many
lives would have been saved. This OF
course - a matter which can not be de-
cided until all the facts are brought to
light by a court OF inquiry. II seems
neither OF the two pilots was OH the
bridge OF the Elhe at the time OF the
collision. The German pi.uE ceased
duty when the Elbe cleared from the
Weser, and the turn OF duty of the
Trinity. or English pilot. Greenham.
did not consznence until the steamship
entered the waters of the Isle of Wight.
The surviving officers refuse 20 say who
was IN charge OF the Eibe when the coli
Nsion occurred, but Ii is supposed to
have been Third Officer Stoilberg, one
OF the survivors. StolIberg Is under
stood to have asserted that the ship
which sank the Elbe was out of her
course. and to have admitted that he
saw a green light on the port bow of
the Eibe shortly before the collision.
Chief Engineer NeusseI says the stem
OK the unknown ship struck the Elbe
about $50 feet forward OF the rudder.
or just abaft the engine rooms. The
engines were not damaged by the col
Iision, but the water soon poured IN.
and although the steam pumps were
put at work in about three minutes,
IL became useless. and the engine rooms
were soon deserted for the upper deck
Later IN the day at the request of the
agents of the North German Lloyd
Company. Gxeenhana, the Trinity pilot.
made the following statement:
when came ON deck with some OF
the passengers. Capt. Goessel was In
charge. The first order given was to
swing the boats out, but not to lower
them unta further orders. Tho next
order was for everybody 10 come on
deck and for the crew to 60 to their sta
tions. Then followed the order for the
women on11 children to go to the STAR
board boats, in which 1t was proposed
to savs them. The first OF these or
ders was given by Capt. Won Goessel
and repeated by Chief Officer Thelms.
The captaEn was on the bridge, and I
believe he went down with the ship.
The next order which / heard given
was to lower the boats. There was no
confusion whatever. nor was there a
panic. Every order was executed with
the greatest ca,rnness and prusnpti-
tude. AZ the time of the collision there
was high sea running. and a strong
wind was blowing from the east south
east. 1t was bitterly cold. The Ian
yards and boats. grirs and fails were
frozen. and the lanyassds securing the
falls had to be propped in order 10
save ttre, but that would have been
done in any case In the event OF a coli
hsior The Eloe went down about two
minutes after We LETT her side"
The explanation given by TIE survlv-
ing officers as 20 the proportion OF the
crew saved to the number Of passengers
saved is tfYat the following orders we're
given by the officers of tfe Eibe. The
children werc to be saved first, and the
women and they were TO be placed In
beats on the starboard sidS, where the
women and chiidren were told to
gather. But almost immediately after
these orders had been oheyed the Eibe
listed heavily to the starhoa-d and the
seas swept up TO the promenade deck.
The starhoard boats were rendered
useless. The boat which brought the
survivors away from the Elbe was one
OF the port boats and was the last to
leave the vessel. Acting upon the or
dsrs OF Capt Goessel, Third Officer
Sto.aberg and the paymaster. who were
in charge OF this beat. took seats in
side OF her. and then, when the water
was creeping over the deck. a rush
was made for the boat. and ANYBODY
who could get into II did So Trinity
Pilot GTeenhasn assisted the crew of
the Elbe In firing rockets. 1t Is under
stood Greenhann has been heard to ex-
press the opinion that the steamer
which coilided with the Eibe was dis
tinctiy at fault. as she attempted 10
cross the bows of the Elbe.
The following statement Of the dis
aster was officially given this afternoon
to an Associated Press correspondent
by the German vice consul, Herr Brad
ber, after sitting all the interviews with
the survivors and cTosg-exaznsninr the
officers and crew. and rnag be ciassed
as a. CONSENSUS Of the officers opinions.
The collision occurred fes-tv-zyx. miles
frnsu the Nerschsiling hgIatshlp. Though
both the EIbe ard the coliiding steamer
were eo.ng f1gi steam ahead the coucus-
sion was slight. Immediately after the
collision the Eibe began % settle down.
stern first. her e5cw mounting high into
the air, s2ld rendering X impossible 10
reach scs1ae oy the boats, as every
BODY c,rywsied upon the deck trHzrse11-
a.egy after che shcsck an a state or great
alarm. IL was isnpussltae for the or
ders Of the captain. who was standing
on the bridge, thar the woslsEwg end
children should be saved first. could Be
obeys-E A rush was made for the
is0ats that were accessible. The first
boas 10 touch the water was inansesN-
axeiy swarrpea. ard the passengers who
crowded asto II were drowned. The sec-
cnd boat aaxnGhed was iost sight OF In
tks. sssxss sea which was running, bat
i Is feared she carsszed. Into the thsrd
water was up t. vne Yrnruerasfe deck.
anf the ressel was sinking Under their
tset ard Two minutes hefnrc she disap-