The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1895-02-01
THE WRECK ON 'THE ELBE.
The Twenty Landed at Lowestoft
Probably the Only Survivors,
WHY so MANY SAILORS ESCAPED.


They Crowded Into the Rescued Boat Only
Two Minutes Before the steamer Went
Down, and Too Late to Rescue Women
aud Children.
LowEsToFT, Eng, Feb. 1.-The horrible
details of the loss of 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, although
regular blizzard is blowing at present.
and under ordinary circumstances very
few people would have ventured out of
doors
A handful of the survivors, who were
clustered around hotel fire, INDUCED in
the most bitter criticism of the ship which
nammed and sunk the Elbe. They all
claim that she should have stood by the
Elbe, and that if she had done so a great
many lives would have been saved. This,
of course, is a matter which cannot be de-
cidod until all the facts in the case are
brought to light by the court of inquiry
which willjnquire into the matter.
| The explanation given by the surviving
officers as to the proportion of the crew
saved to the number of passengers saved
is as follows: These 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 the boats on the
starboard side, where the women and chill
dren were told to gather. But almost inn
mediately after these orders had been
obeyed the Elbe listed heavily to star
board, and the seas swept over the prone
made deck so that the starboard boats were
rendered useless.
The boat which brought the survivors
away was one of the port boats and was
the last to leave the ship. Acting upon
the orders of Captain Van Goessel, Third
| Officer Stollberg and the purser, who were
in charge of this boat, took their seats in
side of her and then, when the water was
creeping over the deck it was a rush for
the boat and anybody who could get into
it did so.
The following statement Of the disaster
was officially given to the Associated
Press correspondent by the German vice
consul, Herr Bradbeer, and was corrected
by him The statement was made after
questioning the officers and crew:
"The collision occurred forty five miles
} from Merschelling lightship Though both
, the Elbe and the colliding steamer were
going full steam ahead, the conclusion
was very slight. Immediately after the
collision the Elbe began to settle down
! stern first, her bow mounting high into
} the air and rendering it impossible tc
reach some of the boats. AS everybody
crowded up on deck Immediately after the
shock, and in a state of great alarm, il
was impossible for the orders of the cap
} tain, who was standing on the bridge
that the women and children should be
saved first could be obeyed.
"a rush was made for the boats thai
were accessible. The first boat to touch the
water was Immediately swamped, and tn,
= passengers who had crowded into it were
drowned. The second boat launched wa'
lost sight of in the high sea which was
} running; but it is feared that she cap
sized.
Into the third boat, ,at the last moment
when the water was up to the promenad,
deck the vessel sinking under their feet
and two minutes before she disappeared
there crowded nineteen men, the womeI
{ and children having rushed to the othe
side, owing, it is said, to the command
that they should get into the boats there
This third boat pulled away from tn
/ ship, and in so doing soon afterward
passed a woman passenger, Miss Ann
, Buecker, who clung to the gunwale or sid
' of the lifeboat. Some time elapsed befor
! she could be pulled into the boat.
"After the collision an unknown steame
passed under the stern of the Elbe, an,
, proceeded on her course without payin
any heed to the shrieks of the people ol
board the sinking steamer"
r Inquiries were telegraphed to all tn
. coast stations between Cromer and Eas
Bourne as to whether any wreckage fror
the Elbe had been seen. Replies have bee
: received from all the stations, and the
are of the same unvarying tenor. Notf
4 ing has been discovered. Fifteen fishin
smacks, which sailed over the scene of tn
> disaster, have returned. They report tina
a they saw nothing to indicate that steame
had been lost.
q ROTTERDAM Feb. 1.-Captain Gordon
Of the steamer Crathie, which ran dow
the Elbe, said in an interview: after th
d collision we returned to the spot where
d occurred or as near as we could make ou
but we were unable to see any signs OF I'll
steamer which we thought had proceede
on her voyage We waited for two hour
q and then proceeded to Maasluis."