Oakes weekly Republican. (Oakes, Dickey County, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1883-1898, 1895-02-08
LOSS OF THE ELBE
OCEAN COLLISION RESULTS IN A
TERRIBLE CATASTROPHE.

Over $50 People Drowned-Of the Passen-
gers and Crew Not More Than Score
saved-The Vessel Foundered in Twenty
Minutes After Collision Occurred.
LONDON, Feb. 2.-The North Ger
man Lloyd steamer Elbe, Captain Won
g ossel, from Bremen for New York via
Southampton, has been sunk in col
Gsion with the British steamer Crathie,
bound from Rotterdam for Aberdeen.
AT the time of sending this dispatch the
exact loss of life is unknown, bat re-
port has it that it was enormous. The
disaster occurred before daylight at a
point some 80 miles from the Hook Of
Holland.
The first intimation of the disaster
same from Lowest6ft, Suffolk, one of
the chief English fishing ports. Late in
the afternoon Il dispatch was received
from that place saying that it was re-
ported there that transatlantic line
steamer had been sunk in the North sea
and that the
Loss of Life Was Very Great.
The first dispatches stated that there
had been $50 persons on the Elbe and
that only 19 had been saved, the res
cued having been landed at Lowestoft
by fishing smacks. Later dispatches to
the Exchange Telegraph company and
to Lloyds confirmed the report of the
loss of the steamer, and still later it was
learned that the Crathie, the steamer
that sunk the Elbe, had put i'll to Mas
Luis, Holland, i'll a damaged condition.
She reported that she had been i'll col
| ision with an unknown ocean steamer.
An Official Statement.
The following statement of the hsas-
ter was officially given to the Associated
Press correspondent by the German vice
consul, Herr Bradber, and was corrected
by him. The statement was made after
sitting all the interviews with the sur
vivors and cross-questioning the officers
and crew and may be classed as the con-
sensus of the officers opinions:
"The collision occurred As miles from
Merschelling lightship. Though both
the Elbe and the colliding steamer We're
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 to
reach some of the boats. AS everybody
crowded upon deck Immediately after
| the shock and in state of great alarm,
it was impossible for the orders of the
captain, who was standing on the bridge,
that the women and children be saved
first, could be obeyed.
First Boat Immediately swamped.
ga rush was made for the boats that
were accessible. The first boat to touch
the water was Immediately swamped
and the passengers who had crowded
into it were drowned.
"The second boat launched was lost
sight ofin the high sea that was running,
but it is feared that she capsized.
"Into the third boat, at the last mo-
ment, when the water was up to the
promenade deck, the vessel sinking un-
der their feet, and two minutes before
she disappeared, there crowded 10 men,
the women and children having rushed
to the other side owing, it is said, to the
command that they should get into the
boats there.
Picked Up One.
''This third boat pulled away from
the ship, and i'll so doing shortly after
wards passed a lady passenger, Miss
Anna Buecker, who chung to the gun
vale Or side Of the boat. Some time
elapsed before she could be pulled into
the boat.
"The 20 survivors drifted about until
11:10 a. m., the heavy seas repeatedly
washing over the small craft, which
was i'll constant danger Of being
swamped, and drenching it's occupants,
who had not morsel of food to eat.
FINALLY the waving of shirt from
the boat attracted the attention Of the
crew Of the fishing smack Wild Flower,
which rescured the survivors with ex-
treme difficulty"