Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1895-02-07
THE EuBE DISASTER.

ln6 6I66 OtSAS FIX.
The Conduct of the Crew Commended
The Story of q Second Cabin Passenger
What the skipper of q Trawler Saw-The
Sole Lady Survivor Again Interviewed.
LONDON, Feb. 1.-When questioned
as to the conduct of the crew after the
collision, all the survivors of the Eibe
agreed that the officers and seamen
were very cool and self-possessed.
Eugene Schlegel, second cabin pas
senger on the Elbe, would not be in.
terviewed Wednesday night, but last
evening he gave this account of his ex.
perience:
when I was awakened by the crash
l jumped from my berth and found my
self knee deep in water. 1t took me
ten minutes to find my sister. When
the women and children were ordered
to the starboard side of the boat 1 led
my sister across. The women were
crowded together near the rail, shrek.
ing and crying. The crew seemed to
be working with perfect discipline.
saw one boat filed with passengers
and thought it cleared the ship. left
my sister to go back to the port side,
and did not see her again."
The rest of Mr.. Schlegel's story does
not differ from the accounts given by
the other passengers. cit was a terri
BILE rush for life" he said of the strug-
gle for places in the boat which was
picked up by the Wild Flower.
The surviving officers of the Elbe de-
nounce the fog story of the Crathie's
officers as pure invention. The En-
glish pilot, Greenham, said:
''1t is black lie. There was. no fog.
1t was quite clear, and the lights of
several smacks were visible four or five
miles Off
The Elbe seamen made similar state
ments.
Skipper Showing, of the Yarmouth
trawler Flora, which returned to port
yesterday afternoon, says that at 6
o'clock Wednesday morning he was
near the place where the collision oc-
Cured. He saw rockets fired from a
large steamship, and noticed that
its lights and those of small
steamship were close together. He
thought at the time that there was
collision, but as the Flora's gear was
down he could not approach the yes
sells. The signals ceased in few mo-
minutes. At daybreaz he saw in the
distance a steamship flying signals of
distress and making rapidly for the
Dutch coast. He thinks she must have
been the Crathie.
Miss Buecker has been interviewed
a dozen times, despite the nervous re-
action following her experience. She
speaks English fuently. and does not
tire of telling her story to the English
reporters. She says she is an orphan,
90 years of age; had been visiting rela-
tives in Bremen, and was returning
via Southampton to Portsmouth, where
she earns her living as lady's COM
panion.
las the trip was so short did not
undress, but lay down in my berth
with my clothes on. 1 was sleeping
lightly when the crash came. Some
body was at my door almost immedi-
ately calling to me that l must get
ready to leave the ship. put on my
hat and jacket, took my watch and
money in my belt, and joined the other
cabin passengers who were rushing for
LIlc ucCh. COulu see LIldL Cno snip
was sinking.
"a lifeboat was near me, and was
being got ready, and two men who had
helped me in the crowd put me in it.
AS soon as the boat reached the water
it began to fill. 1 did not notice any
waves washing over, and I believe the
water came from the plug hole in the
bottom, but do not know. AS the boat
sank the other persons in it grasped
the side of the ship, which had set
tied almost to level with the water.
They clambered up to the deck, but
could only cling to the Elbe's rail.
"ASer two or three minutes an
other lifeboat was launched worked
my way along the side of the ship and
grasped one of the oars. A sailor
pulled me in with great difficulty and
laid me in the bottom of the boat. I
had been in the water about ten min
utes and was almost paralyzed. 1 did
not see anybody else in the water and
the roaring of the wind and waves pre-
vented my hearing the cries of the
perishing.
Gas / was fiat in the bottom of the
boat could not see the Elbe go down,
but the men in the boat told me when
the end came. The waves swept over
the gunwhale of the boat continually,
SO that the men could not stop bailing
for a moment. There was no rest for
them from the time we left the ship
until we boarded the Wild Flower"