Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1896-06-22
ONLY THREE SAVED.
Two Hundred and Forty-four PeO-
Pile Lost on the Drum
mond Castle.


Brest France. June 1S.-The details
are slowly being obtained of the loss OF
the Castle liner Drummond Castle,
bound from Cape Town to London with
IA passengers and 103 officers and men.
The steamer was going at full speed.
shortly before midnight, on Tuesday,
June 16, heading around Finisterre from
the Bay of Biscay and making for the
British channel Off Finisterre is the
island of Ushant, about twentysiX miles
northwest of this port, one of group
of some thirty islands, the largest OF
which are Ushant. Molene, LIE Conquet
and st. Michael.
The Drummond Castle. to steer a safe
course, should have been away outside
of Ushant, upon which island is
lighthouse and signal station, but, for
some reason, not satisfactorily explained,
the steamship headed inside of Ushant.
Between that point and the mainland OF
France is a line of islands, including
Molene and lie Conquet and connected
by ridges of rock with each other. At
different places there are riffs through
which vessels can pass with safety but,
between Ushant and Molene, the latter
island being about half way to the main
land, is a sunken reef of rocks, with deep
water on both sides of it, and covered
in parts even at the lowest tides. 1t was
on the ridge that the Drummond Castle
struck while going at full speed.
AS intimated in these dispatches yes
terday, the steamer must have struck
so as to tear big hole in her bottom,
thus filling her watertight compartments
almost Immediately and sending her to
the bottom, on the other side of the
reef, in about three minutes. Only two
boats were lowered after the Castle
liner struck. One of these capsized and
only three men were saved out Of the
PAT people on board. The British sec
ond-clasS cruiser Sybelle, which was off
Nahant at the time of the disaster,
heard the signals of distress and sent
boats to the rescue of those on board the
sinking vessel, but without avail.
OF the saved, two men were picked up
floating on Wreckage by some fishermen
from the mainland, and the third, man
named Marquardt, succeeded in reaching
Molene island. About ten bodies have
already been recovered on Ushant.
At the time the Drummond Castle
struck the reef high southwest wind
was blowing, and it was raining and fog
gy, about the worst conditions possible
for approaching that part OF the coast.
Marquardt, one of the survivors, has
made statement in which he says Capt.
Pierce had just gone to his cabin for
brief rest when there was a terrible
shock which caused the Drummond Cas-
tie to culver as if shaken by dynamite
explosion. This was followed by hOr-
rible grating, raSping sound. the noise of
inrushing water, the cries of the pas
SengerS.
Passengers sprang from their berths in
terror and the sharp words of command
from the officers on the deck who ordered
out all hands to clear away the boats
for lowering but the rents in the strick-
en- steamer were so wide and deep that
but few of the passengers had time to
scramble up on deck before she gave
two or three heavy rolls and then an aw-
full lurch, accompanied by some interior
explosions, and sank.
MarQuardt, contrary to the reports of
the two seamen of the Drummond Cas-
tie who were rescued, said that the
steamship went down SO suddenly that
there was no time even to launch one
boat, much less two, and that even if a
beat had been launched the seas were
running so high and in such rapid sue
cession, a popularity of the season on
that part of the French coast, that she
was promptly swamped Some of the
passengers fastened life belts around
them. All hope of finding any more sur
vivors has been abandoned.
tug which has just returned from
Molene island says that the bodies of
twenty-five of the victims of the wreck
of the Drummond Castle have been
washed ashore at that place. They will
most likely be buried today. Muci
wreckage from the lost steamship is
washing ashore at Ushant and Molene.