The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1897-03-24
ONLY -FOUR PERSONS RESCUED.
THIRTY-THREE WERE LOST.
Horrible Fate Of the Crew and Passengers
Aboard an Atlantic Coast Steamer.

The steamer Vile de st. Nazaire, belong
ug to the French line to the West Indies.
sailed from New York on March for Port
au-Prince, with 81 persons on board and has
not since been reported She was bark
rugged screw steamer Of 2,640 tons register
The schooner Hida, that plies along the
coast between Perth Amboy and savannah.
came into port Wednesday night bearing
with her story horrible even In tine annals
OF the Atlantic ocean She carried in her
cabin four passengers whom she picked up
in bont Monday, ten miles of shore. IL
was Captain Riemes. skipper Of the Hildn.
who 1rst sighted the boat. As the schooner
drew nearer the outlines of human figures
were made out Then on the PROV Of the
boat the words, "Niile lie 81. Nazaire.' A
boat was lowered and the chief mate and
four seamen Jumped In and rowed out to the
helpless craft Nearer and nearer they came
md the faces Of the sitters gradually came
into view.
At the prov OF the boat and apparently in
charge OF the party was an old man wearing
the uniform OF ship officer. The mate pre-
sently recognized in the face, hollow and
sunken with the cold and want OF many days
the features Of Captain Jules Berri, one OF
the best known of the commanders OF the
Havre branch OF the French line. and now
long transferred 10 the West Indian SER
vice.
Rehind him, on the center seat, were two
half-dressed, coatless. hatless men, hugging
themselves and gibberins at the startled
faces OF the Hildas sailors At their feet
was fourth man. The old man at the PROV
opened his lips as II TO speak, but no sound
came from them.
One by one the four men were lifted In. In
the stern OF the craft was fifth man. One
of the sailors touched him on the arm and
began to draw him gently forward, when he
ait ly nY ha nd a
heap on the bottom OF the boat. Three more
corpses were in the boat. Then the sailors
towed the dreadful freight back TO the Hilda
Nothing could be done but consign the dead
to the sea- Captain Berri and the three men
were carefully looked after and partially
brought back TO life and reason. All that
they could tell was that the Vile de NJ. Naz-
aire had somehow been wrecked or abandon
ed and that these four men were the surv-
vors of those who had taken TO the boats
But how many were deal, how many living,
remained untold until midnight on Tuesday.
Captain Berri, the fret TO recover was able
TO gasp out some words of his story
There we're thirty-seven souls on the boat
when we abandoned the st. Nazaire. OF all
those men and women we four are the only
ones left alive. The others starved or froze
where they sat. They died 10 all ways.
They sank, dropped of, one by, one, except
where they went mad. and then some jump ped
into the sea and ended In that way. The
captain was the first TO go. The men were
quiet enough mostly until they saw the
women die, then they seemed all at once to
get ravIng, stark mad. All are mere now.
One, my comrade. DIR. Marie stants. our en-.
gneer and Tagardo, first mate That is all
l can tell now
But with the hours the old man gradually
grew stronger and able to talk with some
thing like coherency and clearness. DR..
Stants. too, recovered his speech and strength
enough to talk.