The San Francisco call., 1897-04-28
FOUR SURVIVE
THE DISASTER
Terrible Wreck of the
Brigantine Valiant
on lCebergS.
1t Is Believed That Sixty-Nine
Fishermen Met a Fearful
Death.
Four Men Badly Frost Bitten Picked
Up in a Boat-They Had Eaten
Dead Comrade.

ST. JOHNS, N. F., April 27.-The
French barkentine Victor Olgene arrived
at st. Pierre Miquelon bringing survivors
of the brigantine Valiant, Captain Pierre,
which struck an iceberg on the Grand
Banks ON the night of Wednesday, April
IA, and sank within twenty minutes.
The survivors believe their sixty.nine
comrades perished. Their ship was nearly
four weeks out from st. Malo, when, with
out an instant's warning, she struck full
speed against a low.lyi ing iceberg. Her
stem and bows were split to pieces and
the hold was speedily flooded. Many of
those aboard were drowned outright by,
the inrushing waters or crushed by falling
timbers as they tried to reach the deck.
The ship was en- her way from France
to st. Pierre for bait to begin the summers
codfishing on the banks, and was carrying
fifty fishermen to join the st. Pierre fleet.
She had altogether seventy-three persons
aboard. After the collision those who
reached the deck. mostly clad in night
obes, realizing the ship was soon to sink,
wildly began to launch the dories. The
boats, being insufficient for all, a brutal
scramble for places in them ensued. The
rescued dory was one of the first to clear
the snip.
The survivors are ignorant of how many
others got away, but fear very few, be-
cause the ship sank within twenty min
utes, and the screams which accom- panied
her disappearance proved only too clearly
how many were carried down to death.
The rescued dory had seven men aboard
when she left the ship. Only one, Gren-
Vile, the boatswain, was fully dressed,
and the party pushed off in such haste
that they neglected sails. oars, provisions
or water. For four days they were adrift
in this frail craft every sea sweeping
over them, drenching them to the skin
ana forcing them to continuous balm 2,
until they were too feeble to throw out
any more water, and careless whether
they perished or not they packed them
selves closely along the boats bottom for
warmth. But the keen frost and the sur
rounding icebergs and foes rendered
warmth impossible, and hunger soon
added its terrors. Death cut short the
sufferings of two of them on the second
day. A few hours later they sighted the
Captains boat also without oars, drifting
with half dozen occupants. She re-
ported that one of the party was already
dead, and as none of the rest had since
been heard Of il is believed all were lost.
The boats soon drifted apart. The next
day Grenvllle's boat lost third man by
death. That night the famished survi-
vors ate the flesh from the corpse. The
next evening when the party was rescued
the body was almost half eaten. So raw
enous had they become that Captain Eve
and crew of the Victor Olgene, which res
cued them a week ago yesterday. were
Mortified at the sight and sank the body
and boat at once.
The four living men were all bereft of
reason and so exhausted that they had to
be hoisted over the ships side swathed IN
blankets, their bodies being masses of
FROST bitten flesh. When found they were
all lying unconscious in the bottom with
six inches OF water surrounding them and
could not stand or speak for days. When
they reached st. Pierre tonight they had
to be carried ashore on stretchers. Their
limbs are useless, and amputation is
necessary upon every one. This work was
begun by the doctors tonight 1t is an.
nounced that three may recover, but the
fourth cannot live. Even if the others