Evening journal., 1897-03-18

ed-Fonr Survivors Picked Up by the
Schooner Iihda and Taken Into Port.
Pitifui Tales OF Suffering Told.
NEW YORK. March 1s.-Tho schooner
Hilda, that plies along the coast between |
Perth Amhoy and Savannah, has just
como into her port. bearing with her q
story horrible even in the annals Of Attain
tic ocean disasters She carried down in
her cabin four passengers whom she had
picked up on Monday along the coast ten
miles oashore. 1t was Captain Riemes,
skipper of the Hilda who first sighted the
boat. As the schooner drew nearer tho out
lines OF human figures were made out, and
then came a cry Of mortal distress. Then
on the PROV of the boat he saw the words,
"Nille de ST. Nazaire A boat was low
cred, and the chief mate and four seamen
jumped in and rowed out TO the helpless
craft. Nearer and nearer they came, the
faces Of the sitters gradually coming into
view. A faint cheer broke from them as
the boats touched
At the Prov OF the boat ana apparently
in charge of the party was an old man
wearing the uniform of a ships officer.
The mate presently recognized in the
face, hollow and sunken with the cold and
+ want of many days, the features OF Cap
. tain Jules Barri, once one of the best
i known of the commanders Of the Havre
branch of the French line and now long
transferred. to the West Indian service.
FrightfuI Freight.
Behind him, side by side on the centel
4 seat, were two more half dressed, coatless,
hatless men, hugging themselves with
A each blast of the cold wind and gibberine
Il at the startled faces of the Hilda's sailors.
q At their feet, stretched crosswise across
the boat, was fourth man, huddlcd W
to the knees Tho old man nt the PROV
opened his lips as If to speak but nc
sound came from them. One by one the
four men were lifted in. In the stern OF
the craft a fifth man leaned back against
the rudder lines. his hands resting against
his pockets, his head gently tilted side
ways and "a half smile on his face. One
of the sailors touched him on the arm and
began to draw him gently forward, when
he slid quickly off the seat and settled, a
sodden, lifeless heap, in 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
BerFi and the three men were carefully
looked after and partially brought back tC
life and reason. All that they could tel
was that the Vile de ST. Nazairo had
somehow been wrecked or abandoned, and
that these four men were the survivors O
those who had taken to the boats, but how
many were dead, how many living re
mained untold until midnight on Tues
day. when Captain Berri, the first TO recov
er, was able to gasp out some words Of hii
story.
sad Tale of the Sea.
eight, j." were his first words in answe
to "A question. "Eight-there were NOR
than eight-there were 81 on that boa
when we abandoned the st. Nazaire o
all these men and women, wo four are tn
only ones left alive. The others starved O
froze where they sat They died in al
ways They sank and sank, dropped OF
one by one, except where they went mad
and then, raying and cursing, some jump
cd into the sea ard ended i'm that way
The children were the first TO CO. Tn
mon were quiet enough mostly till the
saw the women die, then they seemed al
at once TO set raying, stark mad All ar
here now. One. my comrade, Dr. Mair
Stants, our engineer and Tagardo, frs
mate That is all can tell now.
But with the hours the old man gradu
ally grew stronger and able to talk wit
something like coherency and clearnes'
DR. Marie, too, recovered his speech an
strength enough to talk.
1t is stated that the vile de st. Nazair
had on board SO people when she left thi
port on March s., all but Of whom hay
evidently perished.
The Vile de St. Nazaire belonged to tn
French line to the West Indies. She sale
from New York on March for Port a
Prince. Mayaguez, etc, and has not sine
been reported. She was bark rigge
screw steamer Of ?, $40 tons register