The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-04-17
SHE STRUCK A DERELICT.
FoUHDERING OF THE VILE DE ST.
NAZALRE EXPLAINED.

Capt. Snnueneau'n Omctni heport OF tho WILCOX
and Account or His own Escape in the
whAleboat-A Long and Terrible Battle for
Ltre-wonderrul Little boats and Brave Mon.
Tho Figaro publishes the report of Com.
mandant Jagucneau of the lost steamship Vile
do 81. Nazaire to the Compagnie Generate Trans
atlantiquo, and also n brief interview with Capt.
NicolaI. both Of which throw some now light
upon the loss Of the ship. Capt. Jagueneau says:
IL left New York on the 9th of March. 1897,
bound for Port-nu-Princc, Hayti. The vessel
was perfectly seaworthy. I had on board about
600 tons Of merchandise and seven passengers,
ono frst-class passenger, NJ. Berry, retired Cap
tain OF tho navy and Inspector-General OF the
Compagnie Gen6rale Transatlantique, and six
second-class passengers. three men, one woman
and her two little children.
ION the 9TH, at 8 o'clock in the morning, the
breeze freshened and the sea became rough. I
took all tho ordinary precautions and made tho
necessary preparation for bad weather. Tho
vessel, although rolling considerably. behaved
very well. The sea took her on the port quarter,
and, as shc was lightly loaded, she rose easily.
travelling at tho rate of about eight knots. She
did not labor at all, and there was not a drop Of
water in the hold.
AT about 8 o'clock in the evening the boat
lurched to starboard and shipped a considerable
quantity Of water. q portion OF which passed
over the breakwaters of the engine rooms, into
which It entered through tho gratings. Tho
chief engineer went below to superintend tho
necessary pumping. He found a great deal of
water In the engine rooms, but not sufficient to
interfere with tho Ares. because the water did
not come above the plates OF the floor except at
intervals when the vessel rolled.
After having started the pumps the chief
engineer came to me on tho bridge and told mo
of the situation below. I Immediately hove the
u-.-- A. t. - a
went below to make a personal examination. I
noticed tho water rolling on the floor, but the
engineer reported that 1t was rising rapidly and
coming into the engine room. All the pumps
were set to work, for 1t was evident that the
vessel was leaking badly. We sought every
where to find the leak, but could discover moth
ing. The water continued to rise, in spite Of all
"fho situation was becoming more and moro
Of pumping. but the water continued to rise.
Soon the fires were extinguished. Then l
closed all tho doors and bulkheads Of the engine
rooms and ordered steam to be made in tho lit
the pumps, but in about two hours we had to
wero submerged and would no longer work.
The rise of water continued more rapidly than
r~esorting to hand labor. Our efforts were
powerless, and We became convinced that the
leak was below the engine rooms.
was the question that presented itself to my
mind .h + c e%ertSai MhsD was .bs not ro',. the WI water drc that 1.-THE the
ing was demolished, because the water was
taken in without violence: the vessel simply
persons told me that when she lurchcd they felt
a violent shock as II she had struck a hard sub
run into a dereiicit IN the trough Of the sea. and
that the ship had received a fatal wound below
could eoS pS account neq fr the trar ndo sn rise ee u the %" va.
ter. All seatarinE men know that in the waters
through which was passing there are many
night: h, worked as b,st W., could unt,, DAYLIGHT
ing. we became convinced that all our Efforts
were useless. The water was rising, rising. 1t
sengers and crew. That was the opinion Of NJ
Berry and Of everybody on board. It was i'm.
asaybresk l put the dag at half mast. at 8
o'clock I gave an order to provision the lie.
6 boats and prepare tsd,n +" launch nc them. This
S sbPe heavy " sea ,SHdi0ssih the on inox psSfaas Of
the men Of my crew; They were blacks poor
the Others were smashed by the rolling Of the
and a whaisboat iioated. believing 9Th tha, the
steamer would soon sink. I commenced to EN-
The doctor and nineteen men OF the crew boarded
her; N. Berry, to whom | showed the position
seventy-hve miles northeast of Cape Hatteras-
took command of the, first boat and began to.
cruise about at T., a little distance to leeWard of
five men and started after the first one. The
second, officer took charge of her. The
Andreis, First Lieutenant. The whale boat in
which I was to embark took nine people: l re-
launching. The chief engineer and second off,
Ger stayed with me and would not hear OF leav-
steamer until the water was so high that she
took a great list TO stnrboard and remained in
maj @i P @iEhp fhS eTpSn rem a a on srH6e nnrd until tho
very last moment, but l saw the boat cruising
about waiting ~ only ,IIGTr me me before starting for
stances l had any right todiminish their chances
OF safety by holding on uselessly. So embarked
for the west. The distance from land was about
sixty miles. We travelled in company ali that
when night came on. Tho two big boats were
provided with Coston lights, and rockets. They
s SnfiI @id No mi an Hft SG S fRat we see save tnsir no sifShnls
They must have dist3nced us. because with
e tsetr snii' th ,seS Sd tssv somma aastsf than bY NJ we ss did.
We: too, made sail. but we were left behind.
when daylight of the 9th appeared there
time IN s' 81 the I isnnee fGnsS'S were 'I not in Te a good ssi c CO snG
travelled toward the west all that day. and
about 8 o'clock * IN the evening we faneied that
we 6 ali i became e" convinced that what we ei ssw Wns
land. The water became tranquil. and 1t changed
sSlSF; sailing Ms "i ES. ssT e We e s toct d 10 onS o shs"a an Of
rowed hard for the land; but night came on, and
with II a thick fog. At 0 o'clock we could see
nothing. Quite suddenly a strong wind came
out q the west, and the sea Immediately became
that night 1t was blowing hard.
ON the 10th at daybreak we tried
We had been driven out by the wind and
the currents. From that moment several of
my companions began to lose courage. and
one OF them lost his reason. Everybody was
to weaken. We struggled along all the same.
and endeavored to encourage the others by
tired out, and the chief engineer and purser be.
gan to rave. Cold. salt water. fatigue, and pri-
walton began TO do their work. In the morning
of that day two of the colored men died. and u
few hours afterward we threw their bodies
overheard. The blacks have no power OF resist
ance and no energy.
THE next day, tho 18th. we were still strug-
Cling to reach the land, but everybody was worn
out. The chambermaid died In the afternoon,
and we threw her body into the sea that night.
The purser, who was becoming more and more
insane. could no longer keep quiet. He wanted
always to get out OF the whalGboat, and when i
was engaged In trimming the sail he jumped
overheard and was drowned almost before my
eyes. BEFORE that 1 had sayed him when | found