The San Francisco call., 1897-03-18
SCORES Of
PASSENGERS
DROWNED.
French Line Steamer Vile
de S.. Nazaire Sunk
at Sea.
SEVENTY EIGHT LIVES
SACRIFICED.
But -Four of Those on Board tn
Vessel Succeed in Reach.
ing Port.
FOUNDERED DURING A GALE
ON THE ATLANTIC.
Survivors Of the Ocean Disaster Tell
of Horritl Sufferlngs and
Priv tions.

NEW YORK, n. Y, March 1.-THE
French line steamer Vile de S.. Nazaire,
which sailed from this port on March g.
bound for the West Indies, foundered at
sea. Or her eighty-two passengers and
crew, only four are known TO have been
saved.
These arrived here yesterday on the
schooner Hilds, after a weeks drifting
about he Atlantic in an open boat, during
which thirty-fouT out of the thirty-eight
occupants went mad or died of starvation.
The saved are:
Berry, -, Inspector of the Compagnia
Generate Gransatlantique.
Marie -, the ships doctor.
Stauts -, third engineer.
Tagado -, San DOMINICAN.
Among the lost are:
DAndrews -, first lieutenant.
Herbert -, second Lieutenant.
Leieune -, purser.
Nicolay -, second captain.
Mariani -, chief engineer.
Tagado Mrs. and four children, starved
to death.
The steamship Vile de Saint Nazaire
left this port on March 6, bound for West
Indian ports. She was one of the smaller
vessels of the French line and had been
engaged in the West India trade for years.
She was the first to come to New York
when the line between New York and the
West Indies was established here.
The steamship encountered severe
weather on March 7, while off Hatteras.
Tremendous seas broke over her; she
rolled and pitched; floods of water found
their way through the gratings to the
engine-room and e1tinguished the fires
The vesse was unable to make any head
way, being waterlogged. Captain Jac-
queneau gave the order to man the four
boats.
There were eighty-two persons in all.
In the haste 20 leave the vessel it was i'm
possible to get provisions Or water to last
more than day. OF the four boats only
one has been heard from. 1t is believed
the other three have been lost. The
sens. 1t had practically no provisions.
1t was tossed bout upon the rough seas
for seven days and seven nights and for
six of these davs and nights the passen-
gers were without food or drink. Their
sufferlngs were the most intense. The sea
Gained and they drifted about.
The survivors OF this ocean tragedy are
hardly yet able to give a correct story of
the last twelve days.
CAPTAIN Berry, the Inspector General of
the French line, is confined. to his room
in the Hotel Martin. His story is mar
ratiye of privation and hardship, such as
is seldom heard in the annals of the sea-
The other Survivors are on board the Nor
mandie and the Vile de Brest, sister
ship of the ilI-iated vessel.
In telling of how the wreck occurred,
the survivors say that the steamshi p sailed
from this port bound for Port-au-P Prince,
Hayti, at noon on March 4. That was on
Saturday. Sunday came with the wind
blowing stormily from the southwest.
The ship began TO plunge heavily in the
seas, waves burst over the deck in torrents
and early on Sunday night the flood in
vaded the fireroom and clouds of kissing
steam arose from the matches, telling that
The fires had been drowned.
An attempt was made to heave the ship
to, but water was bursting over the deck
in such torrents and poured down the
hatchways so fast that Captain Jacque-
neau, seeing that his vessel was on the
point of foundering, thought then only of
saving the crew by means of the boats.
The steamship was almost wholly un-
provided with bulkheads, having only one
of the safeguards against such disasters
whereas modern vessel of her type and
size would have at least half dozen.
But she did not have them, and, as a
result, soon was unable to lift her decks
to the rushing masses Of water.