Evening journal., 1897-03-19
WRECK OF ST. NAzAIRE
Additional Details of the Terri
bic Tragedy of the Sea.
SAD STORIES OF THE SURVIVORS.

lt now se8ms Certain Ihnt All but Iour
of Eighty-two on Board the III F4ted
steamer Were Either Drowned or Per.
ished From Hunger and Cold.
NEW YORK. March 19.-Never was a
sadder story told than tho history Of the
wreck of the vile de St. Nazaire, which
was reported in these dispatches yesterday.
From the moment that the sea broke
through her iron hull to the time when the
four survivors of the company Of 80 were
picked up, week afterward, with the last
of the dead as earnest for their tale of un
exampled horror and misery, everything
that the storm and sea and shipwreck could
make them suffer was their portion.
No sea novelist, racking his brain foi
new agonies to pile upon tho creatures OF
his imagination, can dream Of worse than
bcfell the men and women who sailed on
the big French steamer on March 6.
1t would seem that ocean horrors had
passed, like great plaques with tho com.
ing of giant iron steamships and the mul
tiplication of vessels on the sea, but such
wholesale tragedies as the wreck Of tho ST
Nazaire tell that the ocean is not yet
tanned, and though the craft upon its bos-
AAn NdnlDl Dt mum DtlNAlf IL Is nAlll n WASTE
upon which men drift and fight for life
against slow torture and starvation until
they die and meet no succor
Four boats left the St Nazairo. In these
were 76 men, women and 4 children.
That was / / days ago. After six days four
men were rescued from the sea, all that
was left Of those who had TO trust their
lives in the largest boat No word has
been heard of any of the other three beats.
II is hoping against probabilities, almost
against possibilities, to think that another
soul besides these four survives TO tell
the story
The four survivors, who are now in this
city, are Captain Jules Berri, inspector
general of the French line; DR.. Alphonse
Maire, ship surgeon; Pierre Sauts, fourth
engineer; Juan de Dios Toiama passenger
for San Domingo.
Captain Berri is at the Hotel Martin and
in an extremely critical condition. though
the New York agent Of the French line, Mr..
AuFuste Forget, has been able to get a
statement from him.
Captain Berrrs Awful Tale.
Mr.. Forget said that, according to Cap.
tain Berri, the st. Nazaire had made about
370 miles from this port and was some
where off Cape Hatteras when the disaster
occurred. Heavy seas, he SAYS, swept the
steamship continually from Sunday after
noon to midnight. They poured down the
hatchways and put out the fires in the en-
gino room. The vessel was thereby rem
dercd helpless. When tho case seemed hope
less, Captain Jaqueneau ordered out the
boats. Four boats were smashed into kim
ding wood. The captain of the st. Ma
zaire then waited for lull in tho storm,
and when it came successfully launched
OF E,at tr IN f,n I,a ~ af,r
The boat l got into, said Captain
Berri to Mr.. Forget. held 81 persons. in
cluding Mrs. Tejada and her four children.
took command and ordered signal lights
TO be carried in order that the other boat:
might keep with us. But we quickly sepa-
rated, and 1 never saw trace of them
after that To keep the boats head to the
waves all hands worked hard, but the suf-
ering that first night was most intense.
Some froze to death and Others jumped
overheard in a frenzy. OF the last few
days 1 have no clear recollection.
"Our only hope was to make for the
west We judged that we We're not more
than 80 miles of the coast. If we had had
favorable wind, we could have made il
in two days. The wind. however, was dead
ahead, and our progress was slow, as We
held the boat close up to the wind. Fol
days 1 held the sheet with my own hands,
until my strength was exhausted.
Saw Wife and Children Die.
"It was terrible for poor Teiada, who
saw his wife die and one by one his chill
dren. The babe was the last to go. That
was only few hours before we sighted
the Hilda. It seemed an eternity hefOr,
help came 1 thought had but two hours
TO live. Once, while we were just able tC
speak to each other, we found that We
were dreaming strange dreams. One saw
palace aglow with lights, another wal
walking on marble paths in beautiful
garden-in fact, exposure and starvation
had driven them out of their minds.
81 think 1 must have been unconscious
when the rescue came. / remember only
waking up TO find myself in ships cab
in. The Hildas captain told us that w
lay speechless and motionless for hours
DIR. Maira was the first to come to himself
and, there being no doctor on board, h
took charge, and under his direction the.
gave us only broth.
Mr.. Forget added that the boat ha,
drifted 100 miles. They had only one day
provisions in the boat before they wer
picked up. z" 1t is possible, said Mr.. Fer
get, that we may yet hear from the thre
boats which parted from the one picke
up.
1.-The st. Nazaire," continued Mr. For
get, twas examined by tho United Stnte
inspector of foreign vessels on Nov. 1C
1885, and pronounced to be absolutely sea
worthy"
Dr.. Alphonse Marie, the ships surgeon
and Pierre Sauts, fourth engineer, ba
been transferred to the Normandie, whic
is lying at her pier in the North river.
Had Not a Drop OF Water.
DR. Marie said: "The storm burst 1
all it's fury ON Friday and continued al
day Saturday and Sunday. The eight pas
sengers. including the children, huddle
together in the cabin and prayed for dc
liverance. 1t was one of the worst storm
I ever encountered. The big seas pounde
the vessel, dashed against her and poure
over her When the fires were put out, W
saw that it was hopeless case.
''Then on Sunday night Captain Jaqu'
neau ordered out the boats. A cry of d,
spair went up when the first four boat
that had been launched were dashed