Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-07-07

Charles Liobra a Frenchman, expressed
himself as thoroughly ashamed Of his
countrymen's conduct. This man Is one
Of the most unfortunate. He had his two
motherless boys. 5 and years old. with
him. He put them in a boat. but was pre-
vented from entering himself. He could
not get into any boat and went down with
the ship, but he came to the surface and
at once looked for the boat with his boys.
They were nowhere to be seen and he
mourns them as lost. He fioated long
time before boat came along. He tried 10
get in. but was assailed with oars and
boathooks. Mr.. Libora- showed your cor
respondent his arms and body His arms
are black and blue and his body is terribly
bruised from the blows he received. After
this boat went off, he was in the water
eight hours.
Patrick McKeown is an intelligent young
Irishman from Wilmington, Del. He is in
dignant at the brutal crew. He was more
fortunate than most Of his fellow passen-
gers. and got on a raft when the Bourgogne
was sinking. y
One of the worst sights he ever saw, he
said, was the murder of an American with
whom he had become acquainted on board
the steamer. This man, whose name he
cannot recall, was from Philadelphia'
where ne has wife and family. the Phil
adelphian was trying to get onto raft
not far distant from the one Mckeown was
on. A French sailor grabbed half an oar
and beat him over the forehead
Charles puttweiler, a German, managed.
through an interpreter. to tell his story. II
is this: He got into boat whlch was
tied fast to the ship and stayed IN II unti
he saw it was certain death to remain
longer. He jumped. but was carried down
in the whirlpool made by the sinking steam:
er. He was in the water half an hour when
a boat came within reach, and he attempted
to enter it, but. the wretches in 1t showed
him off with boat hooks. His left eye Is
badly cut by the jabs he received, He saw
women showed away from boats with oars
and boat hooks when clinging to the life
lines of the RATS and lifeboats. He also
saws the crew assaulted many passengers
also said that he saw five women. who were
evidently exhausted, clinging to the h1e-
line of a boat. The French sailors cut the
lines and the women sank.
Gustav Crimaux. a French passenger,
corroborated the other passengers in their
statements about the crew. They did not
attempt to cut any boats loose, except
those which they needed themselves. He
saw women showed away from boats with
chn
pushed deep into the water.
The officers of the Grecian say the pas
sengers and sailors presented sorry spec
tacle when they were taken on board from
| the Cromartyshire. They had not eaten 1or
! nearly twenty-four hours. Some are still
| dazed, and did not know where they were
| or what they were doing. The third offieer
of the Cromartyshire said that one half
| drowned wretch whom he pulled over the
| side some hours after the collision seized
his life belt and asked the steward for his
| knife He cut piece off the lifebelt and
| started to eat it, saying it was all he
| wanted.
] with any implement that came handy, and
| IL no instrument was to be had punched
l
with their fists.
| One of the most important witnesses will
be John Burgi, who got into boat with his
mother before the ship sank. The sailors
in the boat held him and threw his poor old
mother into the water. The sailors threw
him out, beat him with oars and showed
him under the boat. He was In the water
nine hours before he was saved by boat
from the Cromartyshire.
Charles Liebra, who lost his two children.
Otto Zaiger, of New York, who was going
to Paris, said:
I'VE struck at a. m. and were afloat
one hour before the ship sank We were
going at full speed. The crew acted cow
ardiy. and some of the officers seemed to
have !o their heads. 1 could only see ore
officer where was on the port side. There
was no discipline aboard. and the boats
try to pull them down. but the passengers
did tried to get boat down, and one
of the ships walters pushed me away and
told me to go to hell
"The captain did not appear to be aware
Of the danger at the beginning. He blew
the whistle just before the accident and he
tried another signal, but the water filled
the engine room.
Half an hour later he fired distress sig
mails. but 1t was too late. Then he put up
danger signals. / was told he was in the
cabin when the accident happened. but he
was on the bridge when the ship went
down. loosened one of the lifeboats, OF
which three were left on the steamer. but
they were soon crowded with women, who
behaved very quietly and bravely. Then
climbed on the superstructure and went al
over the ship in company with two en-
cheers We found the RATS on the other
side. threw them overheard and jumped or
| them.
"Our raft was damaged by big hole
| in 1t so that we had to abandon it, but
were picked up by the boats of the Crom-
artyshire. We were the first saved ano
we saw other boats following us far away
The captain of the Cromartyshire called
| for volunteers, but none of the Frenchmer
| would volunteer to go out at first and the
crew of the sailing ship had TO go out
Afterwards the French sailors went GU,
and picked up some of the RATS first. one
raft had a cord around it to which five
women were holding. The sailors cut thu
rope and the women were drowned
: The surviving passengers and seamer