The San Francisco call., 1898-07-07

day, while the Cromartyshire was on her way over from Glasgow with a crew or twenty-one men. Although the transatlantic steamships have a definite course the Bourgogne was. by all accounts, forty miles or more to the north of these lines.
 The fog was very dense and the Cro- liidltyshlre was sailing along with re- auced canvas and blowing the fog horn. suddenly out of the fog rushed a great steamer and in a moment there was a IearIuI crash, the iron prov of the 'ilip plunglng into the port side of the steamer just under the bridge.
 me shock was terrific and tore a tremendous hole in the steamer while the entire bow of the ship was demoI- isileu' The steamer plunged on throuob ,iIe Iog' her whistle crying for help and
 iochets signaling her distress.
 me Cromartyshire was rounded to. 1iIu Ter master, Captain Henderson. as considerably relieved in finding liidt she was in no danger of sinking S1A to the eastward could be heard the 1ioarse call of the steamer and as the ios began to lift all the boats on the snip were launched. Half an hour after 'iie collslon the misty curtain went 11D swing clear view for miles. and then It was that those on the Cromartvshira featizSd the fearful struggle for life on poard the Bourgogne The collision nao come so suddenly and at such a .lihe III the morning that few besides Her crew were on deck, but the shocl, eloused nearly every one, and within lew minutes the decks were crowded
 AL Ilrst It seemed as if there was some attempt at discipline. A few of the boats were swung off and some of the the passengers allowed to get into them put as the steamer began to settle and hSl to port the officers lost control of the crew and panic ensued.
 messengers and crew fought for inc ooats and life rafts. The strong ba+- tereu doWn the weak, the women and chlldren being pushed far away from any nope or rescue. Fists, oars and even knives were used b1- some of the demons to keep their places The off. cers seemed to have been powerless over their own men and only four were saved
 The fight for life on the decks of the steamer did not last long. for in a lit- tie more .lan a half hour she gave Q long lurch to port and went down
 AS the ship sank beneath the surface the vortex of the waters sucked down everything on the surface within q cer- tain radius. When the suction ceased those still alive saw about 200 bodies come out of the water with rush, as if the sea were giving up the dead after CTNr 1lfv
 struggle for life still continued after the ship went down. Hundreds still fioated about, grasping for rafts. boats ana Wreckage in frantic endeavor to Keep above water. Even then many of those in the boats, if the stories told are to be believed, showed their bru- tality by beating off those who att tempted to climb aboard
 By this time the small boats of the Cromartyshtre had come up and the work of rescue began. The crew of the ship worked heroically and saved every one who had managed to keep above water, but even then scores fell away from boats, rafts and wreckage, ex- hausted, and were drowned. It was all over in an hour although for some time great pieces of wreckage came shooting up from the bottom, marking
 
 down. But little attempt was made to recover the bodies of any of the ill., fated passengers or crew, and the bat tered hulk at the bottom of the ocean will probably be their tomb.
 In the afternoon the steamer Grecian was sighted, coming from the west ward, and a few hours afterward the Cromartyshire was in tow and arrived here this morning.
 Strangely enough, MT. La Casse is the only man of the saloon and cabin passengers who survived. while his wife is the only woman of 300, not only of the first saloon cabin but of the whole ship, who escaped. Mrs. La Casse was reused from her berth by her husband. who was on deck at the time of the collision. When she reached the deck of the listing steam ship she saw the captain of the steam CT on the bridge and some of the off, cers at other points endeavoring to di- rect the efforts of the crew to launch the boats. There was little response to the orders of the officers. The crew seemed paralyzed. Matters were quiet and there was no panic at first, though the decks were becoming more and more crowded with frightened people.
 The steamer was listing and settling and then a wild fear seized on the throng and the people lost their reason.
 Mrs. La Casse was separated from her husband in the scramble, and the steamer listed so badly. that she slid down the declivity of the deck and into the water. She had taken the precau- ticn, at her husbands direction, to put on a life belt before leaving her state room. and shortly after being thrown into the sea she was seized by the arm and drawn upon the life raft. Her savior was her husband. A moment later the ill-fated steamer disappeared