The record-union., 1898-07-07
Over Five Hundred Of Her Passen-
gers and Crew Lost.
Terrible Scenes of Horror and Cruelty
Witnessed on Board the III-Fated
Steamship When the Fearful
: Accident Occurred.

the thick fogs which. at this time of
| the year hang like a pail over the
Grand Banks and Sable Island in the
North Atlantic, occurred in the early
morning of July 4th one of the most
appalling ocean disasters in the annals
of transatlantic commerce. and, in
fact in the history of steam sailing OF
| the world
| Without a moments warning, almost,
| the great French liner La Bourgogne,
with T25 souls on board, was run down
| by the iron sailing ship Cromartyshire,
and sunk within half an hour, carrying
with her to the oceans bottom over
| 500 of her passengers and crew, while
the balance, who We're not drawn down
! by the terrible suction, struggled and
fought for life until 163 We're at length
rescued by the crew of the Cromarty-
SHIRE which ship survived the collis-
! iop.
The story of the fearful disaster,
| from the few officers and members of
the crew who were saved, is yet TO be
! told, but if the words of the passengers
who We're dragged aboard the Crcmarty-
shire, and later brought into this port
by the steamer Grecian, are to be be-
| lieved. the last few minutes on board
La Bourgogne witnessed some of the
most terrible scenes of horror and cru
city that have blotted the history of
a civilized race.
Of II ir,li xVI1
often has been the one bright feature
of such awful moments, the crew Of
the steamer fought like demons for the
few life boats and RATS, battering the
| helpless passengers away from their
only means of salvation, with the re-
suit that the stronger overcame the
weaker. for the list of 163 saved con-
tains the name of but one woman.
The disaster occurred at O'Clock on
the morning of Monday, July 4th, about
sixty miles south of Sable Island, which
lies nearly a hundred miles off this
port La Bourgogne had left New
York bound for Havre the previous
Saturday, while the Cromartyshire was
on her way over from Glasgow with
crew of twenty-one men.
Although the transatlantic steam
ships have a definite course, La Bour-
gogne was, by all accounts, forty miles
or more to the north of these lines.
The fog was very dense and the
Cromartyshire was sailing along with
reduced canvas and blowing the fog
horn. Suddenly out of the fog rushed
q great steamer and in moment there
was a fearful crash, the iron PROV or
the steamship plunging into the port
side OF the ship just under the bridge.
The shock was terrific and tore tre-
mendous hole in the steamer While the
entire bow of the ship was demolished.
The steamer plunged on through the
fog, her whistles crying for help and
her rockets signaling her distress
The Cromartyshi was rounded TO,
and her master, Captain Henderson,
was considerably relieved in finding
that she was in no danger of sinking.
Off to the eastward could be heard the
hoarse call of the steaareG, and as the
fog began to lift, all the boats on the
ship were launched. Half an hour after
the collision the misty curtain Went up.
giving a clear view IOF HllIeS, anu liiS+A
it was that those ON the Cromartyshlre
realized the fearful struggle for life.
On board the Bourgogne the collision
had come SO suddenly and ait SUCH
time in the morning that few besides
her crew were on deck. but the shock
reused nearly everyone. and Wltnln
few minutes the decks We're crowded.
At first it seemed as if there was
some attempt at discipline. few Of
the beats We're swung off. and some Of
the passengers allowed to get into them,
but as the steamer began to settle and
list to port the officers lost control of
the crew, and a panic enSued. Passen-
gers and crew fought for the boats and
life RATS. The strong battered down
the weak, the women and children be-
ing pushed far away from any hope of
rescue. Fists, oars and even knives
were used by some of the demons to
keep their places. The officers 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 q
little more than a half hour she gave a
long lurch to port and went down.
AS the ship sunk beneath the surface
the vortex of the waters sucked down
everything on the surface within a cer-
(Coutinued on Sixth Paral