The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-07-12

~ -'' 49, 0s
| the whole ship who escaped. Mrs. La
caSSi was aroused from her berth by her
/ husband. who was ON deck at the time
F., of the collision. She threw about her
| the first articles of clothing She could
secure. and She reached the deck of the
| listing st. m>hip to find herself one OF
many frantic and half-dreSsed people
who congrecated about the boats.
She saw the captain of the steamer
on the bridge and some OF the officers ri
| other points cndeavorinG TO direct the
efforts Of the crew 70 launch the boats.
| There was little response 10 the orders
Of officers. The crew seemed par:lyZed.
matters were quiet. and there was TO
panic at first. Golden moments We're
| slipping away and the decks were becom-
ing more and more crowded with fright
| ened people emerging from cabins and
com~panionwayS.
The steamer was listing and settling.
| and then Il wild fear seized on the
throng. and the people lost their reason
and really went mad.
Mrs. LacasSi was separated from her
| husband in the scramble. and the steam
err listed so badly she Slid down the de
clivity of the deck and into the water.
She had taken the precaution. ut her
husbands direction to put on A life belt
before leaving ncE SIdttGopll anu SilPt tiN
after being thrown into the sea waS
seized by the arm and drawn up the life
line. Her savior WAS her husband. \
moment later the Inflated steamer disap-
pcarel and Il whirlpool cncirclcd the
spot where the noble craft had been.
Everybody around the vortex WAS
dra WI into it. The water ruShed
around. faster and faster. and the unfor-
tunatcs disappeared in twos and thrceS
with deSpairing cries.
Mrs. Lacassi had been on the edge ,f
the maclstrom but something striking
her threw her outside the dangerous
whirlpool and the next she knew She was
on the life raft. \ boat containing 70
women was capSized and all went down
in the whirlpool. Some of the women
were trying to cut the ropes when the
steamer carecned deeper and capsizcd
the boat.
Mrs. Lacassi says that Il moment after
tho steamer was engulfed men. women
and children rose on every side of the
whirlpool and the sight Of the faces and
the arms and the sound Of the shrieks
were 50 terrible that she will remember
them to her dying day.
THE CROMARTYSHIRE'S LOG.
The log of the Cromartyshirc. signed
10y Captain Henderson, is as follows:
Q July 18th. at ; Il. M, dense fog.
position Of ship sixty miles south of
Sable Island. ship by wind on the port
tack heading about W.N.-W.. though
under reduced canvas going about four
or five knots per hour. Our fog horn
WAS kept going regularly every minute.
At that time heard Il steamers whistle
on our Wcatherside or port beam. which
seemed to be nearing very fast. We blew
norm and were answered by steamers
whistle. when all of 4 sudden She loom
ed through the fog on our port bow and
crashed INTO US. going at a terrific speed.
Our foretopmast and main ~tOpgailant-
mast cam" down. bringing with it yards
ana everything attached. | immediately
ordered the boats and went to examine
the damage. | found that our bows were
completely cut off and that the plates
were twisted into every conceivable
shape. The other ship disappeared
through the fog. However. our ship was
floating On her collision b~ulkhcad. so
there seemed no Immediate danger of
her sinking. We set to work Immediate
~ to clear the Wreckagc and also ship
our starhoard anchor which was hang
ing over the Starboard bow and in dan
ger Of punching holes i'll the bow. We
heard Il steamer blowing her whistle on
coming back and We with our
foghorn. The steamer then threw up 4 |
rocket and fired 4 shot. We also threw
up some rockets and fired several shots.
but we neither saw nor heard ANYTHING
more of the steamer
WOMEN DROWNED LIKE RATS.
SOmcof the scenes enacted on board
LaBourgogne just afterthc collision were
terrible to witness. Men fought for DO
Sitions III the boats like raving maniaca,
women were forced back from the boats
and tramplcd by men who made self
preservation their first object. On board
We're Il large number Of the lower class
OF Italians and other foreigners. who. in
their frenzy. stopped at nothing that
promised safety for themselves. In 2
boat was q party of forty women. nut so
great was the panic that not Il hand was
raised to assist in its launching. The o.
cNpantS. 50 nearly saved. were drowned
IKE rats when the ship. with an awful
Missing sound. went down. So dcSpcrato
was the situation that an Italian pas
Senger drew his knife and made direct
at one who. like himself. was cndcayor-
ing to reach the boats. Immediatclv his
action was initiated in every direction.
Knives were tlOuriShed and used with
effect. women and children were driven
back to inevitable death at the point of
weapons. the owners Of which We're cN-
perts III their use. According to stories
of survivors. women were stabbed like
50 many sheep.
The scene on the water was even
worse. Many of the un~fortunateS who
were struggling in tho water attempted
to drag themselves nto the boats or on
RATS. These We're pushed pack into the
Watery graves. Here. too. knives were
used freely: not all Of the dead met
death by drowning. Christopher Brunon
saw 4 sailor belonging to the LaBour-
Gogne strike 4 passenger over the head
with a bar Of iron and kill him. The
body dropped into the water. The pas
sengers grabbed the boat in which thc
sailor was and attempted to get on
board. With the exception of two pas-
sengers. Prof. IacaSsi and his wife. all
the passengers Of the LaBourgognc are
Il hon I'd tho StnaI nnI ltnoo;n.n a4 /