The evening times., 1898-07-08
DETAILS Of THE DISASTER
La Bourgogne's Crew Insist That
They Behaved Well.
INHUMAN CONDUCT CHARGED
The pnsse myers Declare That the
sailors Pushed Everyone Aside.
CuttinE and StabbinE, in Their
Mad Rush to Reach. the Boats
and Rats.

Boston, July S.-Ihe steamer HahIax
arrived here shortly before this MORN
ing with the crew and steerage passen-
gers who survived the disaster to the
French steamer La Bourgogne. They
were sent to New York by rail.
d. B. Blanchard, the French consul
here, says that when the men arrive in
New York they will be taken in charge
by the French consul there and sent to
Havre If any investigation is to be made
wherein the crew is concerned, Mr.. Blan-
chard says. 1t will be made in France,
but no official notice has been given that
an investigation is planned.
Interviews with surviving passengers
show that opinion is divided as to the
conduct of the crew after the collision.
Charles Treyvoux. the New York agent
of the Compagnie Generate, who was
here to take charge of the passengers
and crew, says that every member of the
crew. from the captain down to the deck
hands, stuck to his post.
THE charges against the crew.. he
said, arose from a mistake made by the
passengers in thinking that number OF
Austrian sailors, wno safe In a hfeboat
were slashing right and left with their
knives to keep all others away from the
boat were sailors of La Bourgogne. They
were not our men, but steerage passen-
gers"
Henri Deprez the electrician of the
French steamer. reviewed the story of
the collision, saying: 1T was the Gro
martyshire that ran into us. but believe
the collision TO have been purely accident
al, owing TO the thick fog. Three minutes
after we were struck the list to starboard
was so great that the six iifeboatS on the
port side were too high in the air to be
launched. The boats were quickly niled
with women, nevertheless, but an attempt
to launch them resulted in the capsizing
/ could see down into the space where the
Cromartyshire struck us, and made out a
number of bodies. those of the cabin pas
sengers. who had been killed.
"In many instances their bodies were
horribly mangled There were living men,
and women there. too, but as l watched
a great wave swept the decks and wash
ed overheard those who were trying TO
climb through the wreckage. II was my
duty to see that the pumps were set at
work This did the first thing, and as l
rushed about l heard the captain order
ing the men to lower the lifeboats
Mr.. Deprez drew diagram FOR the ben
eft of tine reporter. illustrating the po-
sitions of the two vessels before they
struck
1.-The Cromartyshire struck our star
board at an angle of about forty-five de-
grees'' said he. .'Of course, the ship list
ed to that sde and so much SO that 1t
was impossible to do more than crawl
along the decks. | should say that IL
was about fifty minutes after the colhs-
ion when La Bourgogne sank. Natural
" the widest confusion prevailed, but l
want to say positively that our men
tos of
GERS is worthy of greatest admiration .
Genrot Victor was the only sailor who
would speak even to an interpreter ana
even them as he said, il was against or
ders. His statements were in favor OF the
crews conduct. and he also said that the
officers never even tried to get into a
boat. He said he assisted in the lowering
of the boats and to hearing the captain
orders to that effect. Mr.. Scol. the second
purser and the two engineers absolutely
refused to speak, and they. with Mr. De-
prez. the electrician, were the only officers
saved.
Among the passengers who charge the
crew with inhuman conduct Is Christopher
Brunini, a stalwart and intelligent ltal-
ian who seemed none the worse after be-
ing seven hours in the water. He came
from Charleston, w. Va. ana was on
his way to Italy.
1
of getting a boat or life raft he said,
80 when the ship seemed about TO sink.
/ Jumped overheard and swan away. l
saw terrible scenes. and l saw the sail
ors of La Bourgogne fighting for their
places in the boats. They screamed and
struggled like maniacs. l saw them
beating women away from the boats.
and even after the boats were launched
they pushed off women who caught hold
,ha al in fhpfr struggles No
they were not Austrians. l saw the Aus
trians in another boat. and they were
using their knives. I noticed the chief
engineer running about with deep cash
in his forehead.
after two hours of swimming. found
one of La Bourgogne's lifeboats bottom
up. I cung to 1t for a while and soon |
several more men swan up. Between US
we turned 1t over. II remained over half |
full of water and under the seats were |
the bodies of five women. These We had |
to throw overheard"
Lucien Torland, little French passen- |
ger SAYS that he himself was attacked by |
one of the men in the Austrians boat. |
He led the reporter up to the man whom |
he charged with assault. This man was |
Louis Posset, a Frenchman. The two i'm
nediately fell to cursing in French. and a
fight seemed imminent, but it was pre-
vented.
Fred Nyffloer. of Elmsburg. Wash, on |
the way to Sweden, said: II was thrown |
bodily from a lifelS2at by a man who. l |
think, was one of theSrew. but 1 fou.d a
raft in the water. Them were four deck
hands on 1t, and, clinging to ropes trailing |
along behind, were five women. I knew
these women slightly. and tried to help
hem But deckhand cut the ropes and
The women sank.
Just think a minute he added 1.-THE
TWO vessels, going at full speed, crashed
INTO each other. There were only a few