The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1898-07-09
A COLLISION AT SEA In A FOG
OVER 500 LIVES LOST.
Brutal Sailors and Men Beat
Back Women and Children
Horrible Details-Balti-
moreans Lost.

HaNrc, Will ptsSchSSiS fthi u titN vi
DID, sank after collision early Monday morning
and $50 persons were drowned.
The disaster occurred at ) Il. IN. Monday, in
thick fog 60 miles south of Sable Island, and about
200 miles southeast of Halifax.
La Bourgogne, which going at l7-knOt
speed was run into by the British iron ship Gro
martyshire, and sank half an hour after.
The Cromartyshire though her bow torn
away laid by and picked up the l65 persons res
cued Of these JOG were members of the crew and
80 were second-class steerage passengers. Not one
of the frst-cabn passengers was saved. The cap
tain and other deck officers went down with the
ship.
! On Monday afternoon the Cromartyshre sighted
and signaled the Allen liner Grecian and the lat
ter took on board all the La Bourgogne survivors
and then lowed the CromartyShlre to TINS port,
| which was reached this morning.
Three hundred women and children are said to
| have been on the La Bourgogne, but only one
woman was saved. She was nobly protected and
rescued by her husband Prof A. d. Lacasse, of
| Planfeld, New Jersey.
| Some of the scenes enacted on board the La
Bourgogne lust after the collision terrible to
| witness Men fought for positions in the small
! boats like raving maniacS. Women were forced
/ hack and trampled by men who made self-preser-
| Walton their first object. On board were large
number of the lower class of Italians and other for
! eigners who, i'll their frenzy, stopped at nothing
that promised safety for themselves.
Instead of the heroic discipline which so often
has been the one bright feature of such awful mo-
ments the crew of the steamer fought like demons
for the few lfeboats and RATS battering the help
less passengers away from their only means Oh Sd"
walton.
! In one boat party of forty women, Dut so
great was the panic that not Il hand was raised TO
| in launching The occupants. so near
saved were drowned like rats when the ship, with
an awful kissing sound, went down.
So desperate the situation that an ltallah
passenger drew his knife and made direct at one
who like himself, endeavoring to reach the
boats. Immediately his action was initiated Ill
every direction. Knives were tlouriShed ana used
with effect Women and children were driven
back to inevitable death at the point of weapons
| the owners of which were experts i'll their use
According to stories of survivors, women were
| stabbed like so many sheep.
| The scene on the water was even worse MANY
of the unfortunates were struggling i'll the water,
attempting to drag themselves into the boats or on
! RATS. These were pushed back INTO II WaterN
grave Here too, knives were used freely
Not all the dead met death by drowning. Chris
topher Brunon Il sailor belonging to the Bouf-
gogne strike passenger over the head win ii OAR
and killed him. The body dropped into the water
The passenger had grabbed the boat in which the
| sailor was and attempted to get on board
One passenger said the officers and crew OF Lii
Bourgogne neglected the passengers entirely The
second officer was the only man who did anything
to help the terrified and helpless passengers. He
cut loose all the boats he could, and i'll fact all the
boats that were launched were launched by the
rave second officer. He was last seen standing
on the deck, with his hand OH the rigging gong
resignedly to certain death.
Among the survivors Il party Of AssyrlanS
and Armenians. There were - Assyrians in the
party when ii left New York. All but persisted.
One of the lost his wife and two brothers ana ten
other relatives. Another lost two daughters. Only
one of Is Armenians survived. The AsSyrians
! were bound TO their homes, near Damascus ana
every one had had from 500 to 500 saved.
The one surviving Armenian tells II sorrowiui
tale of an Armenian priest and his family who had
got into a boat with some so other people. The
crew made no effort to launch the boat The priest
stood up and, with uplifted hands, prayed aloud.
Several French priests stood on the deck during
the sinking of the steamer without making and eff
fort to save themselves, and gave absolution to ii
large crowd of persons.
When the steamer about to take her final
plunge the captain blew the steam whistle as Il
farewell to the boats and he was shortly enguted.
There are no survivors who saved more than
enough clothing to cover themselves. Nearly all
lost all their savings, and they were mostly work
ing people, bound home to European lands.
Terrible Tales by Survivors.
Nearly every one of the passengers saved from
the La Bourgogne has some terrible story to tell OF
the inhuman behavior of the French liners crew.
Patrick McKeown, an intelligent young man
from Wilmington, Delaware, who is on his way to
Paris to turn leather for firm there. said that
one of the worst sights he. had ever seen was
the murder of an American, with whom he had be-
come cquanted on board the steamer This man,
whose name he cannot recall, was from Philadcl-
phia where he had wife and family. The Phia-
delphian trying to get on raft not tar distant
from the one McKeown was on. French sailor
grabbed an and beat him three times over the
forehead The murdered man was on his way to
Paris to see sister. From Paris he intended to go
to Ireland to see his father and mother
Charles Duttweller got in Il boat which was tied
fast to the ship and stayed in it until he it was
certain death to remain any longer. He jumped,
but was carried down in the whirlpool made by
the sinking steamer He was in the water half an
hour when a boat came in reach and he attempted
to enter it, but the wretches in it showed him oil
with boat hooks His left eye is badly cut by the
jabs he received. He saw women showed away
from boats with bars and boat hooks when cingng
for dear life to the life lines of the RATS and life
| boats. He also says the assaulted many pas
sengers with any implement that came handy, and
if no instrument was to be had punched the men
and women with their fists.
John Burgi got into a boat with his aged mother
before the ship sank The sailors in the boat held
him and threw his poor, old mother into the wafer
The sailors threw him out five times, beat him
with oars and showed him under the boat. He was
in the water nine hours before he saved by a
boat from the Cromartyshre
Christopher Brunini, Il passenger, was thrown
into the water and swan for two hours before he
found Il boat After some time another man got
hold of the same boat, and together they managed
to right it. Under the seats they found the dead
bodies of four men and three women, who had evil
IDENTIFY been drowned by the capszing of the boat.
Brunini said the crew were cruel in their con-
duct toward the passengers. He was unable to get
in the steamers boats when he came on deck, be-
ing showed away by the sailors. He saw many OF
his friends being prevented from getting into the
boats by the sailors
Mehelini Secondo, an italian steerage passenger,
said that when he got on deck he found raft with
five men on it, The raft chained fast to the
deck and sailors were near to let it loose. None
of the five men had knives. The ship sank rapidly
and they all precipitated into the water. The
other five sank before his eyes, but he kept afoat
and came across a boat into which he tried to
|
desperate fight with her crew. He battered
with oars and showed away with boat hooks but
managed to seize sword and fight his way in.
August Pourgi said that he had been in the water
about half an hour when he attempted to get into
a boat. He was seized and thrown back into the
water. Again he tried to enter the boat, but the
savages in it were determined to keep him out
He managed at last to get in and to stay in. Cling
ing to the lifeline of boat not far away he saw
his mother, and as if his trials were not enough
he was forced to watch a man shove her deep into
the ocean with an oar from which she never rose
The man was saved, and Pourgi is almost sure he
can recognize him.
Charles Liebra, a Frenchman. expresses himself
as thoroughly ashamed of his countrymens con
duct Iiebra had his two motherless boys, ) and I
years old, witt him. He put them in boat, but
was prevented from entering himself, He co uld
not get in aIIy boat and went down with the ship.
He sank so far that he thought he was gone, but
finally came to the surface. The boat win MS
hac aa1o nd 10