The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1898-07-13
OUR new YORK LETTER
BOURGOGNE DISASTER CHECKS RE-
WING OCEAN PLEASURE TRAVEL.
Yet Great Sea Accidents. Unlike Railroad
Tragedies, do Not Go In Waves - Only
Ten Years With More Than One Great
Marine Tragedy This Century.

Marine Tragedy This Century.
dreadful disaster upon the high seas, by
which the French steamer La Bourgogne
went to the bottom, carrying nearly 600
human beings with her, has undoubtedly
been the cause of severe check TO the
tide of transatlantic pleasure travel, just
reviving after the first war scare.
1t Is not likely, indeed, that any consid-
cradle number of persons who had paid |
for tickets to Europe have gone SO far as
to forfeit their passage money, but several |
hundreds and maybe thousands who had |
about made up their minds to cross the |
Atlantic as usual this year, though little
late, have concluded after all not to go.
To those who keep tab Of serious marine |
disasters this conclusion seems a little |
strange, since the records show that the
ocean has generally been a pretty safe part
Of the earth's surface to travel over i'm
mediately after appalling fatalities. At
such times, and quite naturally, unusual
care Is exercised, ships move more slowly
than common through fogs and there Is
less reckless striving by steamship cap
tains for records of phenomenal speed.
Besides though 1t seems to be well estab-
lished fact that railroad accidents go in
waves, nearly all great marine disasters
! have been separated from those next be-
| fore and after them by periods of months,
and sometimes years duration.
Few Years See Two Great Sea Accidents.
| Less than half the years of the present
| century have been marked at all by great
| ocean accidents and ten times only has
| calendar year witnessed the occurrence
! of more than one, while in only two of the
| ten wears were there more than two
Twice only in 100 years has there been
record of two shipwrecks involving great
loss of human life in the same calendar
| month.
There were two great sea accidents in
1900, the wrecking of the transport Queen
on Trefusis point, with loss of 1863 souls,
ON Jan. II, and the burning of the Queen
Charlotte, when 673 persisted, on March IL,
total loss of more than 1000 lives.
In 1906 there were three frightful ocean
accidents, the loss of life aggregating $40.
The first, tho wrecking OF the Aberga-
yenpy. q ship in the East Indian trade, &C.
Cured on Feb 6, 800 perishing. The Sec
ond, the going ashore OF the British trans
port Eneas on the Newfoundland coast,
by which $40 persisted, did not occur till
more than eight months later, the date
being Oct. 23. The third, the breaking up
of the transport Aurora on the GOODWILL
sands-loss, 300-came on Dec. II.
Eighteen hundred and seven was the
next wear with more than one great sea
disaster to its credit The first came on
St. Valentines day, when the British
man-of-war Ajax was burned off Tene
dos with a loss of $50 lives. The second,
the double wreck of the packet ship Prince
of Wales and the transport Rochdale, was
on Nov. 10, nearly 800 lives being lost.
Eighteen hundred and eleven was the
most unluclxy year of the century, so fal
as marine disasters go with regard to los:
of life. there being two appalling ship
wrecks near the close of the twelyemonth
On Dec. 4 the frigate Soldanha was wreck
cd ON tho Irish coast with 800 souls
; Twenty days later on Christmas eve, three
, British warships-St. George, Defense ant
, Uero-were stranded on the coast of Jut
, land. nearly 1000 persons being drowned
and only IS seamen saved.
For over four decades after that Their
. was no single year with more than on
: great marine disaster. But In 1854 Their
: were four, the emigrant ship Tayleur be
! ing driven ashore ON Jan. 20 with loss
! $50. the troopship Nugent founderin
: with 400 in May, the United States mai
: steamer Arctic laundering with 400 In TN
|. same month, and the City of Glasgow &c
: tally disappearing with another 400 some
I what later in the year. Besides these SID
4 ole great disasters there was series c
shipwrecks, in the Black sea that year
!, by which $50 lives were lost.
The next year with two great ocean az
!. cidents was 1859. The Pomona was wrecke
e on Blaolxwater banks-loSs, 395-in May
| ID ho rta in Octnhpr-lOSs
L 446 In 1860 there was only one great dii
), aster on the high seas tho Hungarian b.
n inc wrecked off Nova Scotia in Februar
: loss of life, 205-but tho Lady Elgin,
Il lake steamer, was sunk in Lake Michiga
e on Sept. s, with loss of SS7.
: Tt was ten years after that before tw
r great ocean accidents came in sing
s twelyemonth. In January, 1870, tf
: steamer City OF Boston went to sea wit
IS 1O7 Messengers and full complement
d officers and men. She was never heard {
2, more. In September of the Same year ii
n British ironclad Captain capsized oil Cal
y Finisterre, causing loss OF Az.
Not Many Great Sea Accidents Now.
y For over 25 years no single twelvemont
10 has seen two great sea disasters. In rae
g serious accidents to passenger steame
a. have been very rare Of snte. This Is pr
! marily due to tho gene adoption OF u
: modern water tight compartment plan
e. construction, which renders the sinkin
of a vessel extremely difficult, though a
ir most as much to the palpably better Col
N troll that can DO maintained over fast
t. TO date steamer than was possible over
Is sailing ship or an old time slow steal
" vessel. Since 1890 there has been only OF
N sea disaster with great loss OF life TO pa
A. senger ship-the sinking of tho Elbe
g. 1905. when only 10 of $50 passengers we
e. saved-though several collisions report'
n and ono or two warships have gone dow
ne in had weather with all on board.
e. Mono of the recent disasters has con
lr TO American passenger ships and none
No which there was heavy loss of life t9 tho
~ sailing under tho British flag. In &
- middle of the century, however, nearly
:, the passenger vessels wrecked were eth
British or American, but that may ma
10 been due to the fact that there were th'
80 | g., ,,ossonoor boats fyinQ anything So