The San Francisco call., 1898-07-10
Story of La Bourgogne
 Seamen.
MURDER CHARGES DENIE
FRENCH CONSUL GENE
 REF ORT.
GENERALS
Says the Passengers Were Panic Stricken, but the Crew Did Its Best to Prevent Loss
 of Life.
Special Dispatch to The Call.

special DlSpatcn 10 The Call
 NEW YORK, July 9-Consul General Bruwaert, representing the French Gov ernment in this city, to-day told the history of the wreck of La Bourgogne as he got it from the crew of the ship in their dispositions. MT. Bruwaert's s story is as follows:
 When the collision occurred Captain Deloncle who was on the bridge, inn mediately ordered the twelve life boats to be manned by the crews assigned to them. The crews responded quickly to the order and remained at their posts. After this, the captain signaled from the bridge to the officers below decks to ascertain the extent of the injuries below. He recei ed no response to the signal. About eight minutes after the captain had signaled down below and received no answer Fourth Engineer Laise rushed up to the captain and told him the side of the ship was cut open and water was pouring into the ma chinery compartment. Captain De- loncle ordered the boats to be lowered.
 The ship was stopped about this time. Passengers from all parts of the ship came rushing upon the deck and ran about in panic. They got in the way of the sailors and pushed them away from the boats as they were loosening them. Before the boats could be got from t.le davits and ready to launch the ship suddenly listed to star board throwing some of the passengers overheard. The slant of the deck was so steep that passengers could not stand on it. The passengers of the first-class had rushed out of their rooms to the port side of the ship and against the protests of the sailors clambered into the six boats there A list to starboard made the big boat swing on the inward and turned the davits back against the sides of the cabins.
 The sailors implored the passengers to leave the boats, and in cases tried to shove them out so that the boats could be lifted over the side of the ship. crowd appeared ready to take their places. The sailors heaved away at them, but could not budge them. They gave up at last and were engaged in cutting the boats free when the big vessel pitched stern downward and sank, carrying the port boats with 1t.
 ''On the starboard side three boats were smashed by the Cromartyshire in the collision. Boat No. was filled with women and other passengers and had been launched successfully when the big funnel fell, crushing the boat and killing most of those in 1t.
 Twenty Austrian sailors from the steerage seized boat H. There was room for fifty in the boat but passen- gers and crew were fought off by the men In 1t. Passengers in the water tried to get aboard. but were pushed off. Boat g, filled with passengers, was got off successfully. It had some fifty three aboard, including its crew. The ! AY,I1r hno fIn i, first class passengers had rushed after trying the starboard side, was No. g.. The sailors around it succeeded in get | ting 1t launched, leaped into it as the ship went down and picked up passen- gers enough from the water to fill It.. Passengers were also rescued from the water by the only raft saved.
 Boats from the CromartyShre came up as the ship sank. Two good boats and the part of the smashed boat to which some were clinging were taken 1 to the sailing ship. The boats manned | by the crew of the Bourgogne and the English ship circled around about where the big ship had sunk, picking 1 up survivors.
 The Consul says that he made the in- vestigation carefully, and that the stories of the men agree and were told l frankly. The sailors said that the life l preservers were furnished by the crew ! to the passengers, but they were in a state of panic and threw them away In many instances.
 Consul Bruwaert inquired particular ly as to the fighting among the crew or passengers. All the stories of the wrecked men agree that neither the men from La Bourgogne's crew nor the passengers did any fighting, except the Austriaus and the Italians. Most of this was done by the Austrians in the single boat
 Among the callers at the steamship companys office to-day was Brother Romaine, a survivor. He said that his own experience would not bear out the criticism of the Bourgogne's crew.
 He said the officers of the ship were In their places doing everything they could to restrain the panic among the passengers. A sailor came to him and asked him If he could swim He tol6 him that he could. The ships mar pointed out something floating In the water told him the best thing he could do would be to swim for it. The shiI was just about to sink and the sailo1 took Brother Romaine in his arms ant threw him as far away from the shiI as he could He managed to swim away fast enough to avoid being caught Tn the whirlpool caused by thu ship and was rescued by a raft.