Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1898-09-08
SAVED BY A pocKET-KEIFR
A Survivor OF the willie de Havre Tell
OF His Remarkable Escape
from the Wreck.


By the sinking of La Bourgogne and
The awful loss of life is recalled the
accident 10 the Vile de Havre, of the
same line, in 1872, when the latter
named ship was struck at night and
went down at once, carrying almost
all on board. Pitifully few were those
who were saved from the Havre, but
among them was the prominent New
York lawyer Witthaus, and the way
in which he escaped is so extraor-
binary that it sounds like a well-con-
cocted tale, instead of the plain fact
that Mr.. Witthaus vouches it to be.
The afternoon preceding the ac-
cident to the Havre, Mr.. Witthaus,
with another man, was on deck. and
Mr.. Witthaus was leaning against the
taffrau under the flagstaff in the
stern. As the two men stood there
talking the friend put his hand on
the large life buoy that was hanging
over the side, and called Mr.. Witthaus
attention to it.
Look" he said, "these life buoys
are simply screaming farces. This
one here is so stiff and hard with coats
of paint that you couldn't get it free
except by cutting it with knife
Mr.. Witthaus attempted to move it,
but found it glued hard and fast. The
friend took out his knife and began
idly sticking it into the soft pine of the
flagstaff, and amused himself so the
rest of the time that they talked be-
fore they were interrupted by the
dinner gong Then they both went
below.
Early the next morning while the
passengers were still asleep the col
lision occurred, and in the mad panic
that at once followed Mr.. Witthaus
did what he could to get the women
and children into the lifeboats. From
the first he regarded himself as
doomed, for there were not nearly
boats enough for all the passengers.
and it was evident that the ship would
float only few minutes. Several
women whom he knew on board he
found places for at once, only to see
the boat overturned as soon as it was
launched, and all go down, one of them
with her two little children in her
arms.
Horrified and sickened by the sight
he went back to the stern of the ship,
which was higher out of the water
imam the DOW, 10 wall tOO
went down, and stood leaning against
the taffrail As he did so in fash
he recollected the conversation of the
afternoon before, and looked over the
rail. There still hung the life buoy
stiff and immovable, and the instinct
of self preservation sprang to life once
more. knife to free the buoy and he
might be saved, but he had none with
| him, and to find one was impossible
| with the ship liable to go down at any
second.
At the same moment his eye caugh
! the flagstaff, and there, where hi
| friend had evidently forgotten it tn.
| afternoon before, stuck the knife
| With the haste of life and death Mr.
| Witthaus pulled it out and began tt
| saw away at the buoy, and he freed i
| and threw himself off the deck into the
sea just in time to get beyond the vor
tex that came as the great ship Wen
| down, sucking hundreds of victims
with it. Mr.. Witthaus foated abou
| for some time. and was at last picked
up by small boat that was waiting
| about for chance survivors, and wa
| brought back to New York to tell o
| one of the most awful catastrophe
! that ever happened at sea.-N. Y
| Press