The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-07-13
TERRIBLE DISASTER.
A French Transatlantic Steamer
Sunk in a Collision.
APPALLING LOSS OF LIFE.

APPALLING LOSS OF LIFE.
Over Five Hundred Men, Women and
Children Perish. Driven to Their
Death at the Point Of Weapons. Ter
rible Scenes of Horror and Cruelty.
\ dispatch from Halifax, n. S, un-
der date of July g, says the French
steamer La Bourgogue. of the Compan-
gnie Generate Trans s-Atlantique Line.
with 725 souls on board. was run DOWN
! by the iron sailing ship Cromartyshirc
| sixty miles south of Sable Islands. dur
! ing the early morning of July / and
sunk within half an hour, carrying
! with her over 800 of her passengers and
crew. The balance. vino were not
! drawn down by the fearful suction
struggled and fought for life until l63
were at length rescued from death by
( the crew of the Cromartyshirc, which
/ ship survived the collision. \ thick
] fog prevailed at the time of the disaS-
! ter.
/ The story of the fearful accident
! from the few officers and crew who were
! saved is yet to be told. but if the words
1 of the passengers who were dragged
aboard the Cromartyshire and later
4 brought into this port by the steamer
Grec;an are to be believed, the last few
minutes on board the Bourgoene wit
messed some of the most terrible scenes
of horror and cruelty that have blottcd
the history of a civilized race. Instead
of the discipline which so often has
been the one bright feature of such
awful moments, the crew of the steam
| er fought like demons for the few life
! boats and RATS, battering the helpless
passengers away from their only means
of salvation, with the result that the
stronger overcame the weak and the
list of one hundred and sixty-threc
saved contained the name OF but one
woman.
The Bourgogne had left New York.
bound for Havrc, on Saturday, July :,
while the Cromartyshire was on her
way over from Glasgow with crew OF
twenty-one men. Although the Trans
Atlantic steamers all have a definite
course, the Bourgogne was to all ac:-
counts forty miles or more to the north
of these lines. The fog was very dense
and the big iron ship was sailing along
with reduced canvas and blowing the
fog horn. Suddenly, out Of the fog
rushed a great steamer, and IN mo-
ment there was fearful crash, the iron
PROV of the ship plunging into the port
| side OF the steamer just under the
bridge.
The shock was terrific and tore re
mendous hole in the steamer, while the
entire bow of the ship was demolished.
The steamer plunged on into the fog
again, her whistle crying for help and
her rockets signalling her dire distress:
! The Cromartyshire was rounded to, and
her master, Captain Henderson, was
considerably relieved in finding that she
| was in no danger of sinking. OFF to the
eastward could be heard the hoarse call
| of the steamer, and as the fog began to
lift all the boats on the ships were
| launched. Half an hour after the col
lision occurred the misty curtain went
up. giving clear view for miles, and
then it was that those on the Cromarty-
shire realized the fearful struggle for
life. On board the Bourgogne the col
lision had come at such 4 time IN the
morning that few beside her crew were
on deck, but, the shock reused nearly
every one and within 4 few minutes the
decks were crowded.
At first it seemed as if there was some
attempt at discipline. A few of the
boats were swung Off and some OF the
passengers allowed to get into them.
But as the steamer began to list and set
tie to port, the officers lost control OF
the crew, and what was probably pan
ic ensued. Passengers and crew fought
for the boats and life RATS. The strong
battered down the weak, the women and
children being pushed far away from
any hope Of rescue. Fists, oars and
even knives were used by some Of the
demons to keep their places. The Off
GERS seemed to have been poWerless be-
fore their own men, and only four were
saved
As the ship s-nk the vortex OF water
sucked down everything on the surface
within a certain radius. \ couple OF
minutes later, when the suction ceased,
those still alive saw about 200 bodies
come up out of the water with a rush,
as if the sea were giving up the dead
after having swallowed the ship. But
the struggle for life still continued at
ter the ship went down. Hundreds
| hoated about grasping for RATS, boats
and wreckage in frantic endeavor to
keep above water. Even then, many of
those in the boats, if the stories told
are to be believed, showed their brutal
ity by beating off many of those who
attempted to climb aboard.
Bv this time the small boats Of the
Cromartyshire had come up and the
work of rescue began. The crew Of the
| ship worked heroically and saved every
one who had managed to keep above
water. but even then scores fell away
from boats. RATS and wrcckagc, cXhauS-
ted. and were drowned. 1t was all over
in an hour, although for some time at
I ter great pieces of wrcckagc came shoot
/ ing up from the bottom marking the
4 spot where the liner had gone down.
| But little attempt was made to recover
| the bodies of any Of the ill-fatcd passen-
gers or crew. and the battered hulk at