The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1898-07-07

crew and the surviving French seapen
to bring these RATS alongside th6-sftp
Some Of the passengers and seamen
from the sunken steamer assisted US and
we jettlsoned some thirty-six tons Of
cargo from our forehold In order TO
/ tighten the ship. At about p. m. an
other steamer hove in sight bound west
! ward. We put up our signals IN. c."
("Want asslstance''). Shortly after a
steamer bore down toward US. She
proved to be the Grecian, bound from
Glasgow to New York, The captain Of
the Grecian agreed to take the paBsen-
gers on board and also agreed to tow
my ship to Halifax. Owing to the con-
dltlon OF my shipl I accepted the offer
and proceeded at once to transhlp the
passengers and get ready our tow line.
At 6 D. m. we had made a connection
and proceeded in tow Of the Greclan to-
ward Halifax, having put a sail over
the broken bow to take part OF the
strain OF the collision bulkhead. There
was at the time fourteen feet Of water
In the forepeak."
Mrs, Henderson, wife Of the captain,
was on board the CromartyshIre with
her two children. She tells O thrilling
story OF the terrible experience. The
weather was foggy and she had risen
from her bunk nt an early hour, 40 was
her custom when the weather was
thick. Shortly before the vessels came
together she detected a steamers whis-
! tie blowing on the port side Of the veB-
sci. The Cromartyshlre was sounding
her fog horn at intervals OF one minute.
AIRS. Henderson called the attention OF
her husband to the sounding OF the
whistle and minute later the mate,
who was on the watch, also detected the
sound. It came nearer and nearer, and
Mrs Henderson stood near the cabin In
order to- rescue her children should a
disaster occur.
Suddenly the huge hull OF an ocean
steamer loomed up in the mist going
about eight knots an hour. Almost i'm
mediately there was fearful crash
and Mrs. Henderson rushed below and
found her children awakened by the
shock. She dressed the little ones as
quickly as possible and removed them
to the deck. expecting to see her own
ship go down any minute. Captain
Henderson, as soon as the collision oe-
Cured, ordered the boats to be lowered
and the damage TO be aseertaIned. AS
It was found that the Cromartyshire
was in nS>immediate danger, the Brit
isher put about. The.vessei with which
they had collided wus at that time un-
known. A few minutes later her whistle
was heard and several rockets were
sent up. Captain Henderson replied In
like manner, thinking the steamer was
offering assistance, but In a few minutes
all was quiet and those on board began
to realize the awful results of the colli-
sion.
At $50 the fog lifted and two boats
were seen approaching with only men
on board. Later the weather cleared
stlll more and men were to be seen in
every direction clinging to wreckagke
and floating on life RATS. It was ter
rible scene. No pen can picture the APP
palllng sight revealed to the Onlookers
when the curtain OF mist arose. The
work Of rescue was commenced without
q moments delay and over 200 persons
were picked up and taken on board the
ship. Mrs. Henderson, who had ample
opportunity Of interviewing those who
were rescued, expressed her belief from
what she heard that there had been no
effort to save the women. There were
many foreigners on board who fought
for places in the boats. 1t was fully ten
minutes to quarter Of an hour before
La BourgOgne went down, and during
that time there was ample opportunity
offered to rescue at least some Of the
women and children As 1t was, only
one woman, Mrs. La Case, was saved.
She has been on board ever since. She
Is the wife Of A. D. La Casse, a teacher
OF languages, Of Plainville, N. ].
The crew Of the Cromartyshire COM
ment freely upon the fact that only one
woman was saved out of three hundred.
Nearly all the first class passengers
were lost, those saved being steerage
and sailors. La Case and his wife were
in the water eight hours, clinging to
raft before they were picked up by a
boat from the Cromartyshire. They lost
everything but what they stand in, ln-
Guiding money and vRluables. One pas
senger was going home to France with
his two children, his wife having died
month previously. He was saved, but
his two babies went down with the ship.
Mrs La Case says the officers bravely
stayed by their posts, going down with
the ship. The only officer saved was the
purser He went down, out being a
strong swimmer managed to save him
self. When the ships struck they were
on Cape Sable. The passengers with
the sole exception OF Prof. La Case
were below decks. Without warning
came the terrible shock. La Case
rushed in haste to his state room on the
saloon DICK and got his wife out OF bed
and partly dressed. They hastened on
deck only to be preclpltated into the
water. They were not long In the wa
ter, however, when they found partly
submerged raft upon which La Casse
lifted his unconscious wife and clung to
II himself. Some OF the boats, La casse
says, capslzed and all on board were
drowned. The struggles, swishing wa
ter and terrible screams Of the drowning
made the situation an awe-insplrinS
one, never to be forgotten. One man on
the La Bourgogne when she sank went
out OF his mind and jumped to a watery
grave.
ON the morning Of the collision Cap
tain Henderson was on the poop with
his third mate, A. C. Stewart, Sailor
Haley was on the lookout and first otii-
Ger Killman was also on the forecaste
deck. The Cromartyshire was making
about Eve knots an hour with several
sails set and taking in all the time. Not
sound was heard until the lookout,
Haley. saw large steamer hnlf ships
length ahead on the port bow. In an
instant the CromRrtyshlre's jlbboom
struck the BOurgogne's bridge and the