The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-07-11
SINKING OF La BouRGoGNE.
French Version OF the Disast reinstatement
by the Consul General.

New York, July 9.-Consul General
Brewaert, representing the French
government in this city this afternoon
gave out the story of the wreck of the
La Bourgogne as he got it from the mem
bers Of the crew OF the ship on board the
La Touraine in their dispositions last
night. These were the sworn statements
of the crew taken by the consul general
in his capacity as a member OF the French
admiralty court. Mr.. Brewaert told
the story as follows:
'tWhen the collision occurred Capt
Deloncle was on the bridge. The shock
of the collision was great. 1t threw the
big ship to port and the bowsprit of the
Cromarty shire smashed the bridge of the
liner, striking tbs captain in the side,
wounding him painfully.
''Seeing that the SD p had been hurt
by the collision the captain ordered her
steered for Sable island. He is quoted as
saying: we are about 60 miles from
Sable island and We'll make run there.
Steer ortheast, ten
SAT this time he did not know the ex-
tent of the injury to the steamer, but he
ordered the IL life boats to be manned by
the crew companies assigned to them.
The crew responded to the order quickly
and remained at their posts After this
bridge for the officers below decks to as
certain the extent of the injuries below.
He received no response to the signal.
The Cromartyshire had disappeared al
most instantly in the mist as the liner
sped past her. Capt. Deloncle not realiz-
ing that his own ship was SO badly In
jured sent up bomb rockets in the air to
signal the captain OF the Cromartyshire
that If he was in distress the ship would
help him. There was no response to these
signals.
"About eight minutes after the captain
had signalled them down below and re-
ceived no answer Fourth Engineer Laisne
rushed up to the captain and told him
that the side of the ship had been cut
open and water was pouring into the
machinery compartment. Captain De-
loncle realizing that his ship must be 60
ing down ordered the boats to be lowered.
''The ship was stopped about this time.
Passengers of all classes 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 the davits and
ready to launch the ship suddenly listed
to starboard throwing some of the passen.
gers overheard. The. slant of tie deck was
so steep that the passengers could not
stand upon IT, The passengers of the first
class cabin had rushed out of their rooms
to the port side of the ship and against
the protests of the sailors and clambored
into the six boats there. The list to star
board made the six boats swing inward
and turned the dayits back against the
sides of the cabins. The sailors implored
the passengers to leave the boats and in
some cases tried to force them out SO that
they might be lifted up and forced over
the side of the ship. The passengers could
not be induced to leave the boats as a
crowd of Storage passengers appeared
ready to take their places. The sailors
heaved away at the boats but could not
bulge them filed as they were with crazy
passengers. They gave up at last and
were engaged in cutting the boats free
in the hope that they would float when
the big vessel pitched stern downward
and sank carrying the port boats with it.
On the starboard side three boats were
smashed by the Cromartyhires bow
Boat No. was filled with women and
children and other passengers and had
been got into the water successfully when
the big funnel fell smashing the boat and
killing most of those in it. Twenty Aus
trian sailors not belonging to the ship but
going as passengers seized on boat No. H.
There was room for so in the boat but
passengers and crew were fought off by
the men in it, A ships officer drew his
revolver and ordered them out but they
answered that they were Passengers and
erS. They pulled knives and stabbed at
the sailors. The crew left their boat
alone not even cutting it looso but the
men knew how to manage it and
launched it safely. Passengers in the
water tried to get aboard but were
pushed off. Boat Nos filed with passen-
gers got off successfully. 1t had 90 aboard
including the crew.
1.-The only boat launched on the port
side where the first class passengers had
rushed after trying the starboard side was
No. s. The sailors around it succeeded
in getting it launched and they leaped
into it as the ship went down, were
saved, and picked up passengers enough
from the water tc fill it. The engineers
stayed below until the first engineer told
them to fly for life. He himself was lost
They climbed in single file up the iron
ladders to the midship house. Water rush
log In had put out their fires On The
top of the midship house were four RATS
They unshipped one and threw it over :
board, but one of the copper cylinders in
1t was smashed. Passengers were rescued
from the water on the single RATS. Boats
from the CroElartyshire cane up as the
ship sank. The two good boats and the
part of the smashed boats to which some
were cllnglng were taken to the sailing
ship. When the boat with the Austrians
got to the Cromartyshire tho captain of
the latter called for volunteers to take it
back to rescue those in the water. The
Austrians refused, saying that they were
passengers ana could not he called on for
work. volunteer crew from the Crom-
artyshire set out and searched for more
'The boats manned by the crew Of the
Bourgogne and the English ship circled
round and round about where the big
ship went down picking up survivors
wherever they could be found'
The French consul general said that the
eailors swore that the compartment doors
were closed and that the fact that the en-
Rineers climbed single file up the ladders
for such a distance showed that thew