The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-07-07

| "e onofcu away Dy bn6 Sa1IOrS t16
saw manysof his friends being prevented
rom getting into the boats by the sail
| stood in.
Aehelini Secondo, an italian steerage
passenger. is among the saved. When hs
| go5 on deck he found raft with five
men on it. The raft, however was tied
and chained fast to the deck and no sail.
ors were near to let it loose. None of the
I've men had knives.
The ship sank rapidly and 4they-were
all precipitated into the water. He was
IN the water 20 minutes and alone, the
other i've sinking before his eyes. He
came across a boat which he tried to get
into. lie eventually succeeded, but not
nefore desperate fight with her crew.
he was battered with oars and showed
away with boathooks. He managed to
seize an oar, however, and pulled himself
20 the boat and climbed in.
August Purgi was in the water about
nan an hour and attempted to get into
ooat. He was seized when he managed
TO get half inland thrown into the water.
Again ne tried to enter the boat, but the
inhuman saveges who manned 1t were
determined to keep him out. He man
aged at last to get in and to stay IN.
Clinging to the life line of boat far
away he saw his mother, and he was
forced to watch a man shove her deep
into the ocean with an oar from which
she never reappeared. He says the ma
was saved and he is almost sure he can
recognize him though he does not know
the mans name.
Fred Niff1er, q Swiss, was the most
lovlal and contented of all the unfortu-
nate passengers. He lost all his money
and clothes, with the exception of pair
OF trousers and a shirt but he laughed
ana now and again cursed the fendish
French sailors with passionate earnest
DO 1ny1& TO h0I tI1
the collision and slept well. He never
neard sound, but woke in the morning
the same as he would any other morn
g. lie went on deck and saw the splin-
ters. He ashed the officer on the watch
what was up. The officer replied that it
was all right, that the ship would not
go down. Niff1er, however, got into q
lie boat with some others and remained
there until he reached the water, when
he thought 1t was time to leave. None
Oh the sailors ever attempted to let the
Doat loose. He swan for d long time be-
fore he was picked up. He saw an Eng
llshman attempt to get into the boat
But the men i'll the boat, who were sailols
OF the Bourgogne, hit him over the head
with the butt end OF the oar. lie fell
back and sank out of sight.
Charles Lisbra, Frenchman, expressed
himself as thoroughly ashamed OF his
countrymen's s conduct. This man had Eis
two motherless boys, and z years old,
with him. He put them in e boat, but
was prevented from entering it hinseH.
He could not get in any other boat and
went down with the ship. He went down
so deep that he thought he was gone nut
he came to surface and at once looked
for the boat with his boys. They were
nowhere to be seen and he mourns them
as lost He doated long time before q
boat came along. He tried to get in, but
was assailed with oars.
Mr.. Lisbar showed your correspondent
his arms and body. His arms are black
from the blows be received After is
beat went of he was in the water eight
hours
Patrick MoKeown, is an intelligent
young Irishman from Wilmington, Del.
He is Justly indignant at the brutal Grew.
He WAS on his way to Paris to turn out
leather for firm there He was more
fortunate than most of his fellow pas
sengers and got on raft when the Bour-
gogne was sinking. He was the only
passenger who could walk through the
streets of Halifax without attracting at
tention. One of the worst sights he said,
he ever saw, was the murder of an A me-
rican with whom he had become ac-
quainted on board this steamer. This
man, whose name be cannot recall, was
from Philadelphia, where he has wife
and family. The Philadelphian was try
the one on which he was. A French
sailor grabbed half an oar and beat him
three times over the forehead The MUIR
dered man was on his way to Paris to
SEQ sister. From Paris he intended to
go to Ireland to see his father and moth
eP.
Charles Duttweilers, German, cannot
speak English very we'll, but your cor
respondents managed by an interpreter to
get his story. 1t is this:
He got in q boat whick was tied fast
to the ship and stayed in it until he saw
it was certain death to remain any long
er. Hs jumped, but was carried down
II. the Whirlpool made by the sinking
steamer. He was in the water half an
hour, when boat came within reach and
he attempted to enter, but the wretcbes
in 1t showed him off with boathooks. His
left eye is badly cut by the jabs he re-
ceived. He saw women showed away from
clinging for dear life to the life lines of
the rats and life boats. He says the
crews assaulted many passengers with
any implement that came handy, and
II no instrument WAS to be had, punched
the men and women helpless in the wst-
er with their fists
One of the most important witnesses
will be John Burgi, who got into bosb
before the ship sank, with his aged moth
er. The sailors in the boat held him and
threw his poor old mother into the wat
er, to meet q watery grave. The sailors
threw him out five times. beat him with
oars and showed him under the boat He
was in tho water nine hours before he
was saved by a'boat from the Cromarty-
shire. Charles Lisbra, who lost two chill
dren, also said he saw five women VINO
were evidently exhausted, clinging to the
life line of q boat. The French sailors,
as the women were in 10 ones
"a
never to rise again. When your corro-
spondent was interviewing passengers he
accosted an intelligent looking French
man. When asked If he could speak
English he replied, ''No.''
Niffler, the Swiss with a grin. then in
formed your correspondent that this was