Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1899-04-07
ANOTHER OCEAN HORROR,
20 Drowned Near the Island of
Attorney.

British Steamer Running at Full Speed
in a Dense Fog Went Upon the Rocks
--.severaI Boat Loads of People Res
cued After Being AfORt 10 Hours.
The passenger steamer Stella, plying be-
tween Southampton, England, and the
Channel Islands, crashed upon the dreaded
Casuuet rocks, near the island of Attorney,
Friday afternoon, in dense fog, and foun-
dered in 10 minutes her boilers exploding
with a tremendous report as she went
down. 1t is believed 20 persons were
drowned. 1t is known that the steamer
had 1856 passengers aboard and those saw
ed do not reach half that number
The Stella, which belongs to the London
and Southwestern railway left Southamp-
ton at noon conveying the first daylight
excursion of the season to the Channel
Islands. There were about 1S5 passengers
on board, and the crew numbered 80 men.
The weather was foggy and it became very
intense during the afternoon
At o'clock the Casquet Rocks suddenly
doomed up through the fog bank and the
steamer almost Immediately afterward
struck midships. The captain, seeing that
| the Stella was fast sinking, ordered the
| lifeboats to be launched. His instructions
we're carried out with the utmost celebrity,
and the women and children were en-
barked in the boats. Then the captain
ordered the men to look after themselves.
A survivor states that he and % others
put off from the Stella in a small boat
| The sea was calm, but there was a big
| swirl arounds the rocks. When this boat
was a short distance away from the wreck
| the boilers of the Stella burst with a terri
| fic explosion, and the vessel disappeared
stern foremost in the sea The last thing
the survivor saw was the figure of the cap
| tain of the Stella, standing calmly on the
bridge and giving his last orders. The
captain persisted with his vessel, owing to
the suction caused by the sinking steamer
being very great.
Continuing, the survivor referred to
said; "The suction was so tremendous that
we thought our boat would be engulfed.
saw five boats and the colapsable boat be-
sides our boat leave the wreck. They con-
tanned altogether between so and 100 per
sons. Five of the boats were soon lost to
view, but we took boat filled with women in
tow and the occupants of our boat took the
oars:in turn and rowed all night long, until
most of us dropped asleep, thoroughly ex-
| hausted
1--WE sighted safiboat at o'clock in the
|
Weymouth, had meanwhile hove in sight
She bore down on us and took us all on
board. She eventually landed us at Guern-
sey."
A survivor of the Stella named Bush
| says the speed of the vessel in the fog was
not diminished, though the fog whistles
were sounded. Bush further asserts that
| two lifeboats were sunk with the steamer
which, after resting ON the rocks for 10 or
| 10 minutes, split in two and disappeared
Continuing, Bush said "When the Stella
disappeared 20 or so persons were dscov-
cred clinging to pieces of wreckage or cabin
furniture, and crying piteously for help.
| All the passengers and crew had been pro-
| vided with life belts, and there was little
panic as the ship sank. / first slipped into
the water, and then swan to one of the
boats, into which was helped We rowed
| supposedly in the direction of Guernsey,
but seven hours later we found ourselves
near the scene of the wreck, and saw
dozens of persons clinging to the rocks"
The boat in which Bush was passen-
ger was afterward picked up by the Lynx.
| The passengers all agree that perfect order
and discipline prevailed on board the Stella.
The crew promptly took up their stations
when the steamer struck, served out the
| life belts and lowered the boats.
The scene at the moment of the sinking
of the vessel was heartrendering. Women
were screaming and praying and people
were clinging to spars and other wreckage
in other directions. The voice of Capt.
Reeks from the bridge, was frequently
heard, urging the rowers to pull for their
lives. The boats were adrift for 10 hours,
during which time their occupants were
without food or water, and, as their clothes
were drenched, they suffered greatly The
disaster is generally attributed to the high
speed at which the steamer was travelling
| in the fog.