The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-01-03
LAST YEARS DISASTERS
FRIGHTFUL RECORD OF LOSS by
STORMS AND WRECKS AT SEA.
Almost Unprecedented Destruction Of
Life and PrOperty-Sinking of La
BourgOgne and other Steamers.
Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore Sun.
| The last twelve months have been ex-
ceptionaI in the severe storms which have
from time to time swept the seas and
played havoc with the shipping and other
| industries. Especially has this been true
| the past fall, and as a result hundreds of
| coasting vessels plying along the shores
of the United States have been consigned
to the cold barren bed of the ocean, where
| their water-logged hulks are lying thickly
| encrusted with salt, or else beached along
the coast, with their bulls gradually
| bleaching in the sun.
In addition to the elements, fire has had
| its share of the victims, and the late war
with Spain has contributed not a little
to the losses of ships sustained by the va
rious countries this year.
| The year opened auspiciously for the
shipping trade. and it was not until the
| 31st of January that the first heavy loss
was reported, when the British mail
packet, Channel Queen, was wrecked in
storm off the Guernsey coast, and nine
| teen persons on board were drowned.
A respite followed until the day after the
destruction of the battle ship Maine while
anchored in the harbor of Havana, Feb
ruary is, when the French line steamer
Flachet was wrecked on the rock bound
coast of Teneriffe, of the Canary Islands,
and so fierce was the raging storm that
! thirty-eight of the crew and forty Of the
passengers were lost.
Following Immediately on this casualty
great anxiety was felt toward the latter
part of February concerning the French
line steamer La Champagne, from Havre
to New York, which was greatly overdue
and a huge sigh of relief went up from the
numerous friends and relatives of the pas
SCh5tIS Oh lhe unfortunate steamer When
| she was toWed into Halifax badly injured.
tolloWlng rapidly on this news word was
received from Asiatic waters in the shane
Of a cablegram from New Caledonia, dated
March /, that q severe hurricane had de-
| stroyed French gunboat, and on the 22d
gov, was wrecked. On the following day
forty-eight men of the New Foundland seal
ing steamer Greenland .lerished while
searching for seals in the Alaska ice foes.
THE SPANISH WAR.
War having been declared between the
United States and Spain, attention was
turned from these losses and riveted upon
the unprecedented successes achieved by the
American naval fleets, and while the Span
ish war vessels were not destroyed by
storms, still they may be included among
the losses for the year
Immediately upon the declaration of the
war Commodore (now admiraD Dewey was
ordered to proceed at once to Manila and re-
cuce the Spanish Notifications at that point
and destroy the Spanish fleet in those
waters. On the LIST day of May his squad
ron, with the Olympia as his flagship.
startled the world by the unprecedented feat
or destroying the entire Spanish fleet
and reducing fortified harbor without the
loss of single man. By this action in
Manila bay he sunk or captured the entire
Spanish naval force in Pacific waters. and
at one fell swoop destroyed SPANS naval
power in Pacific waters. This performance
loo tod
Admiral Schley on the Sd of July, when the
Atlantic squadron, under command of Ad-
mlral Cervera. comprising the Cristobal
Colon, the Almrante Oquendo, the Vizcaya,
the Infanta Maria Teresa and the torpedo
boats FUror and Pluton, were sunk in the
short space of two hours by the American
fleet, with the loss of but one man killed
and less than ten wounded. This engage
ment rendered Spain powerless, as it de-
stroyed at once and forever the only really
powerful, naval force remaining that Spain
possessed.
LA BOURGOGNE.
The day following this great victory, while
the nation was celebrating the glorious
news an accident occurred, which was des-
tined for many people to change their joy
into mourning and gloom. While steaming
through a dense fog sixty miles off Sable
Island the French line steamer La Bour-
gogne, from New York to Havre, colIided
with the British ship Cromartyshre. The
Bourgogne was making eighteen or twenty
knots an hour, while the British vessel was
making five with sails set. The shock was
terrific, and in ten minutes this superb liner
WIN the greater portion of her crew and
passengers, settled and sank. The Cromarty-
SHIRE while almost in a sinking condition
herself, at once proceeded to rescue as many
or the unfOrtunates as possible, but only
succeeded in rescuing 165 of the 725 persons
on board, the balance $50. perishinsr IS the
ship plunged downward to her ocean grave
Nearly all of the cabin passengers persisted,
the majority of the survivors being steerage
iInT
sengers told astounding tales of cruelty All
order for the time being was lost and men
and crew fought like wild beasts to secure
q seat or standing room in the lifebCats.
Women and children were thrust aside and
it was stated some men even committed
murder to escape from the doomed ship
At any rate, only one woman out of two
hundred was rescued, and to substantiate
the stories of the brutality a large propor-
ton of the crew was saved The bow of
the Cromartyshire was stove in and she
was partly dismantled. and had it not been
dered This. without eXcepti6n resulte9 in
greater loss of life than any other disaster
Of the year for any single accident or wreck.
WEST INDIAN HURRICANE
On the 18th of July severe storm raw
aged the northeast coast of England dam
aging much shipping and ravaging the coast,
leaving desolation and ruin in it's wake.
On the 18th of September a hurricane in
the British West Indies, in addition to de-
stroying thousands of buildings and render
ing $1,000 people homeless and destitute, cut
a wide swath in the shipping in that region
and killed 500 people This storm was widely
heralded and word cabled to all the West
Indian islands open to communication. In
spite of this vast amount of shipping was
damaged. Two vessels were sunk off the
Windward islands. The British ship Loanda
l, 447 tons. Captain Dodge, from Rio Janeiro:
the American bark Gray Lynwood of 592
tons, Captain Gilley, from New York for
Port Spain, both lying at Barbados besides
two barkentines, were blown out into the
ocean and cast ashore and wrecked at ST
Vincent British West Indies Extensive
damage was also done to the native vessels
many being blown out to and swamped
Following this news was received that the
Leopard, of Labrador. with a crew of eigh-
teen and twelve passengers, was lost during
q severe storm off the northwest coast Of
that region Sept q.
On the 2d Of October a severe hurricane
ragged in Georgia and along the coast Of
that State and South Carolina. The next
day reports began to come in of the ex-
tensive damage done. The entire sea coast
was submerged, and numerous vessels were