The Savannah morning news., 1904-07-04
OVER 700 EMIGRANTS WERE LOST
WHEN THEIR SHIP WENT DOWN
WERE BOUND
FOR new YORK
WHEN A ROCK WAS STRUCK.
OUT OF NEARLY 500 ONLY 27 ARE
KNOWN TO BE ALIVE.

She Struck the Is1eJ OF fOcAh1t,
200 Miles West of ScOtIand-Sank
soon After-Only Three Boats Put
OF from the Steamer-But One Has
Reported.
London, July 3.-Over 700 Danish and
Norwegian emigrants, bound for New
York, are believed to have been drown
ed in the North Atlantic on June 2S.
out of nearly 500 souls on board the
Danish steamer Norge, which left CO.
penhagen June %, only twenty-seVen
are known to be alive, and for the rest
no hope is held out.
When last seen the Norge was sink
ing where she struck on the islet OF
Rockall, whose isolated peek raises it
self from a deadly Atlantic reef $50
miles off the west coast of Scotland.
Early on the morning of last Tues
dav the Norge which was out of her
course in heavy weather, ran onto the
Rockall reef, which in the distance
looks like a ship under full sail.
The Norge was quickly backed off,
hut the heavy seas poured in through
q rent in her bows.
The emigrants, who were then await
ing breakfast below, ran on deck. The
hatchways were scarcely built Tor
these hundreds of souls and became
clogged.
The Norge quickly began to so down
nv the head Eight boats were low
cred and into these the women and
children were hurriedly put. Six OF
these boats smashed against the side or
the Norge and their helpless inmates
we're caught up by the heavy seas.
Two boatloads got safely away from
the side of the sinking ship and many
of the emigrants who were lett on
hoard. seizing life belts, threw them
selves into the sea and were drowned.
Captnin stood at His Post.
Cant. Gundel. so say the survivors,
stood on the bridge of the doomed YES
sel until IT could be seen no more.
The boats kept together some hours
Practically all of their occupants were
passengers, and not used to handling
such craft. The boat occupied by the
survivors landed at Grimsby was
lifeboat.
One account says that three boats
we're successfully launched, the other
two holding about ten persons each.
The lifeboat made faster progress and
fell in with the Saliva. What became
of the other boats is not yet known
The rescue of those on the life boat
took place at 8 o'clock on the morn
ing of June 20, the survivors consist
ing of twenty men, one of them sea-
man, six women and a girl.
One of the survivors said that when
he got on deck the Norge was half
submerged, and was rapidly getting
lower in the water. Half mad with
fright, the survivors all struggled for
places in the boats. They fought their
way to the big lifeboat and an officer
slowed in the six women and the girl
and then told the men to get it. The
officer then took charge and got the
boat to the side of the Norge.
Seeing that the boat was already
overladen, the officer with great her.
oism jumped into the water and tried
to board another boat which was not
so full. He failed and was drown
ed.
Fierce Fight for Life.
In the sea by this time was mass
of struggling men, women and chill
dren, gasping and choking from the
effects of the water. They tried to
get in the already overladen boat,
but were beaten off with oars. The
boat rowed clear of this seething in
ferno and just as she drew away, the
Norge went down.
Peter Nelson, one of the survivors,
described as a young American, said:
For some hours we rowed in COM
pany with the other boats, but the
strong tide drifted us away from the
Others and nothing has been seen of
them since. The Saliva picked us up
and we were we'll cared for on board
the trawler.
All of us lost our entire belongings.
we had no time in that fierce fight
Tor life to think of anything. but the
getting of seats in the boat"
story of "A Passenger.
The steam trawler Saliva put into
Grimsby late tonight with twenty
seven rescued Scandinavians aboard.
Only one OF the emigrants saved could
speak English. He said:
He said:
We left Copenhagen June %. There
We're 700 emigrants. Norgwegians,
Swedes, Danes and Firms on board.
The crew numbered about eighty.
"All went we'll until June 2s. lay
IN my bunk waiting for breakfast We
had little bump, then another bump,
and then rushed on deck.
saw at once that something Sc
rious had happened and / made a
lash below to gather up my few be-
longings.
Scores we're rushing on deck, and
the hatchway was crowded with emf
grants. They were launching boats
and rushing into them, but there was
no panic.
-Four or FIVE were in the boat into
which / got and we cleared the ship.