The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1904-07-08

the SlQo OF the snip IN spite Oh the iran.
tic efforts Of the passengers to send II
off. The crash was heard on deck
Then the sea swallowed more victims
and pieces Of wreckage slowly drifted
towards the rock.
Vessel Was Doomed.
The upper deck Of the Norge at the
time of the disaster to the second boat
was only a few feet from the water
and it was apparent to every one that
only a few minutes more and she
would be plunged beneath the waves
In the final crisis those who were able
to remember clearly what happened
say that the shrieks and sObs died
away and that the quiet was only
broken by the curses of some men
whose fear found vent in blasphemy.
Three Boats Reach the Sea.
Three boats, it is known, success
frantically pulled away from the
doomed ship passing by poor wretches
who were still aloat and who vainly
begged to be taken on board, while
from the ship came long, d%espairing
cries. The women in the boat which
reached Grimsby hid their eyes. but
the men who were sitting facing the
Norge say they saw the captain still
on the bridge and the passengers on
deck in attitudes of resignation. While
they looked the Norge plunged for
ward, her stern shot up in the air and
she disappeared. The swimmers in
the vicinity of the ship were drawn
into the vortex, around which they
swirled like chips in the maelstrom.
But twelve minutes elapsed from the
time the ship struck until she sank.
A fine Scotch mist which was falling
at the time
Shut Out the Other Survivors
from the view of those who were
brought to Grimsby. The latter, soon
as their boat was clear of the scene Of
the wreck. devoted themselves to
thoughts of their own safety.
A jacket was tied to an a which
was in turn fastened in the bow of the
boat and a sailor, a Dane, took charge
of the boat. Men and women were
put to work keeping the boat afloat,
as a hole had been stove in her bow
when it was lowered from the ship.
An examination of the hold showed
that it did not contain a drop of water.
There were some biscuits, however,
and these were eater by the ship
hours from the time the ship struck at
7 a. m. June %. until they were picked
up by the Grimsby trawl, Sylvia.
So dazed were the survivors of the
Norge who were safely brought to
Grimsby that it was difficult to obtain
a connected
Story Of the Disaster.
Twenty-six persons in all reached here,
nineteen men. six women and one
child, a girl six years old. Every one
has relatives in America. They say
the great majority of those who went
down were on their way to join rela-
tives or friends located principally In
the northwestern states.
The sailor who had assumed COM
mand of the lifeboat that was brought
to Grimsby said.
81 saw only two other boats af1oat,
one a big lifeboat easily carrying sixty
persons and the other a smaller boat,
carrying possibly forty. No other
boats got away, though there were
eight on board"
Many deeds of heroism shine bright
ly through the pail of the catastrophe.
That of Jams Peters Jansen, who has
relatives in Brooklyn. N. Y, is told
, with admiration by the survivors. He
was m of the engineers of the Norge.
When the Ship Struck
he learned the extent Of the disaster
and went below to where his relatives
were and told them and those nearby
to go at once to the upper deck. He
accompanied them to the boats and
saw them safely on board. He was
urged to join them but said he must
return to the engine room and shout.
ing a farewell ran to his post of duty,
where he died.
Some of the male passengers, with
out a thought of self, placed women
and children in the boats, preferring
to remain behind rather than take ad.
vantage of their strength
The crew Of the Norge appear to
have behaved well after the first panic
when, it is said, the officers were com.
PEELED to drive them back from the
boats. But there apparently was no
discipline, the orders the captain
shouted from the bridge being
Misinterpreted or Unheard.
So far as the survivors here remem.
Der there was no systematic distribn
ton Of the people to the boats which
were not adequately manned. No at
tempt was made by any of the u
vivors to save property. There was
no time to make preparations.
The correspondent of the Associated
Press made a careful inquiry to dis
cover why the Norge was so far OF
her course. Rockhall reef is known to
every sailor On the North Atlantic and
is marked plainly on the charts. A
strong current sweeps in it's direction