The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-07-08
APPALLING DISASTER
ON THE ATLANTIC
Over ov,en 7unured Danish
and Norwegian Emigrants
Drowned.
VESSEL STRIKES A REEF
Steamship Norge, Trusted Ocean Liner,
Met With Accident and Only
Twenty-Seven Out of 500
Souls Saved.

sSS'sJSSSSh WV VI ~
Souls Saved.
London, July 5.-Over 200 Danish and
Norwegian emigrants bound for New
York are believed to have been drowned
in the north Atlantic on June %.
Out of nearly 500 souls on board the
Danish steamer Norge, which left
Copenhagen 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
Rockali. whose isolated peak rises from
a deadly Atlantic reef some zoo miles
Off the west coast of Scotland.
Early on the morning of last Tues
day the Norge which was out of her
course in heavy weather, ran onto the
Rockall reef. which. in the distance.
looked like a ship under full sail.
The Norge was quickly backed off.
but the heavy seas poured in through a
rent through her bows.
The emigrants. who were then await
ing breakfast below, ran on deck. The
hatchwaTs We're scarcely built for these
hundreds OF souls and they became
clogged.
The Norge quickly began TO go down
by the head. Eight boats We're lowered.
and into these the women and children
were hmriedly put. Six of these boats
smashed against the side of the Norge.
and their helpless inmate We're caught
up by the heavy seas.
Two Boatloads Get Away.
Two boatloads got safely away from
the side of the sinking ship, and many
of the emigrantS who We're left on
board. Selling life belts. threw them
selves into tn, San a,1l Iy-a-a .|rnu,,al
Captain Gundel, so say the Survivors.
stood on the bridge until the vessel
could be seen nc more. The vessel
foundered suddenly. and some 600 ter
rified people We're thrown into the wa
ter or drowned within the sinking ship.
Those who could swim tried to reach
the boats. but these We're already 90
full. and their occupants beat off the
drowning wretches With oars.
The boats kept together for some
hours.
Practically all of their occupants were
passengers, and We're not used TO hand
ling such craft. The boat occupied by
the survivors landed at Grimsby was a
lifeboat.
We're successfully launched. the other
w 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 lifeboat
took place at S o'clock on the morning
of June %. the survivors consisting of
twenty men, one of them a n six
women and a girl.
Story of a Survivor.
One of the survivors said that when
he got on deck the Norge was half sub
merged and vas rapidly getting lower
in the water. Halt mad With fright,
the survivors all struggled for places in
the boats. They fought their way To
the big lifeboat. n an officer slowed
In the six women and the girl and told
the men to get in. The officer then
took charge and got the boat away from
the side of the Norge. Seeing that the
boat was already overloaded. the Of
ficer, With great heroism. jumped into
the water I'M tried to board another
boat which was not so full. He failed
N was drowned.
In the sea by this time was a mass
of struggling men, women n children.
gasping and choking from the effects of
the water. The boat rowed clear of this
seething inferno, and just as she drew
away the Norge went down.
Peter Nelson, one of the survivors.
described as a young American. said:
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 We're we'll cared for on board
the trawler. All of us lost our entire
belongings. We had no time in that
fierce fight for life to think of anything
but of getting seats in the boat"
The only hope. except for those known
to have escaped. is that some few Of
the emigrants might have been washed
upon the barren rock. Their chance of
being rescued even then is practically
nil, for vessels sailing the north At
lantic give the rock as wide a berth as
possible.
The news of this disaster. which, it
Is feared, in it's death record is great
er than any previous tragedy of the
Atlantic, came with the steam trawler
Saliva to Grimsby. The Saliva had
been on a fortnight's cruise around the
Hebrides. By a lucky chance she
steamed further west than is usual
for Grimsby trawlers and fell in with
the survivors of the Norge, who for
t~wenty-four hours had been tossed
about in a small boat on the rough wa
tiers OF the north Atlantic.
Rescued Twenty-Seven.
The steam trawler Saliva put into
Grimsby late Sunday night with TWEEN
ty-seven rescued Sc~andinavians aboard.
Only one Of them could speak English.
He said:
w left Copenhagen June %. There
We're 700 semigrants, Norwegians.
Swedes. Danes and Firms, on board.
The crew numbered about eighty.
All went well until June %. l lay
in my bum waiting for breakfast. We
heard a little bump. then another
bump. and then l rushed on deck.
II saw at onc hat something serious
had happened. and l made a dash be-
low to gather up my few belongings.
Scores were rushing on deck. and
the hatchway was crowded with emf
grants. They were launching boats and
rushing into them. but there vas no
panic. -Four or five were in the boat
into which l got. u we cleared the
ship. Luckily for us, in our party was
the only seaman from the Norge who
escaped, and he was able to navigate
our little boat
w saw two other boats capsize, ow-
ing to the heavy weather. and because
no n could navigate them.
w made straight away, ano when
we last saw the Norge a large number
of einigrants were on the deck. Cap
tain Gundel stood on the bridge.
Dozens of passengers had jumped
into the sea. They Wore life belts, but
were drowned before our eyes. After.
twenty-fOur hours the Saliva bore down