Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1906-11-29
BIG LINERS CRASH.
SEA CLAIMS MANY VICTIMS OF
COLLISION.
Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse Is
Rammed by the Orinoco After
Leaving the Harbor of Cherbourr
Panic on Both Vessels,

In terrific collision off Cherbourg
France, between two ocean liners late
Wednesday night thirteen lives were
lost~and a number of passengers and
members Of the crews were injured
The crash, in which the North German
Lloyd steamer Kaiser Wilhelm der
Crosse was struck by the British royal
mail steamer Orinoco. disabled the for
mer vessel so that it had to abandon
the voyage to New York.
The Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse and
the Orinoco both We're outward bound
from southampton via Cherbourg, the
one for New York and the other for
West Indian ports. The shock was
terrific, causing panic among the pas
sengers on board the vessels especially
among the emigrants. On the Orinoco
three men and woman were killed
and six women and a man were in
Jured, and five persons were thrown
overheard and drowned OF the two
steamers the Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse
is said to have sustained the greater
damage, and has a hole in one side.
-Four Steerage passengers on the Kaiser
were killed and twelve injured The
damage to the Orinoco was confined to
her bows.
Going Seventeen Knots an Hour.
When the collision occurred the Kais-
er was steaming at the rate of seven
teen knots an hour. The Orinoco was
bound for Cherbourg. The commander
of the Orinoco asserts that he signaled
that he was going to starboard of the
North German Lloyd vessel, but that
the latter held her course across the
Orinoco's bows and went to port of the
Orinoco only when it was too late. The
engines of the OrinOco, it is said, were
reversed as soon as it appeared that
an accident would occur, but she crash
ed into the starboard bow of the Kaiser
Wilhelm der Crosse, making a breach
Twelve feet wide. The stem of the
Orinoco above the water-line was car
ried away as the vessels cleared after
the collision. The shock threw all the
passengers on the Kaiser from their
feet. The grinding of the Orinoco's
bow into the steerage of the German
vessel instantly killed four persons,
among them a girl II years old.
Panic on the OrinOco.
The captain of the Orinoco ordered
boats to be cleared away, but the panic
on board was general. Some of the
crew jumped into and launched two of
her boats and several frenzied women
attempted to get into them as they were
oeing lowered over the side. One boat
was swamped when it struck the wa
ter.
A number of small boats from Cher
bourg put out to the scene of the col
lision and rescued some of the sailors
and passengers who were struggling in
the waves, but five of the crew of the
drowned.
The Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse had
about 260 first-clasS passengers, 200 sec
ond-claSs and about 700 steerage. The
Kaiser is a twin-screw schooner-rigged
vessel She is of approximately $4,000
IONS, GIG feet long, GO feet beam and
80 feet depth of hold. She was built
at Stettin Germany, in 1897, and is
commanded by Captain Engelbart.
The Orinoco, A. c.. Farmer MASTER is
screw steamship of 1851 tons. She
is 400 feet Z inches long, 40 feet beam
and SO feet inches depth Of hold She
was built at Grennock, Scotland, in
1856