Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1910-02-19
l56 PERSONS ARE
DROWNED IN WRECK
Steamer Crashes on Minorca Reef
and Only One Man Saved.
MEDITERRANEAN WAS WILD

One Of the Fiercest Gales Known In
Forty Years Sweeping the Ocean
Passengers Of the Vessels Were
Mostly French, and the Captain
Was One of the Most Careful Of
ficers Of the Line -
Palma, Islands Of Majorca, Feb.
12-Driven helplessly from her course
in n of the widest storms that has
swept the Mediterranean Sea in 40
years the French Transatlantic
Steamship Company's steamer Gener-
al Chanzy crashed at full speed, in
the dead of night, on the ~treacherous
reefs near the Island Of Minorca, and
all but 1 of the 157 souls on board
persisted.
The sole survivor is an Algerian
customs official, Marcel Rodel, who
was rescued by a fisherman, and who
lies in the hospital at Ciudadela, rav-
ing as a consequence of the tortures
through which he passed and unable
to give an account of the disaster.
In the ships company there were 81
passengers, of whom 30 were in the
first cabin. The crew numbered 70.
1t is not thought that any Americans
were aboard the liner. The ship was
in command of Captain Cayol, n of
the most careful officers of the line.
In his long experience he had never
before met with an accident. He had
intended to retire from the service
in the lear future.
The of the ChanZy were
mostly French officers and officials re-
turning to their posts in Algeria, ac-
companied by their wives and chill
dren: a few soldiers, some Italians
and Turks and one priest. The only
Anglo-Saxon names on the passenger
list were Green and Stakely. They
were members of an opera troupe OF
IL, which had been engaged to sing
at the Casino in Algiers.
The Chanzy is a total wreck. Steam
ers have been dispatched from Spain
and from points in the Belearic
Islands to the scene of the catastro-
phe.
Among the victims was the celebra'
ted Partisan music hall singer Francis
Dufor, as well as other prominent
musical hall favorites.
The General Chanzy struck at 9 p
m. Thursday after Captain Cayol, with
all his experience, had been unable to
cope with the tempest of almost un'
p~recedented violence. Other ships in
the neighborhood had safely ridden
out the storm, but the Chanzy fell
prey to the elements, was lifted off
her course through the Balearic Arch.
ipelago and brought up on the coast
of Minerca, in the vicinity of Ciud-
adela.
Fishermen at daybreak picked
Rodel up, clinging to a piece of wreck
age.
CONSERVATION In Marseilies.
Manseilles, Feb. 12.-The news OF
the wreck of the General Chanzy caus-
ed CONSERVATION in this city, whence
the vessel sailed Wednesday for AL
giers.
Relatives and friends OF the poss-
engers and crew rushed to the steam
ship office. imploring details of the &C
cident. Pathetic scenes were enacted
when they were informed that, with
the exception of one passenger, all on
board had persisted.
Steamer Nearly Engulfed.
Algiers, Feb. 12.-Ships arriving
here report that a wild tempest Is
raging in the Mediterranean.
The steamer Charles Roux, which
came into port, was forced temporar-
lily to take refuge in the harbor OF
Barcelona. Her captain declared that
the storm vas the severest that he
had seen in the Mediterranean in
many years. The gale suddenly swept
from the northeast to the northwest,
and his steamer was nearly engulfed.