| Show frpgue fram the ekly day book oct 2 LOSS OF thel STEAMER AUSTRIA horned arsea september lah lyli iiiI at 45 olt 01 long only 68 persons person aved saved out of nearly immediately on he the arrival of the lotus at halifax the agent of the associated press I 1 bo boarded ardd her and obtained the following particulars tic ulars of the disaster to the austria maj uri MR CHARLES charnes I 1 BREWS NARRATIVE 1 I 1 took passage at southampton on the ath in iche the steamship austria capt heydt ma mann mand aj which left hamburg on the ad we sare salted at a hive five PM rm the eve evening ning being a little misty we in in consequence anchored between the lle lie ile of wight liht and the main land sailed bain again 0 at four on the following morning in th weighing anchor an anfort unfortunate morning accident ent occurred by which one of the crew lost his life owing to some mismanagement the anchor ran ou out whirling the capstan ro roalnd ind with terrific force antl and hurling the men in all directions two were severely injured and one thrown overboard he be ia is supposed to have been instantly killed as be he never rose to the surface from the tie tle time the ship was laid on her course we experienced strong we westerly stirly winds on the the weather was more fay favorable orabie and on the a speed of eleven knots had been attained and all were in high hopes of reaching new york by the at a little after 2 PM I 1 was on the quarter deck I 1 saw a dense volume of smoke burst from the after entrance of the steerage some women ran aft exclaiming the ship is on firel fire what will become of us the ship was instantly put puta ruta speed at which she continued until th the e magazine exploded from which I infer the engineers were instantly suffocated I 1 only oaly walked from where I 1 was on the quarter deck cleck to the waist of the ship when I 1 saw the flames breake breaking g through the lights amidships As the shi ship was head bead to the wind windy the fire traveled wit with fearful rapidity it I 1 then e n went to the man at the wheel ands and told him to put the vessel with wab her side to the wind he hs hesitated irate d probably ably did not understand me as he was a native of hamburg I 1 then got a german gentleman to speak to him at this time I 1 say saw some pe persons esons letting down the boat on the port bide side of the quarter dack deck what became of the boat I 1 dont know but think she was crushed under the acre screw w I 1 then went to let a boat over from the starboard side of the quarter d deck eck but the moment we laid our hands on the th ropes there were so many people who crowded into it that we could not lift it off the blocks we therefore left if for a few minutes until the people got out when we returned and launched it over the side of the ship when the people all rushing into it again it descended with great violence into the water and was instantly swamped all the people be ing washed out excepting three who held on to i the sides we then let down a rope and pulled up one person who proved to be the steward another in the act of being hauled up was strangled by the rope the fire now came on too fiercely to attempt to get up any more from the swamped boat all the first cabin passengers were on with the thie exception of a few gentlemen who must have been smothered in the smoking room many of the second cabin passengers girs were also aiso on the poop but a number of them got shut into their cabin by the fire some of 0 them were pulled up through the ventilator but the greater number could not be extricated the last woman who was drawn up said there were six already suffocated we now perceived d that the ship bad got h her er head bead to the wind again so that the flames came over the quarter deck in consequence of the crowd I 1 could not get to the wheel house to ascertain the reason but I 1 was informed that the helmsman had debert desert cd ed his post and that the vessel being left to herself headed to the wind of other her own accord at this time the scene on the quarter deck was indescribable and truly heartrending heart rending passengers were rushin rusbin rushing frantically to and fro husbands seeking th their air w wives ives wives wivel wives in in search of their husbands relatives looking after rela tives lives mothers lamenting the loss of their children some wholly paralyzed by fear others madly crying to be saved but a few perfectly calm and collected the flames pressed so closely upon them that many jumped into the ther sea relatives clasped in each others arms leap leaped e d over an and d met rhet a watery grave two girls supposed to be sisters jumped over and bank sank kissing each other A missionary and wife leaped leaded into the sea together and the stewardess and assistant steward arm in in arm followed one hungarian gentleman with seven lino fine children four of them girls made his wife jump in then thin blessed his six eldest children made them jump in one after the other androl and followed them with an infant in his own arms 1 I about this time was standing outside the bulwarks bulwa holding on by the davits leaning out to avoid the flames which were leaping towards me I 1 saw a boat under me spinning by a rope still attached to the ship as the oars were tied in her I 1 thought if 1 I could getto get to her I 1 would be enabled to save myself arid and others I 1 let lei myself down by a ro rope e 1 passing over a man who was cili clit clinging fing to i it t but U t 11 ho refused to come with me I 1 took out a penknife to cut the tackle the lar large blade broke and nd I 1 then severed it with t the te e small blade the ship passed ahead As the screw approached ched I 1 found the boat drawn toward towards it I 1 tried to keep the boat off but the screw caught and capsized her over me I 1 dived away from the ship and came to the surface biear near a boat which was keel upwards I 1 got on her and by pressing on one side witt with with the assistance si of a wave she righted but was still swamped the oars had bad been knocked out by the screw the only thin thing g I 1 could find in her to paddle with was some I 1 athe nailed together as a sheathing for the sides when I 1 looked around the sh ship was 9 a quare ter of a mile away from me I 1 could see the thel ladies and gentlemen jumping off the poop into the water in twos and threes some of of the ladies in fl flaites fla moes toes several hesitated to leap from the burning ship until the last moment as the height was wag twenty two feet and were only at length compelled to throw themselves off to avoid a more painful death in half an hour not a soul was to 0 be seen on the poop I 1 pulled after the ship and kicked picked up a german who was swimming strong strongly y I 1 got him beside me on the boat and we paddled after the shi ship with the lath I 1 now saw a vessel under sail approaching she reached the steamer about 5 PM ru we continued pulling towards them and about half balf past seven after being five hours inthe in the water got within hail ball of the sailing vessel which put offa off a boat and took us on board she proved to be the tho french bark maurice captain cartain a ernest raaul renaud t Nantes of t bound from arm newfoundland for f oi the th isle of bourbon with fish she had up to that tim time rescued forty forte lias Ilas passengers of the burning steamer chiefly taken off the bowsprit though a few i were picked up floating around at about eight one of the metallic hoats boats came up with about twenty persons including tiie the first and third officers afterwards three or four men were picked up floating on a piece of the broken boat the second officer was taken up having been swim swimming mini with noth nothing irig to float him for six hours the second arid and third officers were severely burned one male geri gerl ger was burned frightfully and some other pa male maie passengers slightly they were but six women saved three of whom were burnedine burned one arfa shocking manner captain renaud acted with the utmost kindness he lie gave clothes as far as he be could furnish them to the suffering passengers and acted as nurse doctor and arid surgeon to the burned people li dressing the wounds of the females with a delicacy and tenderness that evinced a lin b benevolent ene fofe nt and amiable disposition I 1 idid edid I 1 did not see an officer of the ship during the fire and am certain that there was not oneff them or the crew on the poop except a man at the wheel for a short time I 1 understood that when the captain heard livard of the fife fire he rushed on deck without a cap and ehen ihen he saw the flames exclaimed we are all lo 10 lost st lie he tried to get out a boat which when let down was swamped and he be whether or not I 1 do riot not know khow fell into the 66 sea and was soon lefthar left far behind the fourth officer was in this boat he be but cut her loose from the davits she was carried under the screw and smashed and beveral several in her drowned three or four men escaped cap d on a fragment and were picked up by the maurice as before stated about the t e same time one metallic iq life boat was let down from the port bow and swamped but got cleared cleaned away with about thirty t three iree persons in her i including the first and arid third officers and several sov women the men in n this boat capsized her two or three times in trying boclear to clear her of water ten persons were thus drowned including clouding some women bome n they afterwards baided bailed her ou out with life preservers cut in hi two and pulled to the maurice having picked up two or three passengers before reaching the P barik baric altogether there were sixty seven souls taken taker into the maurice during the night A norwegian bark came tip up with the steam erthe next morning and arid a boat was observed going around the burning ship they may have picked up a lew hew persons but bat only a very few the maurice had bad no communication with the norwegian at about 7 the maurice sailed tailed for fa fayal al t to 0 d deposit the resau rescued e d passengers at about about 2 the same ae afternoon she fell felt in with tb the e bark lotus capt capi ot of yarmouth nova scotia from liverpool ool for halifax As I 1 was anxious to get on british territory ca capt pt kindly gave me passage he was also anxious all the american citizens but there was such a rush of foreigners into the boats that only billy one load of eiel eleven e n could be got oer off on and eve even ll 11 several of these were foreigners for eignus the fire is known tp to li have va arisen from very culpable negligence of some atile crew crew creo th the e captain and surgeon considered it expedient to fumigate the steerage with budline I 1 g tar th the P operation was to be performed by the boatswain under the superintendence odthe of the officer the boatswain heated the end of a chain abail to bipin dip in tar to produce smoke the end eid became I 1 too hot to hold and he let it drop upon tho deck to which it set fire the tar upset arld and immediately all abent was ii in I 1 flames A feeble attempt was made to 0 o extinguish it but without effect there wab was nothing notel ing at hand band to meet buch such an emergency the rescued passengers saved nothing but the clothes on their backs and even th the e greater part of these were torn off and ather otherwise i lost six hundred souls were supposed to be on board incle including aing ding many women and children I 1 known t tobe e saved f 68 lost whose names are known lost loit whose alios paines names are unknown i fi i 1 1 1 total total number dumber lost |
