THE STELLA DISASTER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXVI, Issue 11060, 11 May 1899, Page 3

THE STELLA DISASTER.

THRILLING EXPERIENCE OF PASSENGERS. ACTS OF HEROISM. HEARTRENDING SCENES AND INCIDENTS. PERSONAL NARRATIVES. We published yesterday some thrilling details of the wreck of the steamer Stella in the English Channel on Thursday, March 30. We give below a series of personal narratives supplied by survivors: —

Mr. James Parton, the manager of the American line of steamships in London, has furnished the following narrative: I embarked on the Stella with my wife, on Thursday, intending to spend Easter in the Channel Islands. We got under way at a-quarter past eleven, and at half-past twelve wo passed the Needles. The day was then fine, a«id it remained clear until a-quarter to three, when it became Hazy. This increased to a fog, and became still more dense, but 1 judge that at no time could wo see less than half a mile ahead. Our foghorn was sounded at regular intervals, and the captain was in his place on the bridge from the moment we ran into the haze. At a quarter to four o'clock a great mass of rock, apparently a hundred or more feet high, loomed up on the port side just abreast of us.

DISCIPLINE BEYOND ALL PRAISE. At this moment the ship's head was brought round to starboard, but it was too late to save the ship. We were apparently hemmed in by cruel rocks. The good vessel grazed against- one, and then, before she could be stopped, she careered over as she lore over another submerged rock. It was evident then that serious results must follow. At this trying moment the discipline on board was beyond all praise. The officers assured the passengers that if they remained calm and collected all would be well. Then the boats were lowered away, and although only about 12 minutes elapsed from the time of striking until the Stella foundered, four boats were loaded and got away. Whilst the boats were being prepared for launching, the stewards busied themselves iii giving out the lifebelts, and I scarcely saw anvonc without a bell.

PARTINGS BKTWKKK HUSBANDS AND WIVES. The coolness and resource of the officers was well seconded by I lie passengers gene- • rally. There was 110 nit: nor any wild • rushing for the boats. But the blanched faces and the partings between husbands and wives and others showed that all realised the peril. I got my wife into the second boat that left the ship, and I got. away myself in the last boat that left the: ship. 1 regard mv escape as entirely providential. The boat was just ordered away when, not icing a rope hanging from the • davit, T climbed up the davit and slid down : this rope, dropping into the boat as she moved off. We had barely time to get 1 50yds from the Stella when she foundered, and as it appeared to me she must have : broken in two. for as tlie after part slipped beneath the water, tho forward part fol- ' lowed, milking an acute angle as each disap-1 red. Four boats in all got away, and j this 1 consider not a bad record, as repre-' seiitiug only 12 minutes' work. In our boat 1 there were '& of us, and as the boat would only be certified for probably 18, our danger : was nut vet over. I

THE XIIHIT AT SEA. Indeed our experiences, until we were I picked lip, 15 hours later, cannot be described. All night long there was the danger of swamping or of being carried back by , the current and tide to the dangerous Casque! Rocks, on which our steamer came lo | grief. The hours were full of anxious fear | and foreboding. We had in tow the whole of the time a smaller boat, containing 10 , ladies, one gentleman, and a boy, with two sailors to man the oars. A treacherous sea was running the whole time, with the weather still thick. We toiled all night to keep our boats aw iv mmi the dreaded (."usque's, but ; we hardly ever knew our position till at half-past six the fog lilted, and we rejoiced to see hearing down in our direction a steamer which proved to lie the Lynx, from WcviuiHi'h. We were soon on hoard, and received the wa'nicsl welcome and most generous hospitably from the officers and passengers. A few minutes: later, to our joy. we saw the steamship Vera, from Southampton, hearing down on the two oilier boats, of whose proximity lo us we were ill ignorance until the lifting of tjie fog. I can only now again express my admiration and thankfulness for the truly British spirit of discipline and eool-headcdness under circtim- : stances calculated to unnerve the strongest. I 1 fully believe that had the Stella remained ' afloat five minutes longer all would have ! been saved.

'I'HE SPEED THROUGH THE FOG. Mr. Mult, of London, another passenger, gives this account:— we run into the fog 1 spoke to one of the crew on the high speed at which we were running in the fog. nil he replied that, it was not sufficiently thick to go slow, I said I did not consider it safe, and then went up alongside the lookout man. ( did not sec the rocks until we were upon them. On missing the large rock, the vessel made three distinct blimps upon submerged rocks; I ran down below and found all in confusion. I put a lifebelt 011 and went on deck again, expecting to have a swim. i heard the captain giving his orders to.si nelly from the bridge, that the women were to be saved first. The captain kept very cool, as also did the lirsl mate, who stood by (tie captain's side. The crew did their work well, and got the boats out very smartly. There was no panic. There were several passengers on the bridge who did not get into the boats, and when the vessel began to sink they jumped ovei the side. Many of these were drawn down by the suction when the vessel sank, and were drowned. Others must have been killed when the boiler exploded. I saw floating bodies near our boat, and I succeeded, with the help of another, in pulling one poor fellow into our boat. He was' almost exhausted. There we were creeping about in the fog for 15 hours, until the Southwestern Company's boat Vera picked us up and brought us into Jcisey. It is an experience such as I hope never to have in my lifetime again.

SAYING "GOOD-BYE" TO FRIENDS. Mr. Kingsnorth Bush, of Fulllam, states: —All went well until we reached the Casquets. The weather was thick with fog; the Stella was going about 18 knots an hour. I was on dock when the vessel struck and immediately everyone realised the danger and put on lifebelts, of which there were plenty. Four boats were lowered, but the collapsible boats were not touched until just as the vessel was going down. I bad two friends with me, .Air. Townsend and Mr. Green, of Wimbledon, both well-known business men. I left them on deck. Wishing them good-bye, I jumped into the water, and was pickcd up soon afterwards by a boat. I have not seen my friends since, and a telegram from Guernsey states that they are not on the list of survivors there. We drifted about for some hours, and strange to say we returned to the scene of the disaster without being aware that we had been driven back. We witnessed some very distressing scenes—passing several bodies still clinging to wreckage, and also a pantechnicon furniture van with a number of men on top of it. There wero 22 in our boat.

BURNING PAPER AS SIGNALS. Another passenger, Mr. Gallie, of Chatham, said that he was in his berth wlion the vessel struck, and was almost thrown out by the shock. " I assisted in lowering three of the boats," continued Mr. Gallie, and was one of the Inst to get in before ' leaving the sinking ship. I believe the boilers must have been relieved of some of the steam in them, otherwise there would have been a more terrible explosion. On the vessel striking, she listed to port, and within a quarter of an hour the Stella went down ' stern first. We had to pull hard to get I away. I saw several persons struggling in | the water with belts on, but as our boat | was full we could not render any assistance, j Our boat held 25, and the other boat which j kept us company had 15. At daybreak we j saw a big liner in the distance, but our shouts could not be heard. During the night' we burned every scrap of paper in the boat' as signals,' but'without attracting attention. In.the morning the passengers tied handkerchiefs together and fastened them to a pole to attract the notice of any passing vessel. The Lynx emerged very suddenly out of the , fog and picked us up' j ;

A BOY WHO PACKED HIS TOYS. . A Guernsey lady, coming over with her husband and child on a visit to her father, says she and her cliilrl were pressed into the boat by her husband, who refused her entreaty to be allowed to remain with him. " No, no. my darling," he said. " pray go for the sake of our children." He remained behind, and, it is believed, perished. This lady expressed surprise and admiration at the calmness and courage displayed by everyone. She noticed a lady friend of hers gathering up her luggage, and a little boy' arranging his toys, as though there was no danger or need for hurry. It is reported, but not confirmed, that both these were drowned. Another lady lost her husband and only child. The husband forced her into the boat, and would not follow himself. A ■ lady who lost her husband and child lias be- | come insane with grief, and she is driving ; about the island seeking for her lost ] ones. Some of the seamen state that they saw one large boat crammed with passengers. capsize. ! "0, REST IN THE LORD." | One of the most pathetic incidents with respect to. the wreck of the Stella, v.as the inspiring fortitude of the women under such heartrending circumstances, and especial reference was made to the impressive render- • ing of that vocal gem from Mcndelsshon's oratorio, "Elijah." entitled " 0, Rest in the ! Lord," by one of the lady passengers. Since < then it has transpired that Miss Greta AVil- j Hams, of Shepherd's Bush, was the singer, ■ and (writes a Press representative) last evening I was favoured with a few minutes' conversation with this lady and her eldor sister, Miss 'I lieresa, who shared the companionship of that sad, memorable night, for nearly 15 hours in an open boat, with ! three other ladies, and a dozen more of the ' passengers and crew. I

It needed but a glance to tell me that both these young ladies were still suffering from the effects of their recent experiences, but Miss"Greta was the more prostrate of the two.

"I should not have kept up so well as I : did but fur mv sister," was one of her first ] remarks, when, after an informal introduc- : tion at the hands of Mr. and Mrs. Williams, ' I was able to congratulate the ladies on their . happy escape from the fate which had, alas, j befallen so many others. | We kept close to each other throughout ,• that long, long night." | "Well, where were you," I asked, at the ; time that the Stella struck the rocks?" A\e were in a private cabin with our friend, Mrs Barnes, and were lying down, when suddenly we heard a rasping noise, and felt the shock of the .steamer striking. At once we rushed nut on the deck, and in a moment Mr. Humes came almiij with lifebelts, which he had pulled out from the nicks. We knew that siinuiliiiig fearful must have happened, and we heard the captain on the bridge give the order for the boats to be lowered, and for the ladies and children to he placed there first. The crew and ilie gentlemen passengers assisted us into one of them, and some nl the gentlemen ' followed soon after. We begged of Mr. Barnes to come too, but when "he saw tint his wile, my sister, and I were syfelv seated, he helped others with the lifebelts, and just before our boat, put oil' from the side of the ►hip lie waved his hand and went across to the other side to where a boat was being launched. That is the last we have seen of him." ,

Mr. Williams at. this point spoke of the long friendship he had enjoyed with ■Mr. Harms, who, for some years was the manager of one of ' the district branches of Pair's IJ.-nk in London, and added. " Hi- acted as those of us who know him would expect him to net. U was his nature so to do." Continuing the narration, Miss Williams went on to say how the incidents of that night seemed like a fearful dream, and they now could hardly realise what they had been ; through. ' ' "We had no wraps nor hats,' said her' sister, " for there had been no time to collect ■ anything, and our money and trinkets were . all left behind on the ship." i "Did you quite lose heart just then?" "At first, when we heard the nois»- o f tiie ! ship hie iking, and were being pulled 'inn the vortex, we all sal. shuddering in silence. . I h"ii we e.-.me jhmgsid" aimtli'T boat, wii:ih kept us close conipanv, except, for a few intervals in the log, thro'i..'hunt the night. We looked eagerly from time to Mine at watches, those of us who hail them, and lire nil dilli i"d. and we began after a few hours to reckon the time to ipse before morning." "Did you, Miss Willi..ins. or your sister, - hear the singing of hymns during the night from people in any of the boats?" ! " No; the only singing we had to cheer lis . was, as you kno\v, tint of Greta's." j " What could have been more beautifully . appropriate?" asked .Mrs. Williams. 1

"And those with us afterwards flunked Orel,i warmly, and said she hurl helped to inspire litem with faith and courage. There was silence for a long time after she ceased singing, but 1 know some of us felt more comforted." It must also hive had a strangely solemn significance to the toiling rowers in the neighbouring boat to have hoard near midnight ringing out acioss the waters and through the thickness of fin; fog the wondrous music of that beautiful melody, " 0, Rest in the Lord. Wait patiently for Him. and He shall give thee they heart's desires."

" I never before felt the power of music to be. so strong within me," said the courageous young singer, " and as I sang it seemed as though the. words possessed a new moaning. And then I felt and told Theresa that somehow I did not believe wo were all enduring this trouble and undergoing this trial for nothing — to be lost in the end. But it seemed as if the night would never end, and we did pity those urave men— fellows ! —who, pulled persistently through the night. One of the crew, I think he was called 'Charlie,' kept to the rudder, and the stoker, named 'Fred,' never seemed to tire, though he accidentally was hit by an oar soon after we left the ship.

" Once we saw a red light, and we shouted our loudest. I think (smilingly, added tho younger sister), Theresa's top soprano note was more powerful than the call of any of us, but we all did our best, and then we were warned by those in the other boat that the red light meant danger, and we could hear the beating of the surf against the rocks, and feel the motion of the waves as we were rowed away from that dangerous vicinity. " Sometimes as we drifted about we would hear the foghorn of the Casquets sounding quite close to —too close for our safety, and yet the sound seemed to make one feel ,i little less lonesome, knowing that it meant the presence of other living people who were safe ashore.

" It seemed as if the morning would never come, the hours dragged so wearily by; but when we saw the first glimpse of dawn, after the rain had ceased, and the lug had blown away, we all felt fresh courage. We could just discern a sail a long way off—perhaps it was a fishing smack—but although we tried to attract attention, we were not seen. Soon after the sun began to show above the horizon, and then, to our unbounded joy and thankfulness, we saw as it were the shadow of a steamer, with its trail of smoke, some miles away. When in a very short time we realised that it was coining closer and closer to us, the excitement in our little boat was so great that some wanted to stand up and wave their hands and shout for joy. Fortunately the warning to 'sit down' was promptly heeded, or there would have been still more danger for us. Fortunately we were soon put out of suspense, and when tho steamer Vera came near to lis we all seemed to have fresh strength and quickly clambered aboard, where every kindness and sympathy were shown to us till we were landed in Guernsey." A HARROWING EXPERIENCE.

One of ttie gentlemen passengers of tho illfated Stella, Mr. Roland Ellis Yesian, of Harrow, who was brought into Cherbourg on Saturday, has furnished a correspondent with a most graphic statement of the terrible experiences which he underwent after the vessel foundered. He says: —"The boats were ordered out. and four of them got away. So far as I could see, the first boats were nearly filled with women. .Eight minutes after the vessel struck she heeled over to port. At that moment the port life boat was being got out, and was got away. I was on deck until after the last boat went. The last I saw of the ■ captain was on the bridge. '1 he ship blow , up and parted as she settled down. It was -then a case of sauve qui pent. I jumped awav from the ship and dived away, but was'drawn down with her.' When I camo up I strelk my head on something, and then -■ found myself under,; a "capsized I .lifeboat._ I: was wearing a heavy, overcoat at the time, i but I managed to clamber on to the keel. There I was joined by nine others at inter-

vals, and all of them succeeded in clambering up in the same way that I had done. There were dozens of others floating round on wreckage. Tlisy could not swim to us, and we could not help them. They made piteous appeals for asistance.

A HEARTRENDING SCENE. "It was a heartrending scene. We drifted about at the mercy of the waves, and then one by one the cries round us ceased, as the poor victims became exhausted with the cold, and dropped off the wreckage to which they were clinging. It was awful to see them drown close by us. Amongst those whom I saw clinging to the wreckage near the boat were the chief officer and the chief steward. There were also a, few ladies who had lifebelts and were clinging to the wreckage. Four strong swimmers managed to reach us on the upturned boat, and altogether our total was raised to 11. 'We were all wet to the skin and' bitterly cold. Most of us had no hats. The son was lumpy, and we rolled and tossed about in distressing fashion. At nine o'clock at night, as nearly as I can judge, a big wave rolled under us and righted the boat. We were all thrown into the water again, but, with the exception of two, we managed to scramble into tile boat. The two who were then drowned were the cook and a fireman. They were quickly lost hi the darkness, and we conld do nothing to help them. Then, to our great distress, we found that the plug was out of the lifeboat. She tilled up almost at once to the gunwale, and was only kept afloat by her air tanks. The water washed out of the boat. ALL NIGHT IN A WATERLOGGED BOAT.

" nil through the bitter night we sat in the craft with water up to our waists. We were entirely unable to find a substitute to plug the hole with. Presently we saw a light, and our spirits revived. ' We got the oars out, but the boat was too waterlogged fur us to make way against the current, and to our despair we saw that we were drifting farther and farther away from the goal wo were striving to jnin. Another horror cam", upon lis at midnight. One of the passengers died from exhaustion. He was thrown overboard. Almost directly afterwards we found that our craft had drifted amongst the rocks, and that we were in the terrible race which prevails at times near Alderncy. Huge waves then continually broke over us. ft was as much as we could do to keep in the half-submerged boat. This misery lasted live minutes, but as wc came safely oiit of it, it gave us fresh heart to hope that we might survive.

DEATH OF A I,KIEF-STRICKEN MOTHER. "Afterwards, with Uic set of the tide, we drifted buck again towards the Casquets Light. Then the mother of the passenger who had died in Ihe boat, who had been grief-stricken at seeing tier son thrown overboard. also succumbed to the awful exposure. An able seaman named Johnson, a line old man. who had rowed incessantly, despite the fearful conditions that prevailed, and who had never tillered one word of complaint, fell back from his oar exhausted, and died on his thwart. l'olh he and the lady passenger were also thrown overboard. Still we did not give up hope. We yelled singly and together at. intervals throughout- the night, with the view of attracting help. The hours (ill dawn came seemed interminable. No words of mine can adequately describe our misery. The morning opened dull and foggy. 1 here was 110 hind then in sight. One of the firemen who had become unconscious, fell back on my shoulder. I held him in my arms until he died. I could not throw him overboard. About seven o'clock we saw Alderncy only about one mile and ahalf away. It put new strength into us, and though we were up to our waists in water we rowed with all our strength for hours, but the current was too strong, and, instead of gaining, we lost way. 'I hen we sighted two steamers. They seemed to be close by us. One of them stopped. We put up our handkerchiefs as distress signals, and yelled our hearts out. Hut she went on her way, and then we felt hat we were forsaken. UHIFTINt TO 'I'M FRENCH COAST.

"Hack again we drifted towards the French coast, where we afterwards learnt that we had been seen from the semaphore station at Monville. I'liey, it- seems, telegraphed to Cherbourg that the tug and lifeboat might lie sent to us, but of course we d! 1 not 1-.aril that, till afterwards. We took heart again and tried to pull to the shore, but we were too done up. There was no strength left in u?. All this time tlio body of the poor liiv.inan who had died ill unarms was washing about the boat. Then about, noon Edgar Anderson, a passenger who had been working like a Trojan at (lie oars, hove the body out of the boat There were now only eight of us left out of the fourteen, and each looked at the other to see who would be the next to go. Then we saw another steamer. She came certainly within a mile of us. Again we yelled and hoisted signals of distress, but once more, we were left to our fate, and the stcimer kept her course without stopping. We had now drifted into the. open sea. Big waves continually broke over the boat and drenched us. The coast of Franco was twenty miles away. When we were iii about the lowest stages of despondency, a small lug was sighted coming out from the land. We waved our signals to her with all the strength we had remaining, and kept this up for half an hour. Then to our ine:.])iessible joy we saw that she was heading towards us under full steam. It seemed 100 good to be true. We could hardly believe that they had really seen us until they responded to 'our signals.

RESCUED AT LAST. "Sho came up alongside us and proved to be tho tug Marsoussin, of Cherbourg, a Government service boat manned by veterans. '! hey picked us tip at two o'clock on Friday afternoon. None of us had had a morsel of food or drop of drink for just twentyfoul' hours, ami our thirst had become awful. More than that, we were nearly all suffering from cramp in the stomach and in our limbs, and some of those with us had no coats except those they had taken from the dead men. Another night and surely all would have died, as tho boat was getting lower and lower in the water. Host fortunately, the people in the tug brought out charcoal fires, and provided us with hot wine, and dry clothes and blankets. Tho kindness wo received from all the French people is beyond praise. All the Cherbourg port authorities, from Admiral de la Gigonnicre downwards, most kindly came to see us, and they did all they possibly could for our comfort. They took us to Mr. Haag, our Acting Consul, who supplied all our wants. Tie sailors of the tug declined all the rewards we offered them, saying proudly 'Nous snntmes raarins de I'etat.' They were a splendid crew, sailors every inch of them."