SENDING OUT THE MACKAY-BENNETT AND MINIA—BREMEN PASSENGERS SEE BODIES—IDENTIFYING BODIES—CONFUSION IN NAMES—RECOVERIES
A FEW days after the disaster the cable steamer Mackay-Bennett was sent out by the White Star Line to cruise in the vicinity of the disaster and search for missing bodies.
Two wireless messages addressed to J. Bruce Ismay, president of the International Mercantile Marine Company, were received on April 21st at the offices of the White Star Line from the cable ship Mackay-Bennett, via Cape Race, one of which reported that the steamship Rhein had sighted bodies near the scene of the Titanic wreck. The first message, which was dated April 20th, read:
"Steamer Rhein reports passing wreckage and bodies 42.1 north, 49.13 west, eight miles west of three big icebergs. Now making for that position. Expect to arrive 8 o'clock to-night.
The second message read:
"Received further information from Bremen (presumably steamship Bremen) and arrived on ground at 8 o'clock P. M. Start on operation to-morrow. Have been considerably delayed on passage by dense fog.
After receiving these messages Mr. Ismay issued the following statement:
"The cable ship Mackay-Bennett has been chartered by the White Star Line and ordered to proceed to the scene of the disaster and do all she could to recover the bodies and glean all information possible.
"Every effort will be made to identify bodies recovered, and any news will be sent through immediately by wireless. In addition to any such message as these, the Mackay-Bennett will make a report of its activities each morning by wireless, and such reports will be made public at the offices of the White Star Line.
"The cable ship has orders to remain on the scene of the wreck for at least a week, but should a large number of bodies be recovered before that time she will return to Halifax with them. The search for bodies will not be abandoned until not a vestige of hope remains for any more recoveries.
"The Mackay-Bennett will not make any soundings, as they would not serve any useful purpose, because the depth where the Titanic sank is more than 2000 fathoms."
On April 22d the first list of twenty-seven names of bodies recovered was made public. It contained that of Frederick Sutton, a well-known member of the Union League of Philadelphia. It did not contain the name of any other prominent man who perished, although it was thought that the name "George W. Widen" might refer to George D. Widener, son of P. A. B. Widener, of Philadelphia. The original passenger lists of the Titanic did not mention "Widen," which apparently established the identity of the body as that of Mr. Widener, who, together with his son, Harry, was lost.
The wireless message, after listing the names, concluded, "All preserved," presumably referring to the condition of the bodies.
A number of the names in the list did not check up with the Titanic's passenger list, which led to the belief that a number of the bodies recovered were members of the Titanic's crew.
MINIA SENT TO ASSIST
At noon, April 23d, there was posted on the bulletin in the White Star office this message from the Mackay-Bennett dated Sunday, April 21st:
"Latitude, 41.58; longitude, 49.21. Heavy southwest swell has interfered with operations. Seventy-seven bodies recovered. All not embalmed will be buried at sea at 8 o'clock to-night with divine service. Can bring only embalmed bodies to port."
To Captain Lardner, master of the Mackay-Bennett, P. A. S. Franklin, vice-president of the White Star Line, sent an urgent message asking that the company be advised at once of all particulars concerning the bodies identified, and also given any information that might lead to the identification of others. He said it was very important that every effort be made to bring all of the bodies possible to port.
Mr. Franklin then directed A. G. Jones, the Halifax agent of the White Star Line, to charter the Minia and send her to the assistance of the Mackay-Bennett. Mr. Jones answered this telegram, and said that the Minia was ready to proceed to sea, but that a southeast gale, which generally brings fog, might delay her departure. She left for Halifax.
NAMES BADLY GARBLED
On April 24th no wireless message was received from the Mackay-Bennett, but the White Star Line officials and telegraphers familiar with the wireless alphabet were busy trying to reconcile some of the names received with those of persons who went down on the Titanic. That the body of William T. Stead, the English journalist and author, had been recovered by the Mackay-Bennett, but through a freakish error in wireless transmission the name of another was reported instead, was one of the theories advanced by persons familiar with the Morse code.
BREMEN SIGHTED MORE THAN A HUNDRED BODIES
When the German liner Bremen reached New York the account of its having sighted bodies of the Titanic victims was obtained.
From the bridge, officers of the ship saw more than a hun-dred bodies floating on the sea, a boat upside down, together with a number of small pieces of wood, steamer chairs and other wreckage. As the cable ship Mackay-Bennett was in sight, and having word that her mission was to look for bodies, no attempt was made by the Bremen's crew to pick up the corpses.
In the vicinity was seen an iceberg which answered the description of the one the Titanic struck. Smaller bergs were sighted the same day, but at some distance from where the Titanic sank.
The officers of the Bremen did not care to talk about the tragic spectacle, but among the passengers several were found who gave accounts of the dismal panorama through which their ship steamed.
Mrs. Johanna Stunke, a first-cabin passenger, described the scene from the liner's rail.
"It was between 4 and 5 o'clock, Saturday, April 20th," she said, "when our ship sighted an iceberg off the bow to the starboard. As we drew nearer, and could make out small dots floating around in the sea, a feeling of awe and sadness crept over everyone on the ship.
"We passed within a hundred feet of the southernmost drift of the wreckage, and looking down over the rail we distinctly saw a number of bodies so clearly that we could make out what they were wearing and whether they were men or women.
"We saw one woman in her night dress, with a baby clasped closely to her breast. Several women passengers screamed and left the rail in a fainting condition. There was another woman, fully dressed, with her arms tight around the body of a shaggy dog.
"The bodies of three men in a group, all clinging to one steamship chair, floated near by, and just beyond them were a dozen bodies of men, all of them encased in life-preservers, clinging together as though in a last desperate struggle for life. We couldn't see, but imagined that under them was some bit of wreckage to which they all clung when the ship went down, and which didn't have buoyancy enough to support them.
"Those were the only bodies we passed near enough to distinguish, but we could see the white life-preservers of many more dotting the sea, all the way to the iceberg. The officers told us that was probably the berg hit by the Titanic, and that the bodies and ice had drifted along together."
Mrs. Stunke said a number of the passengers demanded that the Bremen stop and pick up the bodies, but the officers assured them that they had just received a wireless message saying the cable ship Mackay-Bennett was only two hours away fron{sic} the spot, and was coming for that express purpose.
Other passengers corroborated Mrs. Stunke.
THE IDENTIFED{sic} DEAD.
On April 25th the White Star Line officials issued a corrected list of the identified dead. While the corrected list cleared up two or more of the wireless confusions that caused so much speculation in the original list, there still remained a few names that so far as the record of the Titanic showed were not on board that ship when she foundered.
The new list, however, established the fact that the body of George D. Widener, of Philadelphia, was among those on the Mackay-Bennett, and two of the bodies were identified as those of men named Butt.
THE MACKAY-BENNETT RETURNS TO PORT
After completing her search the Mackay-Bennett steamed for Halifax, reaching that port on Tuesday, April 30th. With her flag at half mast, the death ship docked slowly. Her crew manned the rails with bared heads, and on the aft deck were stacked the caskets with the dead. The vessel carried on board 190 bodies, and announcement was made that 113 other bodies had been buried at sea.
Everybody picked up had been in a life-belt and there were no bullet holes in any. Among those brought to port were the bodies of two women.
THE MINIA GIVES UP THE SEARCH
When at last the Minia turned her bow toward shore only thirteen additional bodies had been recovered, making a total of 316 bodies found by the two ships.
Further search seemed futile. Not only had the two vessels gone thoroughly over as wide a field as might likely prove fruitful, but, in addition, the time elapsed made it improbable that other bodies, if found, could be brought to shore. Thus did the waves completely enforce the payment of their terrible toll.
{illust. caption = ISADOR STRAUS
The New York millionaire merchant and philanthropist who lost his life when the giant Titanic foundered at sea after hitting an iceberg.}
{illust. caption = ICEBERG PHOTOGRAPHED NEAR SCENE OF DISASTER
This photograph shows what is quite...}
Following is a list of those whose identity was wholly or partially established:
CRIMINAL AND COWARDLY CONDUCT CHARGED—PROPER CAUTION NOT EXERCISED WHEN PRESENCE OF ICEBERGS WAS KNOWN—SHOULD HAVE STAYED ON BOARD TO HELP IN WORK OF RESCUE—SELFISH AND UNSYMPATHETIC ACTIONS ON BOARD THE CARPATHIA—ISMAY'S DEFENSE—WILLIAM E. CARTER'S STATEMENT
FROM the moment that Bruce Ismay's name was seen among those of the survivors of the Titanic he became the object of acrid attacks in every quarter where the subject of the disaster was discussed. Bitter criticism held that he should have been the last to leave the doomed vessel.
His critics insisted that as managing director of the White Star Line his responsibility was greater even than Captain Smith's, and while granting that his survival might still be explained, they condemned his apparent lack of heroism. Even in England his survival was held to be the one great blot on an otherwise noble display of masculine courage.
A prominent official of the White Star Line shook his head meaningly when asked what he thought of Ismay's escape with the women and children. The general feeling seemed to be that he should have stayed aboard the sinking vessel, looking out for those who were left, playing the man like Major Butt and many another and going down with the ship like Captain Smith.
He was also charged with urging a speed record and with ignoring information received with regard to icebergs.
FEELING IN ENGLAND
The belief in England was that the captain of the Carpathia had acted under Ismay's influence in refusing to permit any account of the disaster to be transmitted previous to the arrival of the vessel in New York. Ismay's telegram making arrangements for the immediate deportation of the survivors among the Titanic's crew was taken to be part of the same scheme to delay if not to prevent their stories of the wreck from being obtained in New York.
Another circumstance which created a damaging impression was Ismay's failure to give the names of the surviving crew, whose distraught families were entitled to as much consideration as those whose relatives occupied the most expensive suites on the Titanic. The anguish endured by the families of members of the crew was reported as indescribable, and Southampton was literally turned into a city of weeping and tragic pathos. The wives of two members of the crew died of shock and suspense.
CRIED FOR FOOD
Mr. Ismay's actions while on the Carpathia were also criticised as selfish and unwarrantable.
"For God's sake get me something to eat, I'm starved. I don't care what it costs or what it is. Bring it to me."
This was the first statement made by Mr. Ismay a few minutes after he was landed on the Carpathia. It is vouched for by an officer of the Carpathia who requested that his name be withheld. This officer gave one of the most complete stories of the events that took place on the Carpathia from the time she received the Titanic's appeal for assistance until she landed the survivors at the Cunard Line pier.
"Ismay reached the Carpathia in about the seventh life-boat," said the officer. "I didn't know who he was, but afterward I heard the other members of the crew discussing his desire to get something to eat the minute he put his foot on deck. The steward who waited on him reported that Ismay came dashing into the dining room and said.
"'Hurry, for God's sake, and get me something to eat, I'm starved. I don't care what it costs or what it is. Bring it to me.'"
"The steward brought Ismay a load of stuff and when he had finished it he handed the man a two dollar bill. 'Your money is no good on this ship,' the steward told him.
"'Take it,' insisted Ismay. 'I am well able to afford it. I will see to it that the boys of the Carpathia are well rewarded for this night's work.'
"This promise started the steward making inquiries as to the identity of the man he had waited on. Then we learned that he was Ismay. I did not see Ismay after the first few hours. He must have kept to his cabin."
REPLY TO CHARGES
Mr. Ismay's plans had been to return immediately to England, and he had wired that the steamer Cedric be held for himself and officers and members of the crew; but public sentiment and subpoenas of the Senate's investigating committee prevented. In the face of the criticism aimed against him Mr. Ismay issued a long statement in which he not only disclaimed responsibility for the Titanic's fatal collision, but also sought to clear himself of blame for everything that happened after the big ship was wrecked.
He laid the responsibility for the tragedy on Captain Smith.
He expressed astonishment that his own conduct in the disaster had been made the subject of inquiry. He denied that he gave any order to Captain Smith. His position aboard was that of any other first cabin passenger, he insisted, and he was never consulted by the captain. He denied telling anyone that he wished the ship to make a speed record. He called attention to the routine clause in the instructions to White Star captains ordering them to think of safety at all times. He did not dine with the captain, he said, and when the ship struck the berg, he was not sitting with the captain in the saloon.
The managing director added that he was in his stateroom when the collision occurred. He told of helping to send women and children away in life-boats on the starboard side, and said there was no woman in sight on deck when he and William E. Carter, of Bryn Mawr, Pa., entered the collapsible boat—the last small craft left on that side of the vessel. He asserted that he pulled an oar and denied that in sending the three messages from the Carpathia, urging the White Star officials to hold the Cedric for the survivors of the Titanic's officers and crew, he had any intention to block investigation of the tragedy. Ismay asserted that he did not know there was to be an investigation until the Cunarder docked.
Mr. William E. Carter, of Bryn Mawr, who, with his family, was saved, confirmed Mr. Ismay's assertions.
"Mr. Ismay's statement is absolutely correct," said Mr. Carter. "There were no women on the deck when that boat was launched. We were the very last to leave the deck, and we entered the life-boat because there were no women to enter it.
"The deck was deserted when the boat was launched, and Mr. Ismay and myself decided that we might as well enter the boat and pull away from the wreck. If he wants me, I assume that he will write to me.
"I can say nothing, however, that he has not already said, as our narratives are identical; the circumstances under which we were rescued from the Titanic were similar. We left the boat together and were picked up together, and, further than that, we were the very last to leave the deck.
"I am ready to go to Washington to testify to the truth of Mr. Ismay's statement, and also to give my own account at any time I may be called upon. If Mr. Ismay writes to me, asking that I give a detailed account of our rescue I will do so."
TITANIC NOT FULLY INSURED—VALUABLE CARGO AND MAIL—NO CHANCE FOR SALVAGE—LIFE INSURANCE LOSS—LOSS TO THE CARPATHIA
SO great was the interest in the tragedy and so profound the grief at the tremendous loss of life that for a time the financial loss was not considered. It was, however, the biggest ever suffered by marine insurance brokers.
The value of the policy covering the vessel against all ordinary risks was $5,000,000, but the whole of this amount was not insured, because British and Continental markets were not big enough to swallow it. The actual amount of insurance was $3,700,000, of which the owners themselves held $750,000.
As to the cargo, it was insured by the shippers. The company has nothing to do with the insurance of the cargo, which, according to the company's manifest, was conservatively estimated at about $420,000. Cargo, however, was a secondary matter, so far as the Titanic was concerned. The ship was built for high-priced passengers, and what little cargo she carried was also of the kind that demanded quick transportation. The Titanic's freight was for the most part what is known as high-class package freight, consisting of such articles as fine laces, ostrich feathers, wines, liquors and fancy food commodities.
LOST MAIL MAY COST MILLIONS
Prior to the sailing of the vessel the postal authorities of Southampton cabled the New York authorities that 3435 bags of mail matter were on board.
"In a load of 3500 bags," said Postmaster Morgan, of New York, "it is a safe estimate to say that 200 contained registered mail. The size of registered mail packages varies greatly, but 1000 packages for each mail bag should be a conservative guess. That would mean that 200,000 registered packages and letters went down with the Titanic.
"This does not mean, however, that Great Britain will be held financially responsible for all these losses. There were probably thousands of registered packages from the Continent, and in such cases the countries of origin will have to reimburse the senders. Moreover, in the case of money being sent in great quantities, it is usual to insure the registry over and above the limit of responsibility set by the country of origin.
"Probably if there were any shipping of securities mounting up to thousands of dollars, it will be the insurance companies which will bear the loss, and not the European post-offices at all."
In the case of money orders, the postmaster explained, there would be no loss, except of time, as duplicates promptly would be shipped without further expense.
The postmaster did not know the exact sum which the various European countries set as the limit of their guarantee in registered mail. In America it is $50.
Underwriters will probably have to meet heavy claims of passengers for luggage, including jewelry. Pearls of one American woman insured in London were valued at $240,000.
NO CHANCE FOR SALVAGE
The Titanic and her valuable cargo can never be recovered, said the White Star Line officials.
"Sinking in mid-ocean, at the depth which prevails where the accident occurred," said Captain James Parton, manager of the company, "absolutely precludes any hopes of salvage."
LIFE INSURANCE LOSS
In the life insurance offices there was much figuring over the lists of those thought to be lost aboard the Titanic. Nothing but rough estimates of the company's losses through the wreck were given out.
LOSS TO THE CARPATHIA
The loss to the Carpathia, too, was considerable. It is, of course, the habit of all good steamship lines to go out of their way and cheerfully submit to financial loss when it comes to succoring the distressed or the imperiled at sea. Therefore, the Cunard line in extending the courtesies of the sea to the survivors of the Titanic asked for nothing more than the mere acknowledgment of the little act of kindness. The return of the Carpathia cost the line close to $10,000.
She was delayed on her way to the Mediterranean at least ten days and was obliged to coal and provision again, as the extra 800 odd passengers she was carrying reduced her large allowance for her long voyage to the Mediterranean and the Adriatic very much.
CAPTAIN E. K. RODEN, LEWIS NIXON, GENERAL GREELY AND ROBERT H. KIRK POINT OUT LESSONS TAUGHT BY TITANIC DISASTER AND NEEDED CHANGES IN CONSTRUCTION
THE tremendous loss of life necessarily aroused a discussion as to the cause of the disaster, and the prevailing opinion seemed to be that the present tendency in shipbuilding was to sacrifice safety to luxury.
Captain Roden, a well-known Swedish navigator, had written an article maintaining this theory in the Navy, a monthly service magazine, in November, 1910. With seeming prophetic insight he had mentioned the Titanic by name and portrayed some of the dangers to which shipbuilding for luxury is leading.
He pointed out that the new steamships, the Olympic and Titanic, would be the finest vessels afloat, no expense being spared to attain every conceivable comfort for which men or women of means could possibly ask—staterooms with private shower-baths, a swimming pool large enough for diving, a ballroom covering an entire upper deck, a gymnasium, elaborate cafes, a sun deck representing a flower garden, and other luxuries.
After forcibly pointing out the provisions that should be made for the protection of life, Captain Roden wrote in conclusion:
"If the men controlling passenger ships, from the ocean liner down to the excursion barge, were equally disposed to equip their vessels with the best safety appliances as they are to devise and adopt implements of comfort and luxury, the advantage to themselves as well as to their patrons would be plainly apparent."
VIEW OF LEWIS NIXON
Lewis Nixon, the eminent naval architect and designer of the battleship Oregon, contributed a very interesting comment. He said in part:
"Here was a vessel presumed, and I think rightly so, to be the perfection of the naval architect's art, yet sunk in a few hours by an accident common to North Atlantic navigation.
THE UNSINKABLE SHIP
"An unsinkable ship is possible, but it would be of little use except for flotation. It may be said that vessels cannot be built to withstand such an accident.
"We might very greatly subdivide the forward compartments, where much space is lost at best, making the forward end, while amply strong for navigation purposes, of such construction that it would collapse and take up some of the energy of impact; then tie this to very much stronger sections farther aft. Many such plans will be proposed by those who do not realize the momentum of a great vessel which will snap great cables like ribbons, when the motion of the vessel is not perceptible to the eye.
"The proper plan is to avoid the accident, and if an accident is unavoidable to minimize the loss of life and property."
VIEW OF ROBERT H. KIRK
The Titanic disaster was discussed by Robert H. Kirk, who installed the compartment doors in the ships of the United States Navy. Mr. Kirk's opinion follows:
"The Titanic's disaster will cause endless speculation as to how similar disasters may be avoided in the future.
BULKHEAD DOORS PROBABLY OPEN
"The Titanic had bulkheads, plenty of them, for the rules of the British Board of Trade and of Lloyds are very specific and require enough compartments to insure floating of the ship though several may be flooded. She also had doors in the bulkheads, and probably plenty of them, for she was enormous and needed easy access from one compartment to another. It will probably never be known how FEW of these doors were closed when she struck the iceberg, but the probability is that many were open, for in the confusion attending such a crash the crews have a multitude of duties to perform, and closing a door with water rushing through it is more of a task than human muscle and bravery can accomplish.
"A Lloyds surveyor in testing one of these hand-operated doors started two men on the main deck to close it. They worked four hours before they had carried out his order. If all the doors on the ship had worked as badly as this one, what would have happened in event of accident?"
MANIA FOR SPEED
General Adolphus W. Greely, U. S. A., noted American traveler and Arctic explorer, vehemently denounced the sinking of the Titanic and the loss of over 1600 souls as a terrible sacrifice to the American mania for speed. He gave his opinion that the Titanic came to grief through an attempt on the part of the steamship management to establish a new record by the vessel on her maiden voyage.
The Titanic, General Greely declared, had absolutely no business above Cape Race and north of Sable Island on the trip on which she went to her doom. Choosing the northern route brought about the dire disaster, in his mind, and it was the saving of three hours for the sake of a new record that ended in the collision with the tragic victory for the ghostlike monster out of the far north.
It was the opinion of General Greely, capable of judging after his many trips in quest of the pole, that neither Captain Smith nor any of his officers saw the giant iceberg which encompassed their ruin until they were right upon it. Then, the ship was plunging ahead at such frightful velocity that the Titanic was too close to avert striking the barrier lined up across its path.
DEADLY DANGER OF ICEBERGS—DOZENS OF SHIPS PERISH IN COLLISION—OTHER DISASTERS
THE danger of collision with icebergs has always been one of the most deadly that confront the mariner. Indeed, so well recognized is this peril of the Newfoundland Banks, where the Labrador current in the early spring and summer months floats southward its ghostly argosy of icy pinnacles detached from the polar ice caps, that the government hydrographic offices and the maritime exchanges spare no pains to collate and disseminate the latest bulletins on the subject.
THE ARIZONA
A most remarkable case of an iceberg collision is that of the Guion Liner, Arizona, in 1879. She was then the greyhound of the Atlantic, and the largest ship afloat—5750 tons except the Great Eastern. Leaving New York in November for Liverpool, with 509 souls aboard, she was coursing across the Banks, with fair weather but dark, when, near midnight, about 250 miles east of St. John's, she rammed a monster ice island at full speed eighteen knots. Terrific was the impact.
The welcome word was passed along that the ship, though sorely stricken, would still float until she could make harbor. The vast white terror had lain across her course,
{illust. caption = THE SHAPE OF AN ICEBERG
Showing the bulk and formation under water and the consequent danger to vessels even without actual contact with the visible part of the iceberg.}
stretching so far each way that, when described, it was too late to alter the helm. Its giant shape filled the foreground, towering high above the masts, grim and gaunt and ghastly, immovable as the adamantine buttresses of a frowning seaboard, while the liner lurched and staggered like a wounded thing in agony as her engines slowly drew her back from the rampart against which she had flung herself.
She was headed for St. John's at slow speed, so as not to strain the bulkhead too much, and arrived there thirty-six hours later. That little port—the crippled ship's hospital—has seen many a strange sight come in from the sea, but never a more astounding spectacle than that which the Arizona presented the Sunday forenoon she entered there.
"Begob, captain!" said the pilot, as he swung himself over the rail. "I've heard of carrying coals to Newcastle, but this is the first time I've seen a steamer bringing a load of ice into St. John's."
They are a grim race, these sailors, and, the danger over, the captain's reply was: "We were lucky, my man, that we didn't all go to the bottom in an ice box."
DOZENS OF SHIPS PERISH
But to the one wounded ship that survives collision with a berg, a dozen perish. Presumably, when the shock comes, it loosens their bulkheads and they fill and founder, or the crash may injure the boilers or engines, which explode and tear out the sides, and the ship goes down like a plummet. As long ago as 1841, the steamer President, with 120 people aboard, crossing from New York to Liverpool in March, vanished from human ken. In 1854, in the same month, the City of Glasgow left Liverpool for Philadelphia with 480 souls, and was never again heard of. In February, 1856, the Pacific, from Liverpool for New York, carrying 185 persons, passed away down to a sunless sea. In May, 1870, the City of Boston, from that port for Liverpool, mustering 191 souls, met a similar fate. It has always been thought that these ships were sunk by collision with icebergs or floes. As shipping traffic has expanded, the losses have been more frequent. In February, 1892, the Naronic, from Liverpool for New York; in the same month in 1896, the State of Georgia, from Aberdeen for Boston; in February, 1899, the Alleghany, from New York for Dover; and once more in February, 1902, the Huronian, from Liverpool for St. John's—all disappeared without leaving a trace. Between February and May, the Grand Banks are most infested with ice, and collision therewith is' the most likely explanation of the loss of these steamers, all well manned and in splendid trim, and meeting only the storms which scores of other ships have braved without a scathe.
TOLL OF THE SEA
Among the important marine disasters recorded since 1866 are the following:
1866, Jan. 11.—Steamer London, on her way to Melbourne, foundered in the Bay of Biscay; 220 lives lost.
1866, Oct. 3.—Steamer Evening Star, from New York to New Orleans, foundered; about 250 lives lost.
1867, Oct. 29.—Royal Mail steamers Rhone and Wye and about fifty other vessels driven ashore and wrecked at St Thomas, West Indies, by a hurricane; about 1,000 lives lost.
1873, Jan. 22.—British steamer Northfleet sunk in collision off Dungeness; 300 lives lost
1873, Nov. 23.—White Star liner Atlantic wrecked off Nova Scotia; 547 lives lost.
1873, Nov. 23.—French line Ville du Havre, from New York to Havre, in collision with ship Locharn and sunk in sixteen minutes; 110 lives lost.
1874, Dec. 24.—Emigrant vessel Cospatrick took fire and sank off Auckland; 476 lives lost.
1875, May 7.—Hamburg Mail steamer Schiller wrecked in fog on Scilly Islands; 200 lives lost.
1875, Nov. 4.—American steamer Pacific in collision thirty miles southwest of Cape Flattery; 236 lives lost.
1878, March 24.—British training ship Eurydice, a frigate, foundered near the Isle of Wight; 300 lives lost.
1878, Sept. 3.—British iron steamer Princess Alice sunk in the Thames River; 700 lives lost.
1878, Dec. 18.—French steamer Byzantin sunk in collision in the Dardanelles with the British steamer Rinaldo; 210 lives lost.
1879, Dec. 2.—Steamer Borussia sank off the coast of Spain; 174 lives lost.
1880, Jan. 31.—British trading ship Atlanta left Bermuda with 290 men and was never heard from.
1881, Aug. 30.—Steamer Teuton wrecked off the Cape of Good Hope; 200 lives lost.
1883, July 3.—Steamer Daphne turned turtle in the Clyde; 124 lives lost.
1884, Jan. 18.—American steamer City of Columbus wrecked off Gay Head Light, Massachusetts; 99 lived lost.
1884, July 23.—Spanish steamer Gijon and British steamer Lux in collision off Finisterre; 150 lives lost.
1887, Jan. 29.—Steamer Kapunda in collision with bark Ada Melore off coast of Brazil; 300 lives lost.
1887, Nov. 15.—British steamer Wah Young caught fire between Canton and Hong Kong; 400 lives lost.
1888, Sept. 13.—Italian steamship Sud America and steamer La France in collision near the Canary Islands; 89 lives lost.
1889, March 16.—United States warships Trenton, Vandalia and Nipsic and German ships Adler and Eber wrecked on Samoan Islands; 147 lives lost.
1890, Jan. 2.—Steamer Persia wrecked on Corsica; 130 lives lost.
1890, Feb. 17.—British steamer Duburg wrecked in the China Sea; 400 lives lost.
1890, March 1.—British steamship Quetta foundered in Torres Straits; 124 lives lost.
1890, Dec. 27.—British steamer Shanghai burned in China Seas; 101 lives lost.
1891, March 17.—Anchor liner Utopia in collision with British steamer Anson off Gibraltar and sunk; 574 lives lost.
1892, Jan. 13.—Steamer Namehow wrecked in China Sea; 414 lives lost.
1892, Oct. 28.—Anchor liner Romania, wrecked off Portugal; 113 lives lost.
1893, Feb. 8.—Anchor liner Trinairia, wrecked off Spain; 115 lives lost.
1894, June 25.—Steamer Norge, wrecked on Rockall Reef, in the North Atlantic; nearly 600 lives lost.
1895, Jan. 30.—German steamer Elbe sunk in collision with British steamer Crathie in North Sea; 335 lives lost.
1898, July 4.—French line steamer La Bourgogne in collision with British sailing vessel Cromartyshire; 571 lives lost.
1898, Nov. 27.—American steamer Portland, wrecked off Cape Cod, Mass.; 157 lives lost.
1901, April 1.—Turkish transport Aslam wrecked in the Red Sea; over 180 lives lost.
1902, July 21.—Steamer Primus sunk in collision with the steamer Hansa on the Lower Elbe; 112 lives lost.
1903, June 7.—French steamer Libau sunk in collision with steamer Insulerre near Marseilles; 150 lives lost.
1904, June 15. General Slocum, excursion steamboat, took fire going through Hell Gate, East River; more than 1000 lives lost.
1906, Jan. 21.—Brazilian battleship Aquidaban sunk near Rio Janeiro by an explosion of the powder magazines; 212 lives lost.
1906, Jan. 22.—American steamer Valencia lost off Cloose, Pacific Coast; 140 lives lost.
1906, Aug. 4.—Italian emigrant ship Sirio struck a rock off Cape Palos; 350 lives lost.
1906, Oct. 21.—Russian steamer Variag, on leaving Vladivostock, struck by a torpedo and sunk; 140 lives lost.
1907, Feb. 12.—American steamer Larchmond sunk in collision off Rhode Island coast; 131 lives lost.
1907, July 20.—American steamers Columbia and San Pedro collided on the Californian coast; 100 lives lost.
1907, Nov. 26.—Turkish steamer Kaptain foundered in the North Sea; 110 lives lost.
1908, March 23.—Japanese steamer Mutsu Maru sunk in collision near Hakodate; 300 lives lost.
1908, April 30.—Japanese training cruiser Matsu Shima sunk off the Pescadores owing to an explosion; 200 lives lost.
1909, Jan. 24.—Collision between the Italian steamer Florida and the White Star liner Republic, about 170 miles east of New York during a fog; a large number of lives were saved by the arrival of the steamer Baltic, which received the "C. Q. D.," or distress signal sent up by wireless by the Republic January 22. The Republic sank while being towed; 6 lives lost.
1910, Feb. 9.—French line steamer General Chanzy off Minorca; 200 lives lost.
1911, Sept. 25.—French battleship Liberte sunk by explosion in Toulon harbor; 223 lives lost.