Clark, William B. - 1898

On 4 July 1898 shortly before five in the morning La Bourgogne collided with the British sailing ship Cromartyshire about 60 nautical miles (69 mi; 110 km) south of Sable Island near Nova Scotia during a dense fog.  The ship was apparently traveling at full speed despite visibility later estimated at approximately 20 yards.

Captain Oscar Henderson of Cromartyshire was sailing sounding his fog horn and heard a ship's whistle but was unable to determine its direction.  His ship collided with La Bourgogne about midships on the starboard side while most passengers were asleep in their compartments.  The liner's compartments adjacent to the collision point filled immediately, starboard side lifeboats were damaged and the ship took a sharp list to starboard making launching of port side lifeboats difficult.

As the ship started to list and the stern went under, an undisciplined rush for lifeboats began.  La Bourgogne sank just over half an hour after the collision.  The Cromartyshire survived the collision, but her crew mistook the La Bourgogne's whistle and signal rockets for an offer of assistance, and they did not realize what was happening until the whistle fell silent.  Around 5:30 am, the fog thinned out, and the crew of the Cromartyshire spotted and began rescuing survivors from La Bourgogne.

At the time, La Bourgogne was carrying 506 passengers and 220 crew, of whom 549 were lost.  Of the 173 survivors, fewer than 70 were passengers, with only one woman rescued out of approximately 300 on board.  All children perished.  Almost all first class passengers died in the disaster, with survivors largely limited to steerage passengers and sailors.  According to survivor accounts, the ship's officers remained at their posts after the collision, with all officers except for the purser failing to survive.

Following the disaster sensational reports circulated that the crew had refused to aid passengers in the water, to the point of stabbing them or hitting them with oars.  Surviving crew members required police protection upon their arrival in New York and the French government covered the tragedy up.

**  Status: Drowned  **
Country of Origin:  United States
Occupation:  Custom house broker from New York

You can visit the memorial page for Mr. William B. Clark.

**  For the most complete and up-to-date information that is added as it is discovered, see the "Bio" section of this blog for La Bourgogne.  **

553 LIVES LOST.

Many Sank to Death With the La Bourgogne.

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MURDER AND VIOLENCE

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Three Jeannette People Among This Steamer are Among Those Who are Lost

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But One Woman Saved Out of 163.

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A telegram was received here, Wednesday forenoon, which told of the sinking of the French Liner, steamship, La Bourgogne, off the coast of Halifax.  As soon as the information was received, a Dispatch reporter interviewed our steamship agents and the result of his investigations was, that he learned that Mr. Arthur Materne, of Fifth street, had sold tickets to Mr. Joseph Azelvandre, of West Jeannette, and an aged gentleman named John Remillieux and a boy aged 11 years named John Premier, who had been visiting relatives during the past year and who was on his way to his parents in France.

The steamer sailed from New York June 27 and these three from Jeannette were passengers.  Numerous telegrams sent by friends of the unfortunate passengers, to authorities in New York, whose only answer was, that the names mentioned were not found on the list of survivors.  From these answers, it is reasonably certain that all Jeannette people on board the ill fated vessel perished.

Joseph Azelvandre was a brother of our townsman, John B. Azelvandre, and was one of the best known foreigners in Jeannette.  He was forty years old and single.  He was well-to do as far as this world’s goods go, his wealth being estimated at from $20,000 to $25,000..

Emannel and Erneste Delmot, of Arnold, also took passage on the ill fated steamer and in all probability, lost their lives.

Halifax, July 7.—A member of the ship’s crew on La Bourgogne gives this list:
Ship’s crew, 233
Third-class passengers, 295
Second-class passengers, 123
First-class passengers, 75
Total number of souls on board, 716
Passengers saved, 53
Ship’s crew saved, 110
Drowned, 553
News of the great ocean disaster reached here yesterday morning, when that ship Cromartyshire, with her bow badly stoved and partly dismasted, was towed into port.  She was picked up all battered by the Allan liner [S. S.] Grecian and towed in.

When off Cape Sable the Cromartyshire collided with the French line passenger La Bourgogne and sank her.

Only one woman is among the saved.  The only officers saved were the purser and three engineers.  Thirty men belonging to the crew were also picked up.  The balance of the saved are passengers.

The collision occurred at 4 o’clock on the morning of July 4.  A heavy fog prevailed and the crash came almost without warning.  Most of the passengers were in their staterooms.

So quickly did the vessel founder that a number of these did not even have time to reach the deck and died in their staterooms.  The woman saved was Mrs. A. Lacarse.  She was picked up by her husband and placed on a life raft.  She clung to the raft until picked up.

Captain Deloncie? {text is hard to read} stood on the bridge of his ship as she went down.  He refused to leave the vessel and perished.  The captain of the Cromartyshire said: “When my ship was 60 miles off South Sable island, she was on the port tack, heading west to northwest under reduced canvas, going four or five knots an hour.  The foghorn was kept continually blowing.  Shortly after 4 a. m. I heard a steamer’s whistle on our weather bow, which seemed to be nearing us very fast.”

“I blew our horn and was answered by the steamer’s whistle.  Suddenly a steamer loomed up through the fog on our port bow and crashed into us, going at a terrific speed.  Our foremast and main top gallant mast was carried away.  I immediately ordered the boats out and went to inspect the damage and found that our bow has been completely cut off and the plates twisted into every conceivable shape.”

The Cromartyshire was kept afloat by her collision bulkheads.

La Bourgogne disappeared in the fog after the crash and the Cromartyshire’s port anchor was shipped.  Afterward, the survivors were picked up.

The scene was terrible, with hundreds of lives hanging in the balance.  The people swam and floated about the surface of the water, looking for chances to save themselves.

There were three priests on board the ship, and as she was sinking they want about the vessel giving absolution to the Catholics on board.

As the ship sank a vortex was created which sucked down everything on the surface within a wide radius.  When the suction had ceased about 200 bodies came to the surface in a rush.

The work of rescue was commenced without a moment’s delay.  At 5:30 o’clock the fog lifted and then two boats were seen approaching the Cromartyshire full of men.  Men could also be seen in all directions clinging to the wreckage.  These were picked up by the Cromartyshire as fast as possible.

Nearly all the first-class passengers were lost, those saved being mostly from the steerage and sailors.

Later the steamer Grecian came along and after some of the passengers were tra?shipped {hard to read text}, proceeded to tow the Cromartyshire to Halifax.

The scenes enacted on board the La Bourgogne just after the collision were terrible to witness.  Men fought for positions on the boats like raving maniacs, women were forced back and trampled on by the human beasts.

On board were a large number of Italians and other foreigners, who cared little for human life.  These fiends stopped at nothing, in one boat was a party of 40 women, but so great was the panic that not a hand was raised to assist in her launching.  The occupants so near salvation were drowned like rats.

So desperate was the situation that an Italian passenger drew his knife and made a thrust at one who, like himself, was endeavoring to reach the boats.  Immediately the action was imitated in every direction.  Knives were xxxxx {text broken up} with deadly effect.  Women and children were driven back to an inevitable death at the points of weapons, the owners of which were experts in their use.  According to the stories of some of the survivors women were stabbed like so many sheep.

The scene on the waters was even worse.  Many of those who were struggling in the water attempted to drag themselves into the boats and on rafts.  These were rudely pushed back into a watery grave.  It was a time in which compassion was not to be found.  Here knives and other weapons did their work.

Nearly all the first class passengers were lost.

Most of the saved were members of the ship’s crew and steerage passengers.

Pittsburg, July 7.—Elgin A. Angell, an attorney of Cleveland, O., a son of C. D. Angell, the extensive oil operator of this city, is reported among the passengers lost.

Michael Horn of Duquesne, it is believed was a passenger on the ill-fated steamer La Bourgogne.  Mr. Horn purchased a ticket from Roth, Teitelbaum and Co. of McKeesport a week ago last Saturday and went to New York, from which city he is thought to have sailed on the La Bourgogne last Saturday.

It is feared that two young Pittsburg girls, Marie and Bertha Flueckinger, aged about 23 years and employed by the family of James Oliver at Shields station, were on the French liner La Bourgogne, which was lost at sea yesterday.

Rev. Father John Williams who was reported on the ill-fated vessel, was recently pastor of the Sacred Heart Roman Catholic church at Emsworth, Pa.  Father Williams is 44 years old. He is the head of the Order of Holy Childhood of the United States.  For a number of years, he was connected with the faculty of the Holy Ghost college.  For a time he was also pastor of the Catholic church in Sharpsburg.
{Last paragraph illegible.}
~ Jeannette Dispatch, 08-Jul-1898, Page 1, Columns 3 & 4.

Shipwreck GPS Coordinates are approximately:
Latitude: 42° 55' 41.4012" N
Longitude: -59° 55' 0.5016" W
 

SS La Bourgogne 1885-1898