Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1870-11-23
1JiSttIiag.
A COLLISION AT SEA.

H. Dodge tells an interesting story
in Che September number of the Galaxy
about q collision at sea. He was a pass
enaer. several years since. on the Gun
ard steamer Arabia, returning to this
country. The steamer was near Cape
Race. and the fog was thick;
tItWas half-p3steleven as | was about
quitting the deck to turn in. The cabin
passengers had been long abed, and
staterOOm lights were all out. Save the
sailors on the watch, the men at the
wheel, and q senior and junior officer
on duty, there was no one astir. Pass
ing the compass on my way to the COM
paniOn-ladder, 1 observed thatthe ships
direction was nearly southwest.
so you have changed her course since
eight bells, I see Mr.. Jones?'
Only half a point, sir, and hardly
that 2? ---.---
And why haIfa point, pray =? Or why
change her course at alp
'To give the Cape a wide berth, sir.
You see this dead -reckoningjiRth the long
run, isn't very reliable, especially with
such currents as we have hereabOuts.'
'Whereaway does Cape RAGE lie, Mr..
Jones'?
Just above the bows the direction
ofthe red d4ight swinging fron-the hal
yard yOnder'
My hand was on tue guide of the lad
/ der (which alone saved me a minute
afterward from being hurled OverbOard)
as turned to go down, saying. 49,
Goodnight, Sir. No more newSof the
/ ice, ell - A ~ ~ II
The words were scarcely uttered, when
call that sounded like the peal of doom
came from the lookout forward:
Sail on the weather bow, sir y
'WhereaWay :? instantly shouted the
afficer in command.
But no sooner We're the words uttered
/ land before an. answer could be return
ied) they were followed by orders so
sharp and imperative as to be heard
through the ship.
Hard a-port?' Hard a-port! Jam
Iher down, sir, jam her down y
/ In an instant the ship 5answering her
helm, began to swing fFOIn her course,
when, directly in the of her bOwsprit
IemeTging from the mist, appeared the
black lines of an ocsan steamer, under
4 full headWay, and of such mOnstTOus
/ size that it seemed inevitable she
must send Us to the bottom. 1t was the
/ Europa, bound from. Boston 10 Liver
pool, which here, in nid-Ocean, unGer
/ full steam, had met IeT cOpsOrt, on tliis
Lone parallel Of latitude Of ali Others, as If
| to falsify forever the prediction that the
/ Cunard line was bound to be lucky.
! Bows on, head to head, the two ships
rushed together. The shock was fear
/ ful. Our rate of speed was nearly thir-
! teen knots. Hers was as great, so that
/ at a momentum of more than five-and-
/ twenty knots an hour two .steameTs,
each or nearly three thousand tons bur
then, were hurled into collision. Fol-
llewing the crash that =cTumbIed= oak
I timbeTs ten inches square as if they had
! been chalk, was the stagger of the ship
/ like an OK stunned by the blow of an AK,
/ the lift Of the huge leviathan almost
/ bodily out Of the water, and the dash of
/ the pillows rs she fell back into the
/ trough of the sea, and careened heavily
on her side.
4 Of course there was not a soul on
board who was not aroused to apparent
/ instant death. Passengers, sailors, ell
/ gineers, firemen, walters and officers,
/ were for the first moment mixed tOgeth-
/. er in almost hopeless confusion, and as
/ one after another ofyaTious clAsses ap-
peared on deck, q continued series of
! cross purposes ruled the hour. Order,
/ however, is net only Heavens first law,
! but the first law of human beings in
/ time of danger. In less time than il
/ takes to narrate it, the captain was on
/ the wheelhOuse, giving orders through
/ his speaking trumpet to the crew, and
/ cOnveTsing with the captain of the Euro
1 pa across the space the steamers had
! drifted apart; everything resolved Itself
! into rule at once. There could be no
/ discipline more perfect. Every man
was ut his post. Not word was spo-
ken beyond ddhe orders given andTepeat-
ed, and the AYE, aye, SIR i'll response.
! Slowly, steadily and calmly, sails We're
( fUTled, rigging made taut fires eXtin-
guished, boats lowered and named, lead
| thrown, biueliglIts burned, and eXmmin-
alton by the carpenter and his men OF
the damage sustained and the danger
fawaiting us.
Meanwhile the passengers, male and
female, steerage and cabin, whose slum-
Der had been rUdely enough disturbed 10y
Il conclusion that had Violently thOOwn
the sleepers from their berths at the risk
of limb if not of life, were crOwding
half clad, upon deck. The frantic cries
-lof our prima donna and her Italian
u maids, imploring the aid Of the Virgin
pierced through the ship. Anxious
, Questions were asked Of each other as
the gloup thickened about the stack
) pipes, which none could answer M
one was bold enough to make an inquiry
ofan officer, and every sailor was heed
less Of ali savethe authority that KEEP
| him ND to the duties Of the moment