Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-06-07
Ns1c York Herald. June 4.

Several of the incoming steamers yes
terday reported good tips with the ex.
ception of the presence of icebergs and
fogs. The French steamer st. Laurent.
which left Havre on May 20. sighted
several very large bergs on the 9th ult.,
while off the lower point of the
Banks. The steamship India, of
Cars Direct Hamburg Line, had an
actual contact with one of the floating
ice.mountains, and a great patch of
planking on her starboard bow
showed where a great hole had been
torn through her iron shell by the col
lisiOn. The vessel, under command of
Capt. Hoberlaud, left Hamburg May IA
with general cargo of assorted mer-
chandise to Seager Brothers and 492
Storage passengers.
The voyage was uneventful until the
morning of May "A, when in latitude Al
deg. % min. longitude Al deg 50 min.
two very large icebergs were encounter
ed. They were about 300 feet square
and rose up above the surface of the sea
some fifty feet. The engines were at
once slowed up, especially as a fog at
that time settled down. When the out
look became cree more clear, full head
way was given the steamer: but on the
morning of the 25ih the iceberg difficulty
became very serious. In the words of
Capt. HOberland: 1--WE knew from the
excessive chilliuess of the atmosphere
that we were near some of the icebergs,
and we were going on very slowly,
when suddenly one of the two men
kept on the lookout cried out that
we were close upon one of them. We
put the helm hard a starbOard, and we
struck with sort of slowing motion. l
knew that the blow was well forward of
the first bulkhead; so did not feel any
uneqsiuess. The passengers were on
deck Just after breakfast singing and
some 0f.them dancing, and there was no
excitement worth mentioning, as they
had faith in me and took my word for it
when | told them that there was no
ground for apprehension. l found that
a hole ahont two by six feet had been
stove in above the water line. and as the
was calm we at once planked it up
from the outside. calking the work well,
a7d then from the inside we placed in a
temp nrary ceiling and shOred it well, so
hat we did not take in more than about
fifteen bucketfus in the twenty-four
hours after the blow.
"Within an hour and half after the
accident we seemed to be in the midst
of field of icebergs. and at times we
could not look in any direction without
seeing them We counted at one time
in sight no less than thirty five monster
ones, say about fifty feet square. These
latter are really very dangerous, and
they are apt to have points projecting
out from their body under water, and as
they are big enough to stave hole in a
vessel they must not be touched or an
opening below the water-line may re
suit We did not have so much fog
on that day, though at the time
we struck it was impossible to see
the lookout from the bridge. At times
while we were in the field it was neces-
sary to 90 hard astern in order to secure
a new passage way when several bergs
blocked up our way in front. l have
been at sea twenty-fOur years and have
been many times about Cape Horn, but
never saw such collection of floating
icebergs before We were keeping well
to the south at the time, as l had passeC
over the same track but few weeks be-
fore and remarked how clear it was.
The passengers enjoyed the free show
afforded them very much.
"SOme of the icebergs assume very
fantastic shapes. There was one with a
great pointed top which we styled the
Bishop as it was very good reproduc-
ton on a gigantic scale of priest with
| long gown and having a mitre on his
head. There were other curious forms,
and then the melting of the great masses
would every now and then lead to the
| topping over of some towering projec-
| ton and they would come crushing down
with a laundering noise and make big
splash as they went into the sea, rolling
| over and over for a while until they got
balanced in the water. All the night of
the 25th we were compelled to lay TO, as
1T is very difficult to see the floating
masses of ice at any time, and especially
at night. We lost in all, l should say,
about sixteen hours on account of the
ice. On the Goth, in latitude 40 degrees
% minutes, longitude 81 degrees, we
passed three rousing big bergs, but it was
then daylight, and they were some dis
lance away. In ALL our iceberg region
was about 800 miles long. 1t was in the
course of steamers skirting the lower
edge of the Banks. They must go a
good deal farther south, as they were of
a size to stand good deal of meltage,
and they were very hard ice, too. "
The steamer Habsbnrg. Captain
Warnkes. from Bremen, reported thai
on May 81, between latitude 43 deg 80
min, longitude 48 deg. 81 min, to lati-
tude 40 deg. "a min, longitude 40 deg
% min., no less than twenty three ice
bergs of formidable proportions were
passed The weather was clear at the
time.
The steamship Batavia, Captain Tai
bot, from Liverpool, also passed in close
proximity to the floating mountains of
ice, meeting them on the 9th ult be
tween latitude 40 deg. OF min.. longitude
40 deg. ID min. and latitude Al deg. AZ