The Middlebury register and Addison County journal. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1883-1885, 1884-11-07
A NARROW ESCAPE.
Burning of Steamship in Mid
Ocean.
Passengers and Grew Take to the
Boats--Their Rescue.

The steamship Rhein Captain JunysN,
sailed recently from Bremen on Sunday for
New York. She had got about half way
across when, on Friday evening about 40
O'Clock, Chief Officer Bruno Petermauu. who
was on the bridge, saw bread red iel of
light on the clouds OF to the southwest. 1t
looked like the reflection of the IL hts Of u
city, only brighter and way. He climbed
the rigging of the forema t, and on reaching
the crosstrees saw plainly big ship On fire
twelve or fifteen miles away on the port ,
bow. =
The Rhen was headed under full steam DIT
rectly for the burning wreck The news that
ship was on fire spread, and the forward
part of the steamers deck was crowded by
crew and passengers. For nearly hnlf an
hour nothing but the light on the clouds
could lie seen from the deck, but after that
the lire was seen flaming up above the hori-
zon BY o'clock the hull of the ship
wreathed in fire, was visible, while in the
broad light space about her were seen half a
dozen small boats. loaded down with men
and women rising ON the crests of the waves
and disappearing again in the hollows. The
sea was not very rough. At short intervals
the people in the boats burned blue lights to
show their positions.
At 81 the Rhein was less than half a mile
from the wreck, and the shouts of th, people
i'll the boats could be heard. The Rhcin was
then headed to the southwest and tie eng ms
were stopped. In short t time one OF the six
boats came alongside to leeward 1t was half
1ull OF water, and those Of the men in il who
WI not rowing were busy bailing The boat
leakel The 80 men were huddled in the It rn
OF the boat three of them having small chill
dren with them. All of them were drenched
\ dozen G1iIp1s- 81.
the khein.
The boat pulled up close to the ship and
then rose up on wave almost level with her
deck. As it rose the women stood up hold
lnS their children in their arms for the sailors
to take, but that isn't the way t. boad a
steamer i'll mid-ocean, and just before they
were within reach the wave dropped them
htteen feet down again, and the women fell
on tle bottom of the boat screaming and
waillng hat they were lost
The the sailors brought number of large
baskets and lowered them overheard. and
Second Officer John Quasfaslem slid down n
rop' into the boat. He quickly bundled the
children into the baskets, made fast the ends
of ropes to the women, and then as th-y were
drawn up on deck, helped the men in like man
nef.
Many of the rescued were so weak that thew
had to be carried below. The boat sank to
the rail in fifteen minutes after it was aban-
doned From the six TO Is were taken lS6
souls, Of whom many We're women. twenty
four were children, and ten were babies. and
altogether they We're all of the passengers and
crew OF the burning vessel, with not one miss.
ing.
Ihe sea was all the time rising. and before
1879 o'clock when the last gian was taken
from the last boat, the greatest difficulty was
experienced III keeping the boat from being
dashed to pieces against the side of the ship.
The last man said to Captain Jungst:
| l. Y. Il.
of the steamer Maasdam that is burning
there
The captain was cared for as the passenger.
and crew had been before him, and the Rhei1
proceeded ON her voyage.
W hlle trying to repair leak in a tank
hlled with oil, one of the engineers of the
Maasdam tipped over naked Kerosene lamp
that he was carrying Instantly there was
an explosion, and the next moment the huge
vessel was on fire. Strenuous eXertlonS we're
made to put out the fire without avail
Finding the fight hopeless, the captain
gave the order to man the boats. The
boats to leeward were tax first An
officer was ordered into the first one lowered.
and he, with enough of the crew to manage
her, received q number of the women and
children and enoqsh male passengers
boat cleared the ship The second boat was
unfortunately jammed against the sile of the
snip and sprung leak that kept half the
men in it bailing constantly. In all, six boats
were lowered, and mo them We're crowded
10 Storage passengers, eight cabin paSsen-
gets and the crew of forty-five Just before
leaving, Captain Van der Zee mounted the
bridge, swept the horizon with his glass to
see If any sail was in sight. and then de.
scended, walked to the rail, and climbed over
de was the last man to leave her.
From that time on the crews rowed their
boats slowly around the burning ship In
short time the cloud of rising smoke began to
grow bright at the base, and in less than an
hour the flames had burst through the decl,
and climbed the rigging to the masthead and
along the yardarmS, outlining the shin i'm fire
before the terrified gaze of the &C 'upantS of
the beats. After that the ewes Of every one
wandered from the burning ship to the hori-
ION Ill search of help and hack to the ship
again. Fifty times the cry "A sail was
raised by pass angers who miStoOk some wave
at the horizon for the outline of sail Then
night came on rapidly, and the waves got up,
and then the reflections of the flames on the
waves were mistaken over and over again for
ships lights
DR.. F, T. Smith, the ships surgeon. saws
that he heard these cries SO often that he
knew they were wrong, but he could not
help looking around every time he heard
them. About Z o'clock he looked us he
always had and this time he saw that the
light was red before it disappeared behind
big wave. He knew that was the port light
of a ship, and told the passengers they we're
saved. Every body cheered then and the
cry was taken up by the other boats and an
swered by those on the ship. 1t proved to
be the Rhen, ship which Captain Van der
Zee had told them was due to pass near there
on that day.