Morning journal and courier., 1884-02-02
The Disabled Celtic.

sea Yes, and not only that, but It IS now
 just seven days since we began floating about in that pleasant condition, and unless some
 one happens along to pick us up there IS no
 saying how long we may continue so. Two
 days ago, when 1 began letter to you, l
 could not have told you any more about our
 locality than the heading of this letter ln
 plies; for during, three days the weather has
 been stormy, and we have had no sight of
 the sun until to day to find our whereabouts
 from. Now, however, the log informs us we
 are about six hundred miles from New York.
 I cannot help feeling little amused when I
 think how you are saying to each other that
 Walter must have reached Queenstown by
 this! You see I write without any great
 chance of posting my letter when it is done,
 but there is a possibility that we may be
 taken of by some outgoing steamer, and if
 so, by leaving this on the eCeltic" you would
 probably get it sooner than one posted at Queenstown. At all events it is particularly
 nice to fancy myself having little talk with
 you now, and so, now that have told where
 we are, will go on to relate how it is that
 we came here. It was on Sunday evening,
 the second day out from New York, that we
 were all startled by sudden rambling sound and 8 succession of shocks that made the | whole ship trembIe and then came that pe- culiar sensation that always follows when the engines suddenly stop and all is perfectly si lent. None knew what it was but guessed | that the propeller had given out; and so it
 proved, for in few minutes the captain ap- peared with the announcement that the shaft | was broken beyond possibility of repair, l and what we shall do now I don't know" Ii ZoI,a F,7I a,o1o oorK
 course there was nothing to do but to set the l sails that we bad and try to reach New York l again, and went to bed comforting our l selves with the thought that we were slowly
 but surely making our way back, and might l hope to see land again in few days. But 1 alas the next observation showed that our 1 sails were unable to affect the ship, and that | we had drifted farther still from New York. 1 So there was nothing to do but to wait pa l tiently for steamer to pick us up and tow l US in. We have waited !-one week thus far. l As long as the weather was moderate, which l it was at first, though pretty rough, it was ] not so hard idling about, expecting, as we l did, to meet a steamer every hour. Still, | this is opposite the most dangerous part of | our coast-where the "Atlantic" WAS lost 1 and we all know that If gale should spring | up, and continue long enough to drive us to l the land, we should be lost, or run the great ] est risk of it, at least. However, we put the l best face on the matter and hoped for | steamer to appear. I find myself saying | ''we'' all the time, for, as you can imagine | all the passengers have talked up every thing l with each other, and all feel as if they | pretty we'll acquainted. Rowever, I su 1 afraid we all began to feel rather blue l ''sojourn'' grsw longer The worst of it has I been that during part of two days we have l been in the midst of furious storm, and the I ship being disabled, the rudder could not | control it. and so, instead of being able to ! ride out the storm, we had to roll helpless in I the trough of the sea. It was terrible last night. None could sleep, for one had to keep awake and hold on'' to something to keep 1 from being dashed against the sides of the stateroom. But that is passed now, although | until within few minutes the motion has | been quite unpleasant. I hope shall reach somewhere pretty soon, for at the rate | we seem te be drifting. we may turn up on | the coast of South America unless are ] picked up iu a few days. However will re- l serve more detailed account of my adven | lures until I see you My chief hope all | along was that we might get in soon enough after the date of our expected arrival ill Queenstown to save you all anxiety. That 1 seems hardly possible now, but do hope you won't be frightened. At all events your Christmas won't be spoiled, coming as it does so soon. If this reaches you before do you will know that have been safely transferred to another outgoing steamer.
 On board the Celtic and sailing towards
  ocean, latitude 460 57, longitude 34o 57'- January 6, 1864-I have already sent of two letters by steamer which we were fortunate enough to see yesterday, and already feel as if had found bond connecting me again with the civilized world. And yet you can- not get either of those letters for two or three weeks yet, for the steamer we saw was eastward bound, and they must go first to London before they can be mailed to you. What an excitement there was when first discovered that little spot of smoke on the horizon, and how eagerly we watched it through our glasses 1t came nearer and nearer. For several times we had seen the smoke of a distant steamer before, and yet they had passed by without coming within range of our signals. This time we were more fortunate and soon we could see the ship approaching and immediately the cap tain ordered boat lowered to set of toward the steamer, which proved to be very small vessel bound for London. Although the 1 steamer WAS too small to give any assist | nnce in the way of 8 tow, still we could send of our dispatches, &c. Besides, it was a comfort to see something after so long time of waiting. We also sighted steamer bound | westward and they promised to report us as all well so I hope that you will very soon get news of the ship as still holding together even though there will be nothing more def l nite known about me. The incident of meet ing the steamer has frightened all up i'm mensely, for in this way the manager of the line will get word of our movements, and will no doubt send tugs out to meet us off the coast of Ireland, so that we may look for ward to reaching land in week or so, sven if we are not picked up by passing steamer before then. Inc weather has been pleasant for the past few days and quite in contrast to the hard storms were tossed about in dur ing the week before. So, all things toge her, I thing l have nothing more to look forward to, so far as I am concerned, than the mono 0F FhG -S,,1o ai- If only knew how you all were at home and whether you have received any Eews of us, so that you not anxious. It seems as if I had been ten years on board, and every body else seems to feel the same way. The long days of heavy and stormy, weather when all had to stay below, have made us lose track of time I suppose. I sometimes wonder that 1 feel as cheerful as I do under the circumstances, but suppose am getting pretty well used to the situation, and at all events 1t is better to make the matter as ] agreeable as one can. So long as this fair weather and favorable wind continue we are safe and can get on at quite good rate to- ward Queenstown. It seems like going home to go there, for after I have reached there it will not be long before I shall get some letters from you.
 Latitude 5lo 16', longitude 14o 2o'-Steam- ship 'Celtie"-January 13. 1S84-At last | can write with some definite idea of when l and where am to post my letters, and also l with the satisfactory thought that when you receive this you will have already heard of l my safe arrival We are at last safely at- | tached, by steel towing cable, to the Brit 1 annic'' and moving onward at rate of nine | or ten knots an hour. which seems light l ming speed to us after so long voyage under | sail alone. All the conditions are most fa- | vorable, and if they continue so (.he water is | now as smooth as mill pond) we may safely
 hope to reach Queenstown sometime to-mor-
 row. What relief it will be to telegraph to
 you the news of my safe arrival It seems | years ago that left New York. These four
 weeks have been so utterly uncomfortable | and without incident that I have quite lost | track of time. There has been absolutely
 nothing to do but to make charts and copy the log, which everyone has done with a de-
 gree of interest that has never been seen on this ship before I think suppose that I l do not fully appreciate the full extent of
 the danger we have passed through, as the
 officers of the ship have done, but really it must have been very great In the first place, after the shaft broke the engineer
 was thrown into the machinery by theI shock of the concussiou and if Iuas tbara 1