Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1884-05-14
Collision In Mid Ocean.

On the 18th of April, the steam
ship Florida, and the sailing bar
Ponema, collided and both sunk
The sailing ship carried crew of IL
of which, only the captain and tw,
seamen were saved. The steame
had on board 167 persons, all told
only Al of which were saved. On
hundred and thirty five lives wer,
lost. The place where the ships raj
together is 1900 miles from the Irisl
coast.
Among the survivors was DR.. An
drew Steele, the ships surgeon. He
says that the Inflated steamer sailed
from her pier at the foot of Cana
street, New York, at 8 o'clock on the
morning Of April II, bound for Gles
gov. She carried 50 passengers il
her cabin. 50 in her steerage and q
crew of 81 men and one stewardess.
The vessel proceeded on her course,
meeting no special incident for Sly
days.
About ten o'clock an the evening
OF April Is, says the doctor, Il was
sitting in my cabin reading. | had
been on deck not long before and no
ticel thas It was g clear, starlight
night. Suddenly i heard the clang
OF 4 gong in the engine room, signal
ing the engineer to back the engine
at full speed. At the same time there
was confused tramping about the
the deck. l hastened out on deck
and there saw plainly the spars and
the canvas OF a big sailing ship head
ing directly for us. Her port red
light WAS distinctly visible Tho
meA about deck yelled Collision,
collision! The next moment, as our
ship rolled TO siarboard Oh big wave,
the other vessel crashed into US,
striking Us nearly amidships on the
starboard side. The shock complete
ly dcmoralized every one. The men
cried take 20 the boats, but many
We're too badly frightened 20 help
themselves, even after soma of the
boats were safely IL the water, and
the ship was going down too rapidly
to enable those of the crew on deck
to DO much toward saving any lives.
Hiss MacFarlane, the stewardess,
was lowered into the boat, but no
other woman was on deck. l got in
to one of the boats, with others, and
in q very few minutes both vessels
sank ont of sight. Captain Hepburn
and two seamen OF the sailing vessel
We're found clinging to some of the
wreck OF their vessel and were pick
cd up by the boat | was in.
I'VE drifted about for two days,
having neither food nor water There
were fortyf four of us in our boat
The weather remained tolerably fair,
however. and we did not suffer very
badly, except from the cold, some of
survivors being very thinly clad. In
-he meantime we separated from the
two other boats that were launched
Captain Hepburn told US that his
vessel was the Ponena, bark be-
longing to the Jardine Brothers, OF
New Brunswick. On the
20th we succeeded in attracting the
of the look out on the Nor
yegian bark Thresa, which was bound
or Quebec from ChIistiana, and We
we're all taken on board and kindly
treated Two days later we fell in
with the bark Louise, of Cardiff, also
bound for Quebec. We were max
ng serious inroads into the provi-
sions OF tie Theresa, and accordingly
.wenty people were transferred to
he Louise. and my shipmates re-
NAMED On the Theresa until May 5,
when the steamer Titania overhauled
Is and we We're transferred to her
md here we are.