Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-05-26
STOPPED SHORT BYA BERG
THE CITY OF BERLIN CRASHES
INTO A MOUNTAIN OF ICE.
Panic at Sea on "A FOgGy Night-The
Bow stove In, but the Vessel safe and
sound Below the Water Line-TOns of
Ice DrOp.

Row stove In, but the Vessel safe and
sound Below the Water Line-TOns of
Ice Drop.
Fro1n sundays Ne,o York Sun.
The Inman steamship City of Berlin
steamed up the bay yesterday morning
with her bowsprit gone, her prov stove
in, and a battered appearance forward
that spoiled the symmetry of her lines.
Her decks were crowded with steerage
/ passengers, who looked anxiOusly shore
ward, and their faces showed how glad
they were that they would soon be on dry
land.
The steamship stole sadly around the
Battery into the North river, and crept
toward her dock at the foot of Charlton
street, looking like prize fighter whose
nose had been crushed in and who wanted
TO hide.
The City of Berlin had a narrow escape
from going to the bottom on Tuesday
morning. She left Liverpool on tle after
noon Of May u, and pufed proudly TO
Queenstown, where she arrived the next
day. Alter taking on board her passen-
gers and mails she started for Now York
with the company's flag liuttering at
her manmast and the Union Jack
streaming aft. She carried ! ,139 steerage
passengers and l43 in the cabins, besides
the officers aud crew. The weather was
fine and the sea smooth. The steerage
was filled with emigrants, chiefly from
Ireland, and were a fine lot of men and
women. They were bright aud cheerful
until the 10Th, when one of their number
died. She was buried at sea, and some of
her friends predicted disaster.
The vessel kept on her way, making
good time, until last Monday evening,
when a denst fog settled down on the
ocean. Every thing got gray and damp,
and the officers on the bridge had d tiiculty
in seeing the vessels bow. The fog
whistle screeched shrilly at short inter
walls, and the men on watch forward
peered and peered out into the fog ahead,
SO that they could tell the engineer
to stop if anything came in the
ssePs way. Then IL began TO grow
cold--sO cold that the lOOkOuts shivered
and put on their heaviest coats. The
oder sailors said that there must be ice
fields in the vicinity, and the lookouts
strained their eyes more and more to catch
glimpse of any iceberg that might he
lurking, ike a great Ghost, to crush them.
AS il grew later the fog became thicker,
and the tops of the masts seemed hidden
in the clouds.
The passengers had gone to bed and
were sleeping. The steamship went
crawling along so slowly that she seemed
scarcely to move at all. Capt. Lands
usually smiling face was grave, and with
Chief Officer TarletOn and Third Officer
Barker be kept watch on the bridge. AT
2 O'Clock on Tuesday morning it was still
very cold, and the fog had not grown a
whit less thick. The officers were still on
the bridge. and the lookouts forward had
not abated their vigilance. Then there
suddenly doomed before the vessel a great
gray wall. 1t was not twenty feet away.
1t came nearer, and looked blue and glis-
tening.
Ice aheadp' the lookout screamed, and
ran back toward the bridge.
There was no time to give signal to
back water before the crash came. The
vessel shook from stem to stern. The
masts trembled, aud it seemed as if they
would fall 10 the decks. Then came
terrible rumble and hundred tons of ice
came crushing on the forward deck. The
steamship had run plump into an iceberg.
There was terrible fright below. The
thousand women, men and children in the
steerage, awakened from their sleep.
scrambled out of their hunks and huddlcd
together in their terror. Some of the
women tainted. Many got down on their
knees and prayed. Most Of them thought
that the City of Berlin had come into col
lision with some other vessel. Only few
Of the men went on deck. In the cabin
there was also praying. Everybody
seemed to think that the vessel was going
down, and that death was imminent.
Capt. Land kept his post on the bridge,
and cOolly gave his orders. The helm was
put hard-a-port, the engines were reversed
and all the steam possible was crowded
behind the pistons. The vessel drew
away from the iceberg and then slowed
again. No one knew what damage had
been done. Second Officer Barker, as
soon as the crash came had run
forward. The mass of the broken ice
on the deck prevented his learning how
bad the accident was. Then he ran
aft and ordered that the boats be got ready
to launch. Two boats We're launched,
and the other four boats and the two life
RATS were got in readiness. The carpen-
ters, by order OF the Captain, hurried tor
ward TO see if the vessel was leaking. A
moment after they shouted that she was
sound below the water line.
Purscr Kinsey ran down among the
steerage passengers. They crowded
around him, the women trembling and the
men shaking with fright.
There's not bit Of danger" he
shouted cheeriully. you may all 60
back TO Sleep"
They all We're treasured, but the fright
had driven all the sleep out Of their eyes.
surgeon bNhan, ana some Of the cabin
passengers, who had come on deck. went
10 the cabin with the cheering news, and
the terror was changed to rejoicing.
Then the work of clearing away the
wreckage began. The bOwsprit had been
snapped of close into It's bracings, and its
gear and tigurehead were torn away. The
PROV was stove in and its iron plates
crushed. The iron deck was bent straight
up for eight feet back and the rail carried
away. There was no injury To the hull
below the spar deck. Tue vessels over
hanging PROV had saved it from greater
damage. The bowsprit was cut tree. and
the ice was thrown from the deck. Forty
minutes from the time that the iceberg
had doomed before the frightened lookouts
the City Of Berlin was ready 10 continue
her voyage.