The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-12-15
WAVES OF DEATH.
Six Men Killed and Sixteen Hurt
On an Ocean Steamer.
The Vessel Suddenly Covered With
an Avalanche of Water.

The ocean steamer Westernland, Of the
Red Star line, swung into her pier at Jersey
City the other afternoon after twelve days
voyage from Antwerp. Her decks. were
crushed in, her stanch sides wrenched and
strained, broken beams Of steel and planks Of
oak protruded their jagged ends on every
side. The first glance suggested a story Of
stress and storm; Of suffering and disaster.
Disaster and suffering the vessel had en-
countered, but the story that was to
be told was not the ordinary one
Of raging winds and mountainous
waves that storm-beaten ships bring with
them. The winds had not given her warning,
the waters had not lashed themselves to
threatening fury, but when all seemed calm
a single wave had risen up from the sea and
crashed down upon the steamers deck, leav-
ing behind 1t as it surged away more than O
score Of mangled bodies, dead or dying or
sorely wounded, lying amida mass Of tan
gled wreckage.
1t was on November % that the Western.
land, the stanchest Of the Red Star feet,
sailed out of Antwerp with sixty-nine cabin
and 574 steerage passengers and twenty-five
officers and men. A heavy fog in the River
Scheldt caused the loss Of a day, but after that
the weather was favorable aad the voyage
continued prosperous until Saturday last, Nc.
vember2 Atnoon on that day Second Officer
Ehoff, as he relates, went on watch and
found the sky clear, fresh breeze blowing
and moderate sea. The members OF the
crew were busted about their various tasks
and several Of the steerage passeners were
lounging about the deck. The cabin pas
sengers were nearly all below. While stand
ing on the main bridge the second officer
Starboard bow. The next instant another
similar wave was seen on the port side. join
ing each other at right angles the two waves
swept toward the vessel. The united mass
of water rose higher than the lower yards Of
the foremast. In moment it crashed down
upon the deck of the steamer and swept it
from bow to stern, carrying everything be-
fore it.
The turtle-back de * was crushed to splint-
ers. The steel beams supporting it were
broken of like pipe-stems. The stauchions
were bent and twisted and beaten down to
the forecast,e deck. Everywhere lay masses
of broken planks and beams and woodwork.
Lying crushed in the wreckage were twenty
two steerage passengers and members Of the
crew.
As soon as the first moment Of panic had
passed orders were given by Captain Ran
die, who was on the after-deck, to aid the
of the seamen were found to have been killed.
Max Frank, steerage passenger, had his abb
domen cut open and his skull fractured. He
died the next morning. Gabriel Levaderi,
another Storage passenger, was apparently
but slightly bruised. He had, however. sus-
tanned internal injuries which caused his
death five hours after Frank expired.
The others injured were suffering from
broken legs and arms and painful bruises
They were at once taken to the intermediate
cabin, which was fitted up as hospital, and
carefully attended to until port was reached
by the ships surgeon and DR.. Felix Cohen,
Of New York, who was passenger on board.
A steward who was just coming out of q
closet under the turtle back lost the tips Of
two fingers in curious manner. The door
opened forward and was held open by catch
over the top. The steward put his left-hand
on the after door post Just as the big sea
came along, carrying off the door, which
caught the ends of the fingers that projected
beyond the door post, shaving them off as
with knife.
The officers of the vessel, one and all, say
that they never knew of an occasion when
two such fugitive waves came together in
weather such as that which prevailed at the
time Of the accident