Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1888-08-31
AN ATLANTIC HORROR.
The Steamer GeiSer COllides
With the Thingvalla.
Fearful Loss of Life in a Fog Of
Sable Island.

and, five minutes later, tne waters Vi 1h0
Atlantic were gurgling through great hole
in the hull of the GelSer as she SUNK 10
grave beneath the angry waters -
The Geiser had just left New ork Win
163 souls on board, ninety-three passengers
ard seventy Of her crew, bound for SteItlh'
Copenhagen, Denmark and Chrlstlana, o"e-
den.
All the company were most happy on the
day before the accident Most of them were
Danes or Scandinavians They were mostly
from the farming regions of the great Nortn,
west, where after a few years or successful
industry on our farms they were on ther
way TO their native lands Most of them were
on their way to grand exposition "nlch u
taking place in Copenhagen.
The Thingvalla was on her way from
Copenhagen to New York, and had on board
4S5 passengers and full crew.
The sun had just began to climb toward
her zenith when the accident occurred, but
the heavy fog that rested over the waters so
obscured the vision that the officers OF neither
vessel could see more than a few yards aheaq.
In this fog, in the still morning, the terrible
accident occurred.
The captains of both vessels were asleep,
and the first officers were in charge.
Every body in the Inflated GeiSer, except the
portion of the crew who were on duty, were
also asleep at the time. The first mate or
the Geiser, who stood on the bridge
keeping sharp lookout lookout T qId not
as she glided over the water on her fated
mission of destruction until her bow was too
near the Geiser for the terrible calamity to
be averted. Almost before he had time TO
think the Thingvalla was on HIM
There was a shock, a crash, and the terrible
work of destruction was done. The terrible
crash awakened every sleeping passenger OF
the doomed ship. As they sprang terror
stricken from their berths the ominous sound
of the waters rushing and gurgling into and
through their vessel told them in an instant
the terrible ordeal that fate had IN store for
them.
wild manic caiza1 avarvbO1v and mas
sengers and crew rushe hither and thlther
UP and down the decks of the sinking ship,
crying for help. All was confusion, and the
heartrending screams of men, women and
ing life even more difficult than
it otherwise would have been. The
side of the GeSer was crushed in by the dead
ly blow, and the water poured into her like
deluge. The panic-stri ken passengers, thin
ly clad in their night robes, and ShlverIng
with the cold and wet, threw bits of wood and
boxes into the sea and jumped after them
trusting rather to keep themselves afoat
with their imprOvlsed buOys until assistance
shor.;' come than to remain longer upon the
sinking ship. The matches were torn up and set
ahoat, with women and children clnging to
them. The lifeboats were quickly filled, and
some Of them were used to tow the life bur
dened matches away from the vortex the
sinking vessel would make.
The Thingvalla struck the Geiser amid
ships on the starboard side and cut her half
in twain.
The Geiser's deck was aslant and wet after
she was struck, and the ship lurched con-
siderably toward her wounded side, and pas
sengerS, unable to find fOOthold, plunged
and rolled overheard almost as rapidly as
they reached the deck.
In seven minutes the dying Geiser gave
her last lurch. A wave swept across the
deck and when it subsidized only the bow
with the bridge above it and the chief officer,
Henry Brown, standing on the bridge,
gripping the railing and looking away
over the bow of the ship into the
other instant and ship and man were gone.
There foated over their grave two life boats
bottom up, and pieces of timbers and boards
half a hundred people clinging to them
or swimming from one floating object
to another. The waves swept over them
and the spray hid them, and each wave
passed the Mortified spectators on the deck
of the Thingvalla saw that those who re-
manned numbered less than those they had
seen before, and that the screams and prayers
for help were rapidly huShing.
Three boats of the Thngvalla were lowered
and manned. The first away rowed straight
to an upturned boat, on which a woman was
supported by Third Officer Petersen, to-
gether with an engineer who had his
broken leg. These were taken on board the
boat, and very soon afterward the other
boats had picked up the few others who sur
vived, thirty-One all told, of passengers and
been drowned.
The Thngvalla's bows were smashed in as
far back as the forward collision bulkhead.
The bulkhead was not injured, and to this
fact the steamers passengers owe their lives,
for had the bulkhead given away she, too
would have gone down with all on board
The story of the GeiSer stewards escape is
dramatic. He seized life preserver but the
suction of the big steamship carried him far
beneath the surface of the water. He came
up near an overturned liTebOat and climbed
Geiser swimming about in dire distress. He
threw him a life preserver and saved the
Captain, who was then well nigh exhausted.
Over six hours afterward as the Thing
valla, with her grief stricken human cargo,
lay tossing upon the waves, with distress
signals flying at her masthead, she was
sighted by the steamer Wieland, of the
Hamburg American line, which went
Immediately to her relief. The Wieland's
officers, on hearing the terrible tale of disas-
ter, took all the passengers of the ThingvaIIa
Geiser on board and brought them to the
port of New York, arriving at her dock in
HobOken the following evening.
They celebrated the safe arrival and rescue
from shipwreck in regular NOrseman style
An amateur chorus was organized, and al
most as soon as they got alongside the dock
they sang one of the old German hymns
of thanksgiving. The singing was kept up
until the singers were til ed out and sank to
sleep one by one on the deck
The GeiSer was an iron screw steamship of
1918 tons burden. She was 324.4 feet long
81. % feet beam, and q feet depth of hold She
was built at the yards of BurmeiSter g. Vain
at Copenhagen in 1881. She had three Elasts
and was titted with compound inverted en-