Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-04-13
AN OCEAN HORROR.
THE STEAMER DENMARK ABAN.
DONED IN MID OCEAN.
Over Seven Hundred Passengers
are Left to the Mercy of the
Cruel Waves.
ESPECIAL DISPATCHES TO THE nEconD-usros.l

QuEENsrowN, April 12th-The steamer
CITY of Chester, from New York, reports
having passed, April Sth, the Danish
steamer Denmark, from Copenhagen for
New York. water-logged and abandoned in
mid-ocean.
She was formerly q Belgian steamer, I'm.
der the name of Jan Rydel of $3.50 tons.
New YORK. April 1oth.-The news of the
abandonment in mid-ocean of the steamer
Denmark was received here by cable to the
Maritime Exchange. She is said 10 have
had $50 passengers on board, mostly Scam
danavians. Funch, Edge d CO., agents of
the company here, say they place no reli-
ance on the dispatch, but have cabled the
agents in London and Copenhagen for
further information.
New YORK, April 12th.-The greatest ex-
element prevails in shipping circles over
the loss eff the Denmark. The Thingvalla
Line is probably the largest carrying emf
grant line that plies between this port and
Europe. The Denmark had on board when
she left Christiana for New York, on the
18th of March, $50 passengers, presumably
all immigrants, including the vessels Cap
tain, r. NJ. Kundsen. The crew numbered
40 men.
The Office of the agents of the steamer,
Funch, Edge d Co., u South William
street, has been thronged with people all
morning for later news of the vessel. Edge,
of the firm, does not credit the report He
has cabled his London agents, and sought
by wire for further particulars from the
Copenhagen branch office.
The news spread rapidly down town, and
among The first callers at the office was
Morris Stoker, young farmer from some
where in Massachusetts. who got here last
night to await the arrival of the steamer.
on which his brother and sweetheart had
taken passage. His grief was uncomfortable
when Edge said that no contradictory dis
patch had been received at noon.
The Denmark was formerly the freight
steamer Jan Rvdel, of the White Cross
line. Last fall Funch, Edge & Co., who are
also agents of the latter line, had the vessel
put IN condition for passenger traffic, re-
christened her the Denmark and trans
ferred her to the Thingvalla feet This
was the vessels first trip from the other
side under her new colors.
New YORK, April 12th.-The New York
agent of the Ihingvalla line this afternoon
said
I'VE have a cablegram to the effect that
the Denmark left Christiana on March
18th, on the first voyage under the new
flag and name She had been completely
overhauled, and it was thought by all that
she was the best of our fleet There were
on board at the time of departure at least
10 people. Of these, $50 were passengers.
To manage and look after the comfort of
this large number there must have been at
least sixty in the crew and probably the
number may have reached 100 or perhaps
125. There are, therefore, TO be accounted
for. the lives of from 10 to 775 people.
THE Denmark was commanded by Cap
%ns,, Il. 4 III
for courage and presence of mind. He is
not man to abandon a ship to the mer-
cies of the waves when there is one chance
in an even thousand of getting her into
port. She may have been disabled, but
we are very nearly certain that she has not
been abandoned.
Even if the Denmark had been aban-
doned, she had sufficient means to accom-
modate all passengers on board, if not all
the crew. There was a great number of
life boats enough for the great passenger
list, and several new life RATS of the latest
pattern and improvements, which could
have accommodated the crew and officers
and some OF the passengers, if there was
not enough room in the life boats for
them"
NEW YORK, April 12th-Further par
ticulars of the sighting of the Denmark b;
the City OF Chester have been slowly arriv-
ing since noon. The Denmark was rapidly
sinking when the Chester saw her. The
Chester sighted her from distance Struck
by the apparent absence of any life on
board, she drew near, investigated, made
sure that no one was on board and lay to
for several hours. The stern of the Den
mark was on level with the sea. The
bow was far out of the water in the air.
There were no visible signs Of a collision,
there was no wreckege, the boats were all
gone from the dayits, and nothing indicat-
ing haste and panic was noticeable.
The following has been received by the
Associated Press from the representative of
the Thingvalla line: las some of the
Comments on the reported loss of the Dan
ISL steamer Denmark express apprehension
that this disaster may have been accom-
panied by heavy loss of lie, we beg leave
10 state, for the benefit of all persons who
have friends on board of the Inflated boat,
our belief 10 the contrary. When sighted
by the City of Chester on Monday last the
decks aft and sails were in pieces, but the
vessel was floating. and although the re-
porting steamer expressed the belief that
she would shortly founder, this did not
occur. During all the time that elapsed.
from the hour she was first sighted until
last seen, the Denmark was floating d.
rectly iii the track of the Transatlantic
steamers, and we believe the passengers and
crew were taken of some time. possibly as
far back as a couple of days. before the City
of Chester sighted the wreck.
Since the Denmark, having left Chris
tiansend on the Goth of March, should,
under ordinary circumstances, have ad-
vanced considerably beyond the position
found in, if wrecked, the passengers and
crew, if not picked up, they could natu-
rally, even if embarked in boats and on
RATS, would have remained in the neigh
borhood of the wreck, the presence of
which would be much more likely to at
tract the passing steamers than the small
boats or RATS would. The City of Chester
evidently did not find the slightest wreck
age near the vessel, such as might be at
tributable to a smashed or otherwise incap-
itated steamer. Whilst the steamer bore