The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1889-07-31
IN A GALE.
The Steamer Winthrop Suffers on
Her Voyage TO New York.
When Off Cape Elizabeth the Vessels
Smoke Stack was Blown Away.

The steamer Winthrop of the Portland and
New York lire had 4 tough time on her last
voyage from this city. Yesterdays New
York Tribune contains an account of the
rough trip of the steamer, which reached her
pier at Market street, East River, early Mon
day morning, in partially dismautled con-
dition, (her smoke stack hanging over her
side), after voyage that was extremely
rough for this season of the year. The SKY
looked threatening in Portland, on Saturday
morning, and at noou steady RAN Set in.
There were whitecaps in the harbor and the
prospect of pleasant trip to New York was
not encouraging
!. NeV' riheiess about foity passengers had
boarded the Winthrop when at 6 D. m. she
cast of her ines and headed for the open sea
BEFORE she had been In motion fifteen min
nteS she began to pitch vigorously. The
gong sounded for supper, but few passengers
responded to the invitation. Soon the
steamer rounded the cape and shaped her
course for Cape Cod There WAS every indi-
cation that violent storm was raging fur
Their out to sea. Suddenly, almost at the
stroke Of 10 o'clock, short blast of the
whistle was sounded. This was instantly
followed by crash, which only few heard
In the raging storm outside and then came
the s0nnd Of Kissing steam.
In an instant, many stattroom doors flew
open and forms in all degrees of undress
stepped forth into the cabin or: fingered on
the threshold, gazing with terrified faces at
the clouds of steam which poured from every
a.l inf t.n
escape pipe. The steam was promptly turn
ed of, however, and the alarm of the passen-
gers, which had at no time reached a panic,
quickly !subsdtd.
Not half the, passengers, however, knew
what had really happened or realized the
serious possibilities of the accident. When
Captain bragg heard the whistle and the
crash he thought one of the ropes that held
the gaff had given way and had hit the whis-
tie cord, and that the gaff also had blown
down. He passed ont and saw that the gaff
was in its place. A second later, however,
he looked again and discovered, to his dis
may, that the smoke stack was not to be seen.
Hastily summoning all hands to the hurri
cane deck, he rushed out of the pilot house,
The smoke stack. which is 25 feet high and
nearly six feet in inner diameter, had fallen
on the starboard side, its end projecting five
or six feet over the side of the ship. With
the stack went the whistle and the steam es
cape pipe, both Of which were wrenched off
at the level OF the hurricane deck, and the
length OF escape pipe extending from the up
per deck to tine floor of the saloon deck had
been displaced, causing the steam to escape
into the cabin. The great stack, weighing
over two tons, was hanging by perilously
weak strip Of iron, and at every roll of the
snip the captain expected to see it pitch over
board but all hands worked desperately and
soon had it securely dashed.
Nothing more could be done until morn
Ing. The stack had been secured by six
wire stay ropes, the iron rings in three or
four OF which had parted. Luckily no fog
came Oh. and the loss of the whistle was
not severely felt. The parting of the stack
close to the dick OF course diminished the
draft, and the steam pressure had to be re-
duced from 135 pounds to 80 pounds, causing
/ loss OF three knots an hour in speed
In the morning Chief Engineer Hinckley
unscrewed the unchanged whistle from the
stack, and with much difficulty and ingenui-
W succpeded alter two hours in building a
connection for 1t down to file engine room
The impr0yised whistle proved its value on
Sunday night, when the Winthrop ran into
dense fog in the Sound
All along the ronte on Sunday the disabled
S1hiheT WAS safllteu by Sympathetic sisters,
and every vessel develed its glass upon her.
She hiaieitepl knDt RRr hour after the acci7
dent. and.tied nplatiher pier ut Q o'clock Mon
day morning. fAlH., ni ,s.s.. ,IT "
The smack stack, when was badly strain
ed, will be repaired probably in time to allow
the. Winthrop to start for Portland at her
regular time this afternoon. 1t was purely
good fortune that nobody was hurt, for if the
edge Of the stack had struck the deck it must
certainly have crushed through it and injur-
ed the sleeping passengers in the statero0ms
directly underneath.
One If the ships crew had presentiment
OF the Incident before the steamer left Port
land. One pfithrepassengrrs was an elderly
Clergyman frpnnl Bath. lnnd, NJ he came on
board. tiiis saiiors said to thesailate Some
thitg Is going to happen IL us this trip
There Is aSparson. {. The sign never fails"