Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1890-07-12
A NARROW ESCAPE.

In January, 1877, the United States
steamer Richmond lying in the harbor
of Valparaiso, Chill, received orders to
proceed to the United States. We were
to touch at all points on the way and get
final orders at Hampton Roads. In ad-
ditiOn to the Richmond the Omaha and
the storeship Onward We're looking after
American interests in those waters. The
harbor was crowded with ships the morn
ing of our departure, and with high
hopes we heard the order: "All hands up
anchor. The capstan was soon manned,
and to the stirring music of fiddle and fife
the anchor was soon hanging at the cat
head and our fine old ship steamed slowly
through the long lines of shipping. The
Omaha manned the rigging and sent us
on our way with three hearty cheers;
the Chiian flagship Valparaiso, an inn
mence ironclad, dipped her flag and sa-
luted us with 13 guns. She carried &
35-ton guns, and their sharp deafening
report almost lifted us off our feet, while
from the band of the English flagship
came the sweet strains of Home, Sweet
Home" We were soon clear of the har
Dor. bells sounded full speed ahead,
and we started on our long voyage to
the land of the free. We touched at
Conception Bay and Naldivia, and soon
after entered Smiths Straits. This is a
passage often taken by steamers bound
through Magellan sStraits, as it is shorter
than the outside passage and smooth
water all the way. 1t extends from the
Gulf of Penas to Magellan Straits, and is
formed by islands so close together that
the channel is more like river than any
thing else. 1t contains some of the
grandest scenery in the world. Noun
tains. valleys, volcanoes, and glaciers,
deep canyons and beautiful lakes meet
the eye as the vessel plows through the
water In places the channel widens
out and is almost lost between hundreds
of small islands; at others it flows through
narrow passages between mountains
whose sides, straight as the walls of a
house. tower from 800 to 900 feet above
the water. Such a place is the English
Narrows. half mile long, in no place
more than 300 feet wide and in some
places not more than 100. Every sound
made is echoed from side to side dozens
of times. and the report of a musket puts
a war veteran in mind of Gettysburg.
Some of the officers induced the captain
to fire one of the heavy guns in the mar
rows, something no ship had ever done
before. and doubt if any officer present
when that shot was fired will wish to try
it again. BY the advice of the navigator
the gun was not fired until just as the
ship passed out into the open water clear
of the CANYON The order to fire was
given Just as the ships bow swung into
clear water. Twas standing on the poop
deck looking back as the gun was fired,
and | shall never forget what followed;
roar after roar, crash after crash as if
the very mountains were being torn from
their eternal resting places. Ten sec
onds after that gun was fired every gun
in the ship could have been fired at once
and a man with his eyes shut would not
know it, But it was not the laundering
echoes that tranSfiXed every man on deck.
Blanched faces and eyes filled with hOr
rur were fixed on mass of rock twice
the size of the ship on the edge of the cliff.
1t slowely toppled over, and then, with
the speed of lightning seemed to fall
straight down on us. / shook in every
limb, unable to move, and the next mo-
ment the ship tremhled as if struck by a
cyclone. Tons of watnr rushed over the
upper part of the ship, everyone aft was
thrown off his feet, and the waterpoured
down the open hatchway into the ward
room and after cabins. The immense
mass of rock struck the water and disap-
peared not 30 feet from the ships stern.
AN around us the water seemed to boil,
andphe swell was as heavy as on the ocean
after storm. At this time the awful
roar of those unseen guns seemed to fill
every valley and ravine for 10 miles
around. getting fainter and then break
ing forth with increased force, to finally
die away far off in the mountains, in a
succession of sharp unearthly cracks.
Some of the men rushed for the boats
and life RATS. Engineers and tiremen
ran up from below, thinking the ship had
struck. and one poor fellow was carried
against a gun by the water and had his
leg broken.
In a short time we came 30 anchor in
n little cove about a mile below. The
steam pumps were started and the water
pumped out, the deck cleared up, clothes
lines rugged and soon filled with clothes,
carpets, and bedding. Next morning two
loats were lowered and, filled with Of
fcers and men, pulled back to see how
things looked. Each boat had lead and
line for sounding up to 20 fathoms, but
,.,uIl trnt no hottom A longer line Was