St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-06-21
MET A GIANT BERG.
A Ships Encounter With an Icy
Monster.

N1OuSCGEs
The steamship Richmond Hill, from
London, under command Of Captain
Perry, arrived In port yesterday and
500 feet high and nearly half a mile
long. This is probably the greatest Ice
berg that has ever been seen so far
south. and its presence in the neighbor-
hood Of the ocean lane frequented by
steamships and sailing vessels is any
thing but reassuring to navigatOrs. A
great steamship colliding with one of
these monster bergs, while going at even
slow rate Of speed, would go to the
bottom before soul could be saved.
On account of the presence of these
icebergs the officers of the various
steamship companies have instructed
thecaptains of their respective ships to
lay aside all desire to make records"
and to exercise the greatest caution In
the neighborhoOd where the floating
monsters are likely to be encountered.
The iceberg reported to have been
seen from the Richmond Hill was en-
countered on May 10 in latitude 42.51,
longitude 51.26. On the afternoon of
that day the lookout reported the berg
lying directly in the path Of the steam
ship. The vessel had, an hour before.
run into dense fog, and it was not un-
til the ship was approaching the float
ing monster, and was about 500 yards
distant from it, that the lookout was
enabled to make out its gigantic proper
lions through the dense fog. The cap
tain had given orders to be on the alert
for icebergs and floating ice just before
the vessel ran into the fog. The fog
was occaSiOneG by the presence OF the
berg.
The vessel was sheered off and passed
to the southwark of the icy monster.
AS the vessel approached nearer it was
seen that the great column of ice tow
cred nearly 200 feet above the mastS OF
| the ship. 1t was impossible to dis
| tinguish its summit, as the dense fog
| completely enveloped it.
cit was one of the greatest bergs I
ever saw" said First Officer Osborne to
a Star reporter yesterday. land as the
| steamer passed it one could not help
| noticing the diminutiye size of the
| steamer alongside of the towering berg.
| AS we passed around the other side of
| the berg it was seen that one side of it,
which presented a perpendicular front
as smooth as slab of marble, was i'll
| tensely white. The other side of the
berg was dirty gray color. can not
account for this. unless it was that the
side which was white had faced wet
snow-storm. l know of no greater
| danger to vessels than these floating
| visitors from the Arctic seas. They are
| as unWelcOme as typhOOn and dOubly
as dangerous.
sThe big berg was pointed at the
apex like volcano. 1t had a square
| base, which rounded off few feet above
| the water. The base was aG least half
mile long. The great mass of ice was
floating slowly, and seemed utterly i'm
movable. The waves dashed and
broke against it, but it never swayed,
| and stood erect like a mighty sentinel
| wearing and eating away the base. In
some parts, where the ice had been
washed away, there were Overhanging
| crevices and arches nearly fifty feet
| high. AS we sa led away from the big
| iceberg the sun came out. The effect
| upon the berg was wOndrOuSly beautiful.
| Itseemed. as the rays of the sun began to
| dance and play about the floating giant,
! as though 100000 electric lights had
suddenly lighted up the whole exterior
| of the berg"
The vessel encountered smaller bergs
| and ice foes on each successive day for
four days. A strict lookout was kept
| for the dangerous Instructions, and the
temperature VI IIlt Sod was llOquCHoly
andregularly tested. In this manner,
and by the action of the barometer,
the presence of an unusually large
quantity of ice is readily detected.
The steamer Critic, which arrived
yesterday, also reports having met great
| icebergs and floating ice fields in about
the same latitude The bergS will con-
tinue to float down from Greenland I'M
til the middle of next month, when they
will succumb to the rays of the sun and
be converted into water before coming
further south than Labrador. 80;