Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-04-06
A TEXT FOR SAILORS.
The Narrow Escape of the City of
Paris the Great Subject of
DISCUSSION IN NAVAL CIRCLES.
Some of the Peculiar Incidents Of the
Partial Shipwreck.
TIE GOODNESS OF A POKER PLAYER
rBY CABLE TO TIE p1spATcH.1

tBE p1SPATCH.1
LONDON, April 5.-ICopyright. 1.-The
passengers of the City of Paris have not yet
got through talking about their eventful ex-
perience the water-logged steamer, and
the actual danger they were in does not
seem any less when considered from terra
frma. The real truth about the conduct of
the Captain of the Adriatic has not, it seems,
yet been told. A score of passengers have
told me that they heard nothing of any offer
on his part to take them on board and carry
them back to New York.
R. F. Downing, a well-known custom
house broker of New York, said: "If the
Captain of the Adriatic did offer to take off
the CITY of Paris passengers Captain Wat
kins never told them of it or almost every
one would have gone. l know one New
York man whose name / could mention who
offered e. 900 TO the Captain of the Adriatic
to take him back. Why, most of the pas
sengers would have gone on boat bound
for San Francisco around the Horn rather
than have stayed on the sinking CITY of
Paris"
THE BRAvEsT ON BOARD.
Mr.. Downing says the bravest man on
board was Stuart Miller, the purser. Miller
kept up everybody's spirits He played
the banjo, sang songs, told stories and was
as cheerful as if he were on his own we'd
ding tour. When he was not encouraging
the passengers he was down among the
sailors and men who were bailing out the
cabin, with a large and pleasing bottle of
whisky, which he dealt out in generous
doses, taking hand himself at the buckets
while the others drank.
The coolest man on board, Mr.. Downing
says, was Holman, the liver pad man.
Holman was playing poker when the ex-
plosion occurred. All the rest of the
players dropped everything and rushed up
to the deck, while Holman, who was bank
ing, renamed to stack up all the reds blues
and whites, and see how things stood before
he left the table or inquired what was the
matter. One man came to the purser at the
moment when hope was darkest. and in
formed him that he had got his name wrong
on the passenger list
cit should be," he said, "Japhet Hirsch,
and it is printed here Jacob Hirsch. 1 wish
YOU would see that that correction is made,
so that If the steamer sinks my people will
know it is me that is drowned. And now,
young man, would you like to know why
this ship is slnking?"
Miller said he would.
ONE MANS OPINION.
cit is judgment of God," said Japhet
Hirsch. solemnly. "There has been poker
playing on board, and we are all to be pun
ished for the sin of a few.
Just before the wrecked steamer reached
Queenstown the passengers held a meeting
and formed Passengers of City of Paris
Association" with Emil klaber, of Boston,
President; J. H. Harris, of New York,
Vice President, and jerome Rosenthal, of
New York, Secretary and Treasurer. The
object Of the association is to have big din
ner at Delmonico's or Sherry's, between
Christmas and New Years, and passengers
have promised to come on from places as far
away as the city of Mexico, Denver and San
Francisco to the banquet.
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