New-York tribune., 1890-05-21
PRICE THREE CENTS.
CRASHING INTO AN ICEBERG.
PART OF THE MASS FALLS on THE STEAMER.
THE QUICK REVERSAL OF THE ENGINES SAVES
THE VESSEL-A BAD LEAK, BUT NO
DANGER OF SINKING

The Beacon Light, new English oil steamer.
sailed from Newcastle on May 3 on her maiden
trip. She is one of the best oil tanks afiOat, ana
Captain Elliott expected to make fast trip
AS the weather was fair and the steamer bowled
over the bilows at the rate of fourteen knots
an hour there appeared to be no reason why
his expectations should not he realized For
eleven days the Beacon Light met with no in-
cdent to disturb the eduanimity OF her crew.
Captain Elliott on the lookout for ice His
course ran a little north of the usual transatlantic
path, but his trip uninterrupted until his new
command was east of the Great Banks, due $40
miles OFF Nova Scotia. heavy fog rolled In.
and the Beacon Lights log showed that the
steamer slowed down to about eight miles an
hour. Her hoarse fog whistle footed away all
day and Captain Elliott and First Mate Chase
nervously paced the flying bridge until past mid
night Of May 13. At l?:20 a. M on May Ii.
the lookout called from the forecastle, Light.
right ahead, sir" second later the man
screamed lee" and ran aft And then the
electric search light flashed on what seemed 10
the startled captain and mate TO be an immense
white cloud fifty feet ahead A second later their
eyes were dazzled with glitter of brilliant colors
reflected from wall Of ice that lowered above
the .igny steamer fully 90 feet and reached away
600 feet in length.
Ny Cod calculated Captain Elliott, that's
ice Starboard your helni," he trumpetcd to
the steersman. ringing To the engineer to stop
the steamer and reverse her engines But the
momentum of the s.camer carried her on, and
the captain and mate involuntarily grasped the
ropes and braced themselves for the shock. Yet
the steames Just swerved from her course.
second more and her bow glanced on one Of
the two enormous pinnaces that tottered over
her deck. But the shock was felt from stem 10
stern, and the frightened men the bridge
saw overhanging ledge the giant berg
break away and fall. Part of it thundered
the deck of the Beacon Light. and tons of it
pumped into the sea between the steamer and
the iceberg, sending up geysers Of water and
foam that blinded the men on the steamer. Up
il rose to the surface Of the water and crashed
at the bottom Of the battered steamer, lifting her
ten feet from the water-linc.
dozen alarmed engineers and iremen rushed
from the Lights hold and grabbed the life-llnes
as the vessel began TO carcen on her beam ends.
The Beacon Light was in ballast and the water
in her staboard compartments swashed over 10
the port side, while fifty tons of ice on the fore
castle rumbed over at the same time. The
steamer was almost on her beam ends when the
ice Sid overheard. Then she righted just as the
| terrified crew of twenty-eight men started to
| man the boats Captain Elliott was perfectly
cool but he let the men 20 ahead. When they
saw that the vessel was not sinking they rushed
tor the pumps. When they found that they
could keep ahead Of the water that was pouring
into the hold. they recovered from their panic.
An investigation revealed the facts that the
ice that had fallen in the forecaSte had smashed
in the deck somewhat. and some fifteen feet Of
railing on the starboar1 side. The ice that hal
bumped up against tie steamers bottom had
started enough plates to set her leaking badly,
but no more. The Beacon Light backed off
from the iceberg, and reached Quarantine late
on Monday night The day after her encounter
with the iceberg she passed several others.
Onc interesting feature of the collision was
| tlat the temperature was "A degrees, which did
| not indicate the presence of ice. About 100
tons of ice fell into the water If IL had struck
tie steamer she would not have survived The
accident occurred in latitude i3 30. and on2i
tude 4S: rs. out of The track of TRANSATLANTIC
passenger steamers. The Beacon Light is $50
feet long. forty wide and twenty-echt deep.
She is 2.1O7 tons registered. Her owners arc
Stuart X Co, oil merchants. of Liverpool.