The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-03-27
SAILORS SAW IT PASS AND TREMBlED.
The German Ship CamelIa Nearly
Struck by Waterspout,
A Sailor With Razor Drives a Conn
rade Overheard to Die.
Jamaica Officials Excited by a Rus
sian Man o. War.

NEW YORK, March 26.-It took the Ger
man ship Camelia, which arrived yesterday.
50 days to make the voyage from Rotterdam
through a succession:of storms. On Febru-
ary II, in latitude 3So 81, longitude 25o 49,.
or about 1850 miles due west of Gibraltar.
the Camelia narrowly escaped collision with
a tremendous waterspout. The, sailors had
great scare.
The ship passed on March 6, close to the
hull of large sailing vessel floating bottom
up. The wreck, which could not be identi-
fed, was in latitude 80 40, longitude $50 45'
or 1890 miles east of st. Augustine. Fla, and
in the same latitude. She was apparently a
bark or sailing ship oil 1000 tons, about 255
feet long, and newly coppeIed There is no
wreck in that locality noted on this months s
Hydro graphic Chart. tits feared that the
crew was lost.
The Camelia was detained IA days north Of
Hatteras by contrary winds.
The Camelia Is vessel Of over 1900 tons
and she carries an immense spread of can
vas. She was built at Bath, Me-, though fly
ing the German flag. On leaving Rotterdam
she took an extreme southerly course to
avoid the Ice. On the afternoon Of February
IL she was steering due west with fresh
breeze from the north on her starboard beam.
Every sail allow and aloft was set and draw
ing full. Captains Arians was c0ngratulat-
ing himself on the vessels progress when he
noticed heavy black cloud hanging low
over the water to the northward.
1t was rapidly approaching the vessel, and
soon the Camelia's crew made out the form
OF huge waterspout, which reared itself ap-
parently 200 feet out of the water. The cap
tain decided that it was fully 70 feet in diam
eeter at the base. 1t assumed the shape of an
hour glass, and the top was lost to sight in
the cloud above 1t. On 1t came with deaf
ening roar like the noise of dozen big cata-
racts combined. Captain Arians ordered
the light sails taken in, and shortly after the
Camelia was bare down to her lower top
sails.
1t seemed almost certain that the big wa
terspout would strike the vessel, and every
one on board watched intently. But the
ship escaped, for the big, twisting column of
water passed barely two ship lengths astern,
and such was the suction caused by its pas
sage that the huge sails Of the Camelia were
slapped back against her masts, and for a
moment threatened to follow the water
spout. The ship trembled, and for some
time violently rocked in the big billows in
the wake of the spout.
Captain Arians. said, 1t was travelling
about 40 miles pei hour as near as he could
judge. 1t was magnificent spectacle, but
those on the Camelia enjoyed it better when
it had gone laundering by on its way to the
southwark. though it probably would not
have seriously harmed the vessel had it
STRUCK her except for the weight of water on
her decks.
When the wreck was sighted on March
the Camelia lay to for some time and una
vailing efforts were made to identify it. A
d0ry bottom up was passed on March 20 in
latitude 80 81 longitude 71o IA