The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1890-04-07
THEY WERE ON THE CITY OF PARIS.
Passengers on the Big Ship stiII
Talking OF the Voyage.
How Purser miller and His Banjo
Drove Away Fear.
The AdrlatIc's Captain Says That
Ne Offered Aid.

LONDON, April 5.-The passengers Of the
City of Paris have not yet got through talk
ing about their eventful experience on the
water-logged steamer, and the actual danger
they were in does not seem any less when
considered from terra firma. The real truth
about the conduct of the captain of the
Adriatic has not, it seems, yet been told. A
score of passengers have stated that they
heard nothing of any offer on his part to
take them on board and carry them back to
New York. X. f. Downing, a well known
custom house broker of New York, said
'If the captain of the Adriatic did offer to
tske off the City of Paris passengers, Capt.
Watkins never told them OF it., or aim )st
every one would have gone. know one
New York man whose name / could mention
who. offered $1,000 to the captain OF the
the passengers would have gone on boat
bouLd for San Francisco around the horn.
rather than have stayed on tae Sinking City
of Paris"
Mr.. Downing says that the bravest man ON
board was Stuart Miller. the puTser.. Miller
kept up everybody's spirits. He played the
banjo. sang songs, told stories, and was as
cheerful as If he were on his wedding tour.
When he was not encouraging the passengers
he was down among the sailors and men who
pleasing bottle of whiskey. which he dealt
out in generous doses, taking hand himself
at the bucket while the others drank. The
coolest man on board. Mr.. Downing says,
was Holman, the liver pad man. Holman
was playing poker when the explosion oc-
CURED. All the rest of the players dropped
everything and rushed up to the deck, while
Holman, who was banking, remained 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 informed him
that he had got his name wrong on the pas
senger list. ut should be-" he said,
"Japhet Hirsch, and it is printed here Jacob
Hirsch. wish you would see that that cor
rection is made, so that if the steamer sinks,
my people would know it is me that is
like to know why this ship is sinking?"
Miller said he would. 1t is Judgment of
God" said Japhet Hirsch, solemnly. There
has been poker playing on board, and we
are all to be punished for the sin of few"
just before the wrecked steamer reached
Queenstown the passengers had meeting
and formed Passengers of the City of
Paris Association" with Emil Klaber of
Boston, president; j. IL. 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 Mexi %. Denver and San
Francisco to the banquet Six hundred
pounds, subscribed by the passengers for
some sailors charity. has not yet been dis
posed of. The committee, of which Francis
D. French Of New York, is president, meets
at the Savoy Hotel on Thursday to decide
how it shall be appointed. Many of the pas
sengers at first desired to give it all to Chief
Officer Passow and six men who went ashore
for assistance