The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1891-10-28
The Voyage OF the Steamer La Gas
cogne a Constant Battle With
Wind and Waves.
For Four Days and Nights the Vessel
Was i'm the Grasp or Verita-
BILE Cyclone.
No Passengers Seriously Injured but
Many Carry Bruises as Souvenirs
Of the Trip.

New YORK, Oct. 2S.-More than
twenty-four hours overdue and with
salt incrusted tunnels the French line
steamer La Gascogne entered the New
York harbor out of the reach of the
storm which had pounded the vessel al
most the entire voyage. The trip was .
constant battle with wind and waves.
For four days and nights the vessel was
in the grasp of veritable cyclone. Tons
of water came down like battering rams
upon La Gascogne's forward turtle deck
during the run, and the spar deck for
ward between the officers quarters and
the saloon deck house was flooded. The
water rushed aft in an almost constant
stream as wave after wave
Poured over the Ship.
Eyen the lofty promenade deck was not
dry during the Voyage, and the officers
on the bridge were continually drenched.
Despite the severe landings received
the La Gascogne was as trim as when
it left Havre. Not boat was damaged
and not block displaced. With one
exception the passengers were not seri-
ously hurt, though many of them will
carry bruises for days to come as SOU
venirs of the trip.
The first signs of storm appeared
Oct. IS. At 10 o'clock terrific gale
from the south struck the vessel. Every
hatch was double battened, the saloon
doors were closed and everything done
for the safety of the vessel. It was roll
ing heavily with the waves making
Clean Breach over the Decks
The spray hew to the tops Of the smoke
stacks. The wind veered to the west
northwest, Oct. 10, and blew with
redonbled force. The engines were
reduced to half speed. Big seas were
shipped over the bows, and - k1nea Hi
vessel simply cut through the big rollers.
Pieuto Hacaggi, steerage passenger,
died of heart disease Oct. 90. The storm
is said to have frightened the man and
hastened his death. The body was bur
led at sea. The poor steerage passen-
gers, already terrified by the storm,
were, however, nearly frantic. Many
of them imagined that they were going
to the bottom and fervent prayers were
offered up that
Their Lives Might he Spared.
None of them were allowed to come on
deck lest they should be washed over.
board, and the end of the four days
storm found some completely exhausted
It was not until last Thursday that the
storm in measure lulled and Is. Gas
cogne again ran at full speed. The wind
blew fresh and danced all around the
compass for the next two days, but il
was nothing to the storms the steamer
had battled through. Saturday gale
from the northwest struck the vessel
and at 8 o'clock in the morning an enor
nous sea came over the bows and
washed clear over the promenade deck
It almost buried the boass scss scs moment
and the steamship quivered in every
| fiber of its stout frame as it slowly re
covered from the shock. Not until |
o'clock Monday morning did La Gas
cogne reach Fire Island. From there
the news of its safe arrival was tele
graphed to New York and the anxiety
] OF many relatives and friends of those
on r.s,ard thereby allayed.