Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-08-18
THE GUNBoAr BENNINGTON.
Commando bradford Toll. How splendidiy
She Behaved In n Fierce storm.

''She lie a regular little duck"
That's what they have ALWAYS said about the
gunboat Remington. and the following ac-
count Of big storm tina; she weathered would
seem TO bear out the statement The account
Is embodied in a report received from Com
mander Bradford, as follows, dated Bahia,
Brazil, July 10:
CALF CONES UP.
/ have the henor 20 report in connectinn
with nv letter from Montevideo. Uruguay. No.
p. dated July 10, 1892, that the Bennington
sailed at pm. on that day. At the time o,
departure there we're frequent rain squalls. the
wind being moderate from s.s.E.. with the
barometer about three-tenths above
the normal. Having reached the
mouth of the river. with point east ut NAL
donado. bearing northwest. distant fifteen miles,
the ship WIS run east ttrue) seventy miles in
order to get good ofAng from the
dangerous Castillo coast, where 80 many
wrecks have recently occurred and then
headed northeast. During the night and next
morning the wind and sea increased aud u be-
came evident that a southeast gale al-
proachlng. These gales are not frequent. but
follow southwest gales. called pamperos. and
are the most Co be feared as they produce cry
heavy seas. The gale had 10 increased by the
afternoon Of the nth that I reluctantly hove
the snip 10 under steam. storm mizzen. and the
ioot OF the main trysail. heading east by south.
As the ship has never before been in .
heaNN gale al sea. nor 10 far INV information
I goes either Of her sister ships shall describe
Der behavior more INFINITELY than 4 otherwise
should. Previous 90 beaNing 20 one medium
sized merchant steamer had been passed hove
TO- The gale appeared 10 he ordinary ocean
storm; the greatest force Of the wind as logged
was ten the seas were heavy. but nothing un-
usual for gale in the open sea.
SHE BEHAVED WELL
The ship behaved remarkably well in every
respect; she did not roll excessively when run
ming, and When living to was very STEADY and
comfortable ;at no time did she ship sea. though
/ very wet from spray aud combers; her sea-
going qualities appeared to all To be excellent.
ne next morning. the l2th instant the wind,
which remained southeast. had much de-
creased in force. aud is logged from
Fix To seven; the sea had also apparently de-
creased At daylight the ship was kept awav
| and proceeded on her course northeast with
storm canvas set. A. the engines raced the
revolutions were decreased to ninety the speed
being about nine knots. The vessel was kept
on her course under these circumstances
without any material change for twenty-
four hours. making fairly good weather.
On the morning OF the 18th passed a bark hove
10. During the forenoon Of the 18th the sea
for some unknown reason greatly increased,
the wind, which remained about the same force,
menced to roll heavily.
Rolls % degrees to port and % degrees to
| starboard were accurately recorded by obsery-
ers. using the Webster clnometer Kept the
| snip away north northeast 60 bring the
! more astern and occasionally far "a nor h.
they were seen TO approach About noon "
! the 18th. the ship being in latitude
30 degrees IL minutes south, longitude AZ
| degrees 81 minutes west. the seas were partic-
ularly heavy and were estimated by observers
on the bridge. which il thirty feet above the
water line, to be forty feet high: they seemed
! to be confused. and though generally from
about southeast those coming from difercns
/ directions. from east TO south. could be seen TO
meet and break. the resultant being wall-sided
cone OF water. very high aud very disastrous in
It's effect upon the movements OF the ship.
HEAVIEST SEAS EVER SEEN
Several Of the oldest officers on board stated
that these were the heaviest seas they had ever
seen. The matches had been kept bsttened
down partially wholly since heaving 20 on
the 18th inst No sail was set, as the wind was
about aft As the ship rolled water
would spout through the clearing
ports like a fountain. and OCCASION
allv little would come over the lee
rail. became convinced il was no longer pru-
dent TO run the ship. and besides she had been
kept away toward the Brazilian coast in Q
course that would before long bring her too
near it. At about pm. decided to heave the
ship 10 and called all hands for that purpose;
while preparations were being made
/ saw an immense sea coming aud
put the helm up to get the ship
of before it; she did not pay of quickly
enough and it struck her on the quarter,
greatly heeling her to port. Unfortunately
the heel was not recorded. but as it was by far
the heaviest roll il must have been 40 degrees or
| more. As looked aft from the bridge l
sens pouring IN over the lee rail,
the whole gap between il and the
whale boat being filled with foaming water;
the boat itself shipped water and its keel lie five
| feet above the rail The ship seemed 10
hang in this position for a moment and then
| righted. The water-tight doors in the cabin
bulk head had been closed and no water got be-
low. After this sea a smooth time followed;
the helm was put hard down; the lee engine
started at full speed and the weather one
slowed; and rs soon rs they would take,
the after storm sails set. The
ship came up to the wind very quickly without
shipping any water and was Kept heading Z. S
E., the coming from from s. Is. +. In this
position she lay easily without much motion on
and without shipping any water. At first oil
was used. but this was afterward discontinued
AZ unnecessary; the storm mizzen was kept set
for time, but as the wind hauled to the south
ward and westward il was taken in.
NEVER SAW A SHIP LIE TO BETTER
/ have never seen ship lie to better or per-
haps as well as the Bennington did. Her en-
gines were both kept goisg just sufficiently 10
give her fair steerage way and consequently
she never fell of into the trough Of the sea
Her speed through the water Was from two
to three knots. 1 believe this TO be the
proper method for modern ships to lie
to instead Of the old style with sails
keeping the helm down. the ship falling Of,
gathering hesdway, then luffng 70. losing way to
repeat the same movement. The Bennington
was kept hove TO for day and half. the wind
meantime becoming light, but the sea remain
ing heavy. Nothing Of n cyclonic nature
could be discovered about the storm,
the barometer remaining stationary
all Of the time except in its
diurnal tidal variations. When the ship was
kept away on her course she rolled from % to
IS degrees each way for half day. and the long
southeast swell continued for three DAYS through
distance of 500 miles. fresh northeast wind
in the latitude Of Rio Janeiro did not stop It's
progress.
The ship wns kept dry and comfortable below
all OF the time. Iconsider her seagoing quali-
| ties excellent. do not believe any vessel Of
her size can encounter such seas a. were met
with safety except when taken on the bow. The
wind and the water taken on board gave me no
concern.
The remainder of the Journey to Bahia. where
we arrived at $40 am, July Is, was unevent-
| full The ship made the journey In eight days
and eighteen hours. When going 10 Monte
video last January the journey WIS made In six
| days and nineteen hours.
n - q -