The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1892-12-05
PRAYER SAVED THE SHIP.
en- sly THE THANKFUL PISSENG Frs
or THE DysJBLED SPREE.

,,,,c,,.t Moody and Gen. Howard Tell
Thrilling stories Of the Big Boncs Dire
yur,,-rcar Drove several OF the Pn..
..,rrr. Mnd-'rhe situation More Dc--
..,,c. Even, than Passengers Thought.
orrr<srowS. Doc. 4.-No great ship's CON-
NV aver escaped scot FREQ from severcr perils
,h.n those which threatened seven hundred
.onl. on the steamship Spree during the first
,or,v.oirht hours after tho disaster to her ma
.hincry. The extent and nature OF tho dan
,.arvas not made known to tho passengers
,r,,o.day They knew that they had faced
sa,th but they did not know that the escape
..,. almost miraculous. They did not know
m,, Ior y,lrs the ships officers expected her
tnslnl with but little warning: they did not
s,nv that the life bonts and RATS were pro-
.i.,orsd anil made ready for sudden launch
,rr and that the officers were armed in
,,onarstion for tho desperate rush that might
.oms in such an extremity. They did not
trow that resort to the boats in such q sea
meant death to most. II not to all. Tho dan
car il over now, but the memory OF the anx-
IONS hours o. n week ago is SO appalling that
stout hearted Moody. tho evangelist could
not speak to-day of the trying time without
emotion.
Mos. OF the passengers are loath to talk OF tho
madness and one to suicide. Mr. Moody
earnestly aflrms TINT nothing short OF the
direct in.crposttion OF Providence in answer
.orrays-s saved Tho lives OF the whole ships
company.
Did you ever SEQ seven hundred mon and
women r-ay!' said lie to mo this afternoon
"There mover was moro earnest praycrto
God than that OF those seven hundred souls
on that helpless. almost sinking ship in mid
ocean last Sunday ovoninE when we mot in
the saloon to implorc Gods help. and God
answcrcd US as l knew He would. Ho sont US
Il -cscuin: ship. and IIo Gained the sea SO
that for week it WIS MS smooth rs
ils in this harbor. though there were storms
ell around us. 1t was the Erandest test Of
prayer ever knew. My son was with me. He
is a student in Yale College. and tho learned
professors there have instilled in him some
doubts about Gods direct interference in
answer to prayer.
After We had prayed that night had
reached point where cared not whether 1t
was Gods will that We should go UP or down.
determined to 60 to rest as though We were
sailing safely on our way. My boy couldn't
rest Wo wore fast drifting out OF the track Of
vessels. and our peril was extreme. About pa
o'clock he came and woke me. telling me to
como on deck. There he pointed out an &C.
casIcnal glimpse Of q tiny light that showed
over the waves as our ship rolled heavily from
side to side. 1t is our star OF Bethlehem he
cried. and our prayers are answered. Before
daylight the Huron. whose masthead light 1t
was. had reached US. and the waves were
stillod and the winds were hushed by divine
command while We were drawn out Of the
direst peril to this safe haven"
Very simple and very thrilling is tho nnrra-
tive given mo this evening by Gen. o. o. How
ard. "The weather had been rough for some
time when tho accident happened" said tho
one.armed soldier. "The alarm was not very
great at first among the first cabin passengers.
twas O terrible experience for tho second
cabin and storage passengers. who were
asleep In the compartment next to the last
into which the water first rushed. They barely
reached deck ahead OF tho inrushing food and
they saved nothing but tho clothes they wore
1t became evident that the shaft tunnel had
been burst in several places. and pumping
was quite useless. The two rear comparr-
msnts were entirely abandoned to the water.
and it made rapid inroads into the third But
you are familiar with the technical story Of
the accident and will not repeat it. Tho pas
sengers. I think. behaved snlendldly. but in
stead Of selilshness and complaining thore
we're most touching demonstrations OF SYM
patty and desire to help others throughout
the ship Yes. the minds OF three or four gave
way under the strain. but there was no great
excitement ut any time Some rather foolish
things wero done. but they did not seem
amusing ut the time.
THE ladies' were wonderfully self 20 assessed
and considerable throughout the crisis Neither
! nor my daughter in law. who Is travelling
with me. felt any real alarm. had through
out strong. perhaps unreasonable. intuition
that VIC should nll escape. We tried to i'm part
tho same confidence to others. 1t was an eX-
perieEco that brought out rs nothing else
could DO tho common brotherhood Of man.
Thoro were some close condolences exchanged
among US those two anxious days. The case
of the young Austrian who jumped overheard
was very sad one. He mada q con!ldant OF
an American lady. to whom he gave up his
s'atcroom after tho accident. He said that his
name was Pau! Karnslor. He was sure that
almost oil would perish. and he begged this
lady. II snp escaped. to communicate with his
!anc'e. and to say that it was his wish that
MI his property should go to her He
had. 1t 10 said. very large sum OF
money in his possession. Mr. Moody
suffered much with seasickness up to
the time OF the accident. | met him on dock
two or three hours after the crash, when
everybody was most apprchcnsive. General
come down to my room with my son and ne .
he said. We went below. and Mr.. Moody
dropped on his knees and offered ono of the
most touching prayers have ever heard. We
read the ninety-frst Psalm. and /. too asked
God to save not only the lives but the souls o
those on board. viii Moody. too. offered I
prayer which shall never forget. think NJ
one on board went to bed that first night. W,
were very quiet, a very anxious company.
On Sunday evening Mr.. Moody asked m,
to organize Il service in the saloon. asked
the Captains permission. and his reply was
Most certainly: I am that kind. too W.
gave notice OF tho meeting. and to our sur
pl'ssevcry one on board attended. except. O
course. the officers and crow. who could moi
,eaHe their posts. You will readily believe
maj It was tho most impressive religious
gathering any OF us ever attended. Jews
'H'ho!lcs, aai oil others forgot differences In
efeets and denominations. There was no room
!or them in such an hour. Mr. Moody read
t"e "lst and 10Th Psalms. and ono OF the
"ermanS translated verse by verse for his
cOLntIympn. Mr.. Moody ofT,ral , ,,o,. Co.,