The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1892-12-28
The Noordland Towed Into Queenstown with
Broken Shaft Aftera Narrow Escape from
Going to the Bottom of the Sea-
Many of the Passengers Frightened Into
q Condition Bordering on Frenzy,
And When Land Was Reached Some of the
Women Fell on Their Knees-The Umbria
0veriue-Arriyal of Battered Ships.
A DISABLED STEAMER.

A DISABLED STEAMER
The Noordland Rescued by the Ohio While
Being Tossed as the Mercy Of the Waves.
QUEENSTOWN. Dec. "a. - The steamer
Noordland. from New York. arrived here
to-day In tow by the steamship Ohio. from
Philadelphia. having broken her shaft at
sea. The voyage of the Noordland was
tempestuous almost from the hour of leav-
ing Sandy Hook The winds blew almost
q hurricane and the ship had much diff
Guilty in making headway through the
waves Some of the passengers were 80 op-
prehensive of danger that they could not
be induced to retire at night The waves
tossed their ICY foam on the decks until the
lower rigging was covered with CONCEALED
frostipg, and the deck itself was like Q
skating pond. The Noordlsnd labored
along successfully until Thursday evening.
It was bitter cold, and the passengers
were congratulating themselves on grad
ually nearing the end of their stormy voy-
age. The steamer was in longitude lSo so
west, and latitude 500 15' north when. at
twenty minutes past o'clock in the even
ing. tremendous crash was heard, and the
vessel quivered from end to end. Three
terrific blows resounded, one after another.
as If the vessel was being struck by q gi-
gantic hammer. which. indeed. was the
fact. The fright of some of the people was
pitiful to behold. They rushed hither
and thither. delaying the officers in their
efforts to get at the cause and extent OF
the disaster. The engines raced furiously.
while the broken shaft, for that proved to
be the danger. seemed about to crush the
ship at every concussion. Water rushed
into the tube. menacing the stoke.hold and
the engne-rooms. and the panic-str icken
passengers thought for q while that the
vessel was about to sink. Several minutes
elapsed before word was given for the en-
gines to stop. The Noordland lay helpless
tossed by the gale, and As the water rushed
In there seemed imminent danger of sink
ing. The pumps ore manned and put to
work, every man of the crew being sum-
moned to duty. For twenty-four hours
continuously the pumps were kept at
work, and the water prevented from gain
At the time of the accident the Noord-
landEwas 400 miles west of Queenstown,
The crippled steamer was sighted by the
steamship Ohio, which left philadelphia on
York. and needed assistance was at once
extended. The voyage to Queenstown in
tow was attended by much difficulty, and
the continuous stormy weather made IL
Noordland arrived without further acci-
dent. An examination showed that the
fracture of the shaft WAS six feet inside
the stern.
A PASSENGERS STORY.
The Noordland and Ohio arrived here at
o'clock this evening. ALI the passen gers
were on deck waving hats and hsndker.
chiefs and cheering. Anchor was dropped
and the passengers were removed to shore
by q tender All sho we'd signs Of the anxiety
which they had suffered; come of the elderly
steerage passengers were hardly able to
walk. Several women fell on their knees
and cried the moment they were landed.
Fred Kotz, . first cabin passenger now
stopping at Queenstown hotel, told his
experiences tonight: The first two days
out Of New York were fair. although part
weather then grew rapidly worse. On the
night of the accident We were making
about twelve knots an hour. The ship was
rolling heavily and most of the cabin
passengers were below sick. Five or six Of
about how We should pass christina
In Antwerp. whom there was terrific
crash and we were thrown from
the seats into q heap on the floor. The VIZ
bration of the ship almost shook us from
our feet as we started for the door. It
seemed as If q gigantic hammer was pound
ing the ships bottom. When we got out
side we saw the captain coming from the
engiue-room. The passengers came rum
ming on deck half dressed and white from
feor. We surrounded the captain, and he
told MS that the main shaft was broken.
but that there was no immediate reason for
alarm. The other officers who were not
busy below worked with the passen gers IN
cessantly and tried to encourage all to be-
lieve that there was no danger. In q few
minutes we learned that the engineers, at
great risk to their lives. had diecov cred
that the two stay plates and she plummer
blocks had smashed part of the engine.
tight. The vessel pitched and rolled ter
ribly, so that we saw We could not
trust to the boats II the worst came.
"We were just becoming calmer when We
saw the crew rushing through the steer
age, carrying bedding, mats and carpets to
be stnffed into tho tunnel-box. We all
know then that water was coming In. No
body slept that night The women sat cry
ing in the cabin and the men crowded tho
smoking-room to play cards and talk over
encd. The vessel rolled terribly, and with
every roll came q terrible thump, as IL u
piece of the shaft was loose and smashing z
things In the hold. The sails had been
spread, but they did not steady the ship
noticeably. We knew we werc far from the
track Of transatlantic steamers. and most
OF US on that night would not have guessed
that our chance for life was moro than two
IN five. The crew worked heroically at the
pumps and the engineers were busy with
the shaft. fixing plugs and trying to stop
the flow of water. As tho sea was still
too rough for any life-boat. we were o
gloomy lot. Friday was uneventful The
tables were laid. as usual, but few cared to
eat. At 2 O'Clock on Saturday morning the
lookout called. Light ahead Every body
turned out and listened eagerly for the
next word. She's a steamer was the next
cali We all shook hands and cheered. and
many ran about shouting for JOY. We all
remained on deck the rest Of the night
watching the Ohios lights. At daylight
she stood By and passed q hawser. At that
time, as learned subsequently,. our after
peak was full of water. and. despite their
expressions of confidence, the officers of the
ship were intensely snxlous. The Ohio be-
gan TO move Us very slowly. The strain
caused by the heavy seas was too great
however. and after five minutes the bawser
broke. Nine hours went by before another
hawser could be paused. This hawser broke.
ns did also the third. It was Sunday morn
ing before We were fixed. We proceeded
about seven knots an hour. At Daunt's
Rnrk ta n rfr