Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1892-12-05

up nope OF saving tne snip, yet eacn C1me
they believed it would be impossible for
the boats to live in the tremendous seas.
On Sunday night all the officers were con-
WINGED that to abandon the ship for the
boats would be certain death. Everybody
is eloquent in praise of Dwight L. Moody.
His services did more than anything else,
all say, toward steadying the courage of
the passengers. In every group of foreign
ers during the preaching sat somebody who
translated the evangelist's words as they
came from his lips.
Mrs. Robinson's Experience.
Mrs. J. W, Robinson, of Chicago, told
the correspondent of the International
Telegraph company the story of her ex-
perience on the drifting steamship. She
said: when the shaft broke l was sleep
ing in my state room. I was aroused by
crash, then felt heavy shock which al
most threw me off my berth | knew that
something serious hah happened. / got up
Immediately, dressed as fast as could and
ran into the corridor, where / found the
rest of the passengers frightened and
huddled together When we learned the
cause of the trouble, none of us realized the
danger we were in. When we got on the
deck, however, we saw a frightfu scene.
Hundreds We're struggling for life pre-
servers, shouting or groaning, or running
about as if crazy. Preparations to lower
the boats increased their terror For two
days and nights we were tossed about and
drifted away from our course
Sad Suicide Of Vienna Man.
"We did not go TO bed eithel Saturday or
Sunday night. The sea was terrific. The
ship rolled so that we had to cling to tables
or chairs to prevent our being dashed to the
floor OF against the partitions. A German
lady who tried to leave the cabin when the
sea was at It's worst was thrown against a
pillar so violently that she broke her arm.
The surgeon set it with the greatest diff
Guilty, as it was almost impossible to remain
quiet even in ones berth. The suicide of a
young man from Vienna depressed US all
he was wealthy and was engaged to marry
a Niennese young lady. Four women in
the second cabin became temporarily in
sane from anxiety and lack of Sleep
Terrible Time to Be III.
Miss NJ. L. Merriman, ofBoston. was i'll
IN bed at the time of the accident; in fact,
too i'll to realize her danger. She was
nearly thrown on the floor by the shock.
She dressed herself slowly and was one of
the last to get on deck. 4 never before
saw such a scene," she said. "The ship
was at the mercy of the sea and the waves
were dashing up on the decks. The pas
sengers were huddled together in the pas
sageways or on the stairs or were running
about as best they could on deck Most of
, them had been calmed by the time / got up
stairs, but the faces of all were white with
terror. We had a terrible SUNDAY morn
/ ing. The sea was worse than had ever
seen it. We feared that the bulkheads
would not hold out, and at night had be-
/ come so frightened that we would not 90
to bed, bus lay down in the companion-
! way"
Honor to the officers and Crew.
! General Howard, General King and
! other passengers express the highest praise
/ of the noble and devoted conduct both of
the officers and the crew of the Spree.
! They have presented the following testi-
monial to Captain Wilhgerod: "Your ship
has been saved from great peril, and we
desire to express TO you and your officers
and the entire crew the great satisfaction
and sincere gratitude felt by all for your
| work performed under circumstances of
unusual trial. demanding the utmost dis
! cipline, patience and courage. While
| deeply grateful to the Heavenly Father for
His mercies our hearts turn to the noble
captain and his brave men"
| Gave the Crew a Little Reminder
The passengers raised the sum of $500.
half of which was given to hose who had
lost their clothing and baggage and the re-
mainder to the crew who had worked day
and night at the pumps. Some of the saloon
passengers sailed on the Etruria yesterday,
and the mails from the Spree went on that
vessel. The remainder will await the
! Havel, of the North German Lloyd, which
left Bremen for Queenstown Saturday.