The sun., 1893-12-12
RAN INTO AN ICE MOUNTAIN.
SKIPPER LARRABEE sAFs THE NERO
ROSE 1900 FEET dBuVE WATER

Miles to New hOrk tnuer Jury AN'A.
II was probably the most colossal iceberg
that ever navigator observed In the neighbour
hood OF the Horn Perhaps the skipper OF the
Yankee ship San joaquin may have thought 1t
bigger than 1t really was because ofthe unex-
pectedness with which he discovered it on the
night Of Satu day Sept g. about $50 miles
northeast Of the Falkland Islands. while on his
way from ITogo to this port.
The San Joaquin was bowling along az an
eight-knot rate with the wind a stif north
wester over the port beam. when the icy ap-
partition startled the lookouts. After sunset.
as tho breeze freshened. all light eail had been
taken In. Tho ship was under full lower sail
when the crash came. Tho presence OF Ice
had been Indicated by drop In the tempera-
ture. and there were two men, Second Mate
Guthrie and japanese sailor on the fore
castle head straining their eyes through the
murky night for Ice. They felt sudden chill
In the air about 8 o'clock. and in an instant
they saw dead ahead what appeared to DO at
first glance an immence bank Of foG
1t was in reality tho iceberg. Second Mate
Guthrie ran aft and jumped down the ladder
to the main deck. shouting. Hard up" This.
In tho lingo VI tho sea. indicated to the helms
man that he should put his wheel hard-a-
port but the hemsuian was not there to obey
the command. He had seen tho towering berg
almost as soon as the second mate, and he had
sought shelter down the after companion way.
Standing near him at the wheel was Miss
Larrabee. a cheerful Down East spinster. who
was completing her second voyage around the
Horn for her health. She is q sister OF tho
Captain who has seen sea service under the
Stars and Stripes in merchantmen for the
last quarter OF q century. and she displayed
some OF his Yankee coclness and quick-wtted-
ness. When the helmsman abandoned his
post Miss Larrabee rushed to the wheel. seized
1t, and did the best she could toward carrying
out the stentorian Injunction OF the second
mate. 1t was too late for her to DO OF any SER
vice. for. before she could make Ia turn Of the
wheel the how Of the clipper ran on the berg.
bringing down on her forward deck tons and
The skipper ran to the side Of his sister and
took the wheel. He remarked as he did so.
guess 1t is all over with US this time" He and
bis sister were the coolest persons on the ship;
panic. stricken sailor men. The nine japanese
In tho crew were nearly wild With fear IT was
tho lookout. lie did not follow Guthrie down
the ladder, but Jumped ten feet from the fore
HEAD s2 thS afS 6e aId ySksE s. a
broadside on to the berg. She came around
with such force that the port channels OF her
miZzen rigging were smashed and the screcn
OF her red port light brogen. The glare OF the
light on the berg revealed to the terrified crew
into the interior Of the terg. Tho red glamor
OF the light gave these ilssures, so the second
mate says the fgpearanee Gt caves Si ,6 Gt the In
n canopy OF ice. for the berg had an oyerhanR
peculiar to South Atlantic monsters. The over
hang was much Ike the projecting caves OF
big building. Tho sky WAS hlotted out entirs-
ly 10y the half arch OF leo. and great fear came
that n part OF this impending mass might at
any moment drop and obliterata the shin and
fato a Of oScr sSps thai had sud- ,riT
In the South Atlantic ,., -,
was ten or fifteen minute minutes AZ after the % col
exactly the extent Of her injuries; When tho
skipper found that there was still hope OF say;
ing her. his sister. and his crew, he had all
available sail set and made an effort TO work
OF the submerged edge Of the Ice. The tam
ships bow made II impossible for her to move
forward. Then al hands were put to backing
thGsiastio or fearless in this work than the
temporarily paralyzed Japs, who quickly re-
sponded T. the commands Of the skipper.
The yard was set back, and. under the inllu
ence Of the .northwesterIy wind the ship
gradually drifted, stern first. of the berg to
had a chance to observe how much they had
beon damaged by the collision. The foremast.
diameter at the foot. had been snapped OIL
about ten feet from the deck. 1t had fallen
oyer the forward house. smashing IN the roof
and tearing away part Of the starboard railing.
The bowsprit and Iibboom were snapped on
Everything in the main went except the lower
mast and the main yard. The mizzen top was
broken of at the hounds The iorecastle head
was piled hiGh with ice Some chunks weighed
n ton or more. After 1t had been shovelled and
topSSan G toreesse ro had been shaved of as
by u giant scythe and the forecsstle head
tu Gsd up many feet, Al Of the port port Low, from
"A Ali hands stood oy until dawn. as the night
Then they began clearing away the wreck, and
Kept steadily at IT,, repairing meanwhlle until
yaPds' var % the bowsprit % and Iib6oom%' mai and H folei 3
the fOTsmast and tangled rigging over the
side. At noon they had everything ready to
had Geen sounded. and it was found that she
was not making any water
passed the crippled Yankee aud asked her Il
sh" did not want assistance Her skipper
and tho German bark proceeded. The main
topmast which had been carried away aud
tt9pPled on deck was sn, iashed to the stump OF
and a slpgls square sail. the yard Of which
was made OF the main royal mast All the
spars that belonged 10 other masts Spare
canvas was used to patch up tho broken port
Tho repairs were finished within twenty-four
hours alter the accident There was some
s,TengthSning Of the rig aisGirweId but the
she did yesterday at sunset, when she came
up New York lay In tow. and dropped anchor
Island ieTrYboats remarked her irail Jury fore
mast, lashed to the Jagged stump Of what was
once a noble oregon stick; saw the canvas
stretched around her bows and tore-aLd-Ait
sails bTailed to every mast, and wondered
what had happened To her.
In the opinion OF tho San JOaIuin's skipper
and First Mate Shields the berg was 500 feet
above water and between four and five miles
long. Mate Shields says that he did not use
the seNtant to Ind out the dimensions, but he
says that he is SO familiar with the science OF
guessing the height OF objects at sea that he
cannot he mistaken. lie has been sailing
around the Horn Tor the last twenty years aud
has never seen anything in the iceberg line
that approached the yeritable mountain that
neraly overwhelmed the san JOAQUIN.
Tho skipper says that he has been around
the Horn twenty-five times and has made yOy-
ages on four oceans and that he has seen
many bergs, and that this one was the biggest
OF all
Miss Larrabee was on her second trip around
the stormy cape. She had never seen lee AfOat
on the ocean except In tho form ut Hoes and
she theTeiors could not mako any com parisOn.
but she thinks there aren't any bigger bergs
than the one the ship ran into. and II there
ars she doesn't want 10 see EN-. one Of her
objects IN staylng up with her brother on the
quarterdeek wa7 70 get "a chance to tax a look
at the uneNAmplet bcTgl OF the South Atlantic.
She said yesterday that her curiosity had been