Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-12-22

Crew wIth Instant Destruction Chained Ancr a Hard Struggle.
 NEW YORK. Dec :s4 1.-The sailors on board the small steamship Alert, which has reached this port, will not soon forget the acrobatic feats they had to perform while trying to lasso a three ton propeller which broke loose from its fasteniugs one dark, stormy night and started on the rampage about the deck, punching holes in the bull warks and breaking things generally. It took them an hour to capture it and chain it down so that il could do no more dam age, and the sailors did some lively jump ing and lodging to avoid being cut down by its sharp blades.
 Captain Weichmau is commander of the Alert, which is an iron steamship running as fruiter between Cauienas, Cuba, and this city. She left Car,icnas on Dec. A. Just back of the after hatch was chained an extra four bladed propeller
 There was a large ring bolt in the iron deck to which it WAS fastened with chain, the links of which weighed half pound each. \ strong southeasterly gale was en- countered shortly after the steamship started on her voyage. It kicked up" a lively sea, and the little steamship was tossed about in q way to make everybody feel uncomfortable.
 The Propeller Breaks Loose. The wind increased in fury toward even- 1 ing and was blowing at hurricane speed shortly before midnight The steamship | plunged and strained, and the waves swept l her decks.
 l Captain Weichman and the crew were l startled just after midnight to hear clank- ing chains and grating sound, as if a monster ghost were prowling about the deck. The night was so dark that an ob- | fas fa.x- f.saV mt nsrII of 1ns fzf guished.
 ] Running out on the bridge, the captain could see nothing on the after deck, but il flashed across his mind that the disturbeI i was the propeller and that it had broken loose. Calling Mate Auiland, Second Mate Loser and two seamen, the captain started to investigate. They found the propeller was sliding about, with the huge chain at tached. regardless of what it broke. The captain shouted for his assistants to get ropes with which to lasso it
 2 Then began Il chase W hich would hay, been very amusing in daylight, but in th' darkness was perilous in the extreme. A the Alert swung around into the trough o the sea the propeller skated across tn, deck, and two sailors who were trying t' lasso it jumped out of its path just in timt to save themselvs from being cut down.
 It struck the port bulwark and punchel
 
 its weight careened the ship until tn bridge touched the water. IL was feare, she would upset.
 The sailors again ran tu it with thei ropes, when waved lurched the ship il the other direction, and the propeller sho to the other side and rammed a big hole il the sheathing.
 Chained Last.
 The nose of the steamship was brough .- -g..l sH. al propeller was continued with many hail breadth escapes. The steamship plunge downward and upward in the waves, an the huge mass of iron flew about the deck breaking everything with which it cam in contract
 It broke the pump, crushed the aftc ventilator, knocked holes in the solid fro coping of the hatch and damaged the ster of the vessel Many times it was lassoe temporarily by its pursuers, only to agai } start on the warpath, breaking the rops like so much twine.
 It was finally caught near the hatch. an two of its blades were lashed by passin ropes around the iron combing. The bi B chain was then wound about it, and it wa securely lashed 10 the stanchions and tf hatch. Chains and ropes were wound aboI the propeller in all directions when the shi reached pier 6. The sailors had fastened
 so that many teams of horses could m - have budged it, much less tear it loo \ from its moOrings.
 If we had had daylight, we could ha' i caught the propeller in a short time, sa Captain Weichman. Tn the darkness aT
 during the violent pitching of the ship II s men did not know which way to look { T its coming, except for the awful gratin :, elanking sound it made. It is wond
 that none of the men was killed while IT
 ing to capture it.