The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-01-23
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SWEPTBYABIG WAVE
The Ocean Steamer Norman
MIA Comes Back to Ho-
boken Badly Dam
aged.
SEVEN OF HER CREW INJURED,
A Tidal Wave Floods the Saloons
Panic Among the Pas
Sengers.

This morning at nine O'Clock the Ham
burg-American Packet Company's steam
| ship Normannia. steamed towards its wharf
in Hoboken. She had encountered a tida-
wave. and was severely damaged. The
| steamer left Hoboken on Thursday afternoon
last, at two o'clock, with one hundred and
twenty-five cabin passengers, for Southern
Italy.
RAN INT Z WEATHER.
Shortly after leaving port She ran into
rough weather, which increased in violence
and on Saturday night developed into a rag
ing gale. The sea was stirred up in noun
tain masses, which beat against the vessel
with terrific violence.
The gale kept up until Sunday morning
at two O'clock, when it slightly moderated
The vessel then, according to Captain He
bich, had been edging to the north to get
away from the storm.
Sat fifteen minutes past six the big wave
boarded us. 1t was a tidal wave. 1t smash
ed the starboard bulwarks, made a total
wreck of the music hall and ladies' saloon,
and carried the first second officer from his
cabin into the main saloon.
WATER IN THE
San investigation showed that there were
six feet of water in the Storage and three
feet of water in the cabins. | saw that we
could not get help to repair the hole i'll the
deck, and determined to push back to New
York. Had the weather been fair l would
nave gone on, but in stormy weather it
would simply nave been an act of madness to
endanger the lives of my passengers. The
engines were not injured and we soon ran
into good weather, making the return trip
in good time"
When the big wave struck the ship it
smashed the deckhouse, where Officer
Kading was asleep, and injured him SO badly
that he will probably die.
The huge wall of green water swept on
into the ladies' saloon.
Every chair and table was ripped from the
floor, the partitions were battered Down and
the water kept on to the music room.
Here everything was devastated and the
piano, screwed to the floor, was lifted bodily
up and whirled against the plate glass mir
ror at the head of the companionway.
CONFUSION.
EVERYTHING was confusion. The panic
stricken passengers rushed out in their night
clothes only to find themselves up to their
necks in water, which half filled the ship.
Their staterooms were flooded and SO was
the main saloon.
For a minute, until the water subsidized,
those caught by the a below decks had
to swim to keep from getting drowned.
The ship was stopped and everything for
ward was found to be ruined.
The fore hold was filed with water, and
its $4,000 cargo of tobacco ruined. AS
much more damage was done to the ship.
When the vessel reached port again the
injured were at once removed. They are
THE INJURED.
ERNST KADING, second officer, conclusion
of the brain, lacerated head and internal in
juries. Injuries probably fatal.
FREDERICK PoMPEATI, chief steward; con-
tusions of right leg and right arm. Fell from
saloon to hold, a distance of three decks.
THEODORE KoTTSHAU, steward, Commissions
of side and right leg.
Heinrich Weeks, steward, two ribs frac-
tured.
Fritz L. F. Schilds, steward, fractured
skull; condition serious.
Carl Kobe, steward, internal injuries and
sprained knee.
Franz Fl. H. Roenecke, boy helper, badly
bruised.
Al VESSEL.
The Normannia is an unlucky vessel. On
her maiden voyage she poked her nose into
an iceberg and nearly went to the bottom.
During the cholera scare five of her passen-
gers died of the scourge, and she was quar-
antined a long time, and now this accident
completes the chapter. She is a singularly
handsome vessel, $50 feet long, beam 60 feet
and a gross tonnage of $500. She was built
in Glasgow by Govan & Co., and runs ex-
clusively to the Mediterranean Sea.
H DAMAGE
The company estimates the damage to the
ship at between $4,000 to 100000, all of
which loss is fully covered by insurance.
This. of course, does not include damage to
cargo or personal effects, which may reach