The Olneyville tribune. (Providence, R.I.) 1893-189?, 1894-01-27
SWEPT BY A COMBER
Story of the Normannia's
Thrilling Experience.
Only q Miracle That Many Lives Wore
Not Lost-The Fittings OF the ve$
sci Badly Damaged ADD Ruiusd-
Tobacco Believed to He Complete

1870 VA 'ur Soo,ooO largo Op
Tobacco Believed to He Complete
NEW YORK. Jan. 24-The officer, and
passengers Of the HamburxAmpr!can
line steamer Normannia. which returned
yesterday after encounteriug u tremsnd-
Gus comber 30 miles from his mort early
sunday morning last. have all sorts OF
experiences 20 relate.
In damage 20 the steamer vii! prob.
aoly amount 20 900. Oh. not including the
loss occtsiorsd by her return, aud the
f5O,OO cargo Of Tobacco is ruinsd
Ihlrd Oficer l.ange, vino was on the
bridge II The time the mountain " water
boarded the ship, and whose escape from
death seems almost miraculous. tells the
following story:
W We're running At full speed. and
just a. the first glimmer OF dawn sp-
pesred, AT 6:l5, ] saw y huge wall OF water
rise on the port how. II lowered half
again above the bridge where | stood. but
the ships prov breasted il gsllantly and
rose safely TO the summit OF the crested
comber, psusing for an instant befors
taking the dec.ivity that lay bsfor. IL.
Then 4 sight met my eye, which caused
me 10 fall Hat on the bridge. grssp,ny a
rail and c!inging for life. Right bshind
the first wav-. and following swiftly upon
II. was a second, even higher, which tow.
cred above the crows nest in the fore
mast. saw that the ship could not get
down the slope OF the first wave in tins
10 negotiate the second one. and 80
grabbed for n hold and shouted to the few
OF the crew on deck - hang ou for their
lives. Lake an avalanche il fell upon the
N~oruannia = steel prov, slightly tn port.
The crash Of the thousands OF tons of
water a. they fell shook the ship from
stem To stern, and for an instant stopped
her IN her course. Then the water plunged
forward down the decks. after bending
and twisting the steel rails at the BIO ",
built u stand the fury OF any tempest.
Tho steel bits on which the anchor
chains art bent when the anchors are out
were broken squarely in two acros. the
bottom, although they presented but q
couple of square feet OF surface TO the
rushing water. From this point tn the
forward d~eckhouse the wall Of water, still
20 feet high. had full swing. With a
c-ash 1t fell against the first big obstscls
in its way. The half-inch steel plates of
the ~deckhouse curled up like paper before
the irresistible force and left n hole biz
enough to drive an ice wagon through.
The woodwork. Of course, was smashed
to splinters. In she d~eckhou.s Second
Officer Kading WAS sleeping. The water
hurled hin from his bunk, dashed him
against the steel sides OF his room aud
then dropped him, more dead han alive.
to the floor. Behind his room was the
ladies saloon, a beautiful apartment. hn-
ished in plush. with hand painted panels.
plenty OF gliding and artistic woodwork.
This vas ruined.
The force Of the sea was still unsppnt.
Ior il broke down the rear partition OF the
room and fell into the music room Just
behind. This was soon ruined. The main
saloon below was then deluxed. Down
the water Tell by the hundreds Of tons.
aud la = jify the dining portion Of tbs
ship WAS afoat. Everything wa, ruined
which could possibly be damaged and all
the glassware aud crockery in sight was
smashed 90 bits.
Down another deck the sea water went
by the same skylight until it reached the
forchold. Here was stored "A cargo Of to-
bacco valued ST $50, OOO. 1t WA, utterly
ruined. Even greater was the force with
which the water poured down the com
panionway. II ripped the costly upright
piano in the music room from its ~fa.ten-
a - III u @s1iAANN w ~ ihlfTDT
ut tho head Of the stairs. But il did not
stop there. but. rolling and tumbling. tho
piano went banging down the stairs with
tn torrent until il cam. 20 rest in the
hold. 1t couldn't have gone any lower
without knocking a hole in tina ships
bottom.
Bat there was more water aboard than
the saloons, big a. they were. could hold,
80 the balance. which would have found.
cred a vessel not 50 big as the Normannia,
kept on down the passagsways which led
to the staterooms Of the pas.enger-. IL
burst open the doors % all the room. in
the forward compartment. Thi. was the
first iutimatioA the passengers had Of tho
extent Of the damage, and Ia a iify came
a panic.
Some screaming, some praying oil in
their nightclothes. Aa.sengeE rushed out
Of their rooms, only 20 be confronted by
water three to five feet deep.
he captain soon appeared and man
aged TO quiet them. and assured all hands
that the ship wasn't going To sink. sons
OF the passengers and crew had 10 swim,
40 deep was the water in certain parts of
the ship
OF the seven men injured all will re-
cover. except Second Officer Kading, who
il. believed 20 be fatally hurt.
The Normannis will probably sail ia a
few days for Hamburg whore repairs will
b. made.
Had the wave boarded the ship sn hour
and a half later. the results would have
been terrible. The passenger would have
been in the saloon AZ breskfas. and few
could have escaped drowning or serious
injury. Most Of the water that cams
aboard the vessel found It's way into the
bilge and vas pumped out tits estimated
thai aims ~ tons were pumpei Out