Pawtucket tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 1890-189?, 1894-04-20
[MSALMOST WRECKED
A Broken Shaft Rendered
the Vessel Helpless.
TOSSED ABOUT BY THE SEA.
Hope Had Well Nigh Fled When the
wildfower Came to the Rescue.

Kaiser Wilhelm ii, having on board the
passe ngers OF the Ems Of the same line.
which WAS towed into Fayal on April ..
with broken shaft, by the steamer Wild
flower, arrived at her dock In Hoboken
late yesterday afternoon.
A reporter boarded the Kaiser Wilhelm
at quarantine and was given q detailed
account OF the experie Aces of the passen-
gers during the terrific hurricanes which
the Ems had encountered. One Of the first
cabin passengers said: I'VE left South
ampton on March 10 In clear, fne
weather. On the 10th the skies con-
tinued clear, and on the goth It began TO
rain and the sea became rough.
"On March 81 the sea was still rough.
The next day IL rained very hard, the
wind grew higher and there was every
indication that violent storm was COM
ing on. The following day II came, and
In the shape Of full hurricane. Tn ere
was tremendous wind bowling. and the
Ems tossed and pitched frightfully. She
shipped great quantities of water that
tore away rails, smashed the small boats,
and everything movable was washed
away. The engines then stopped. Every
thing was being smashed. and there was
great suspense among the passengers. In
a few hours the machinery was again
started, but In half an hour stopped
again. Later IL developed that the shaft
had broken, and we were drifting help
lessly at the mercy of the hurricane.
A Terrible Hurricane.
During that awful night no one could
lie abed, and with the increasing velocity
Of the wind the sea became rougher. and
the Ems was being pounded broadsids by
the tremendous waves Toward midnight
the elements resolved themselves into the
worst hurricane within the memory of the
officers, who said that in 10 years they
had not seen anything like it. The pas
sengers remained together during the
night on the alert for news from some of
the officers as to our probable fight, as all
felt that the vessel could not hold out
much longer In that volcano OF wind and
water. We were then In midocean and
drifting south out of the course of vesssls
ION the next day. March "A. the Ems
continued to be tossed helplsssly about In
the trough Of the seas. At about 9 p. m.
a steamer, which proved TO be the cattle
ship Rappahannook. bound for London,
agreed to tow US back to Queenstown
when the weather permitted. Then an
Inman steamer was sighted, but refused
to aid us.
"On the 25th, Easter, 1t was raining,
showing, sleeting, and the wind blew ter
ribly. Our companion and guardian still
lowered about US. but when the storm he
gan to renew its violence she signalled
that as there was no prospect OF change
In the weather she could wait no longer,
and she steamed of and left US.
Hope Almost Abandoned.
eve were ,ow heartsick. and IL was all
that the Off ars could do to control their
feelings At night, In addition to blazing
lights and guals OF distress. we sent up
continual rockets and kept fires burning
on the fore deck. We were drifting yet
further from he line of steamers. Some
of the passengers kept praying fervently
for deliverance, while others, less re-
ligious, made CHASTITY Jokes about our
situation in an endeavor TO Disguise their
fears.
There was no change on the following
day, but fears that the Ems was filling
added to the misery Of those on board.
Tuesday, March 81, oil was constantly
poured over the sides of the vessel, al the
storm was still raging. and the tossing Of
the ship had not ceased. Finally the
lOOkOut ~ tut tOPudst tuht
he saw smoks In the distance on the hori-
zon. The news caused futter Of excite.
ment among us. Finally the vessel came
in sight, and to our irrepressible Joy the
vessel was coming toward is to rescue US
from what we could only regard as ter
rible fate.
1T proved to be the wildhower. an
English tankboat, from Philadelphia to
Whau tha WfldAnu,ar
alongside the captains Of both vessels ex-
changed few words. and It was in
stantly decided that the tank boat
should tow us to the nearest port, which
was Fayal, Azores.
after much difficulty two hawsers
were gotten out, and we were Joined to.
gether, the seas having by this time
settled somewhat, and we started out.
We covered 1873 miles ON the 2sth. In COM
parativsly good weather, which lasted
through the next day.
Broke . Hawssr.
"On the ?0th, the sea becoming rough
again, the screw of the Ems began to
pound and thre atened to smash the keel
early the following morning our main
hawser snapped. misfortunes seeming to
follow every step. But the hawser was
mended finally, and we only made SO
miles without a break. The storm king
again menaoed our progress. and there
was a succession Of accidents the next
two days. causing delays.
ION Sunday, April 2, Q magnificent
scene was before US. We were reaching
the land. and the appearance Of golden
rays In the east made . picture that
soothed our fears by daylight we were
near FayaL and finally drew into the
little bay, where we anchored. The re-
lief was great after the terrific strain Of
many days.
"At one time our situation became SO
perilous that the crew Of the Wildfower
waited upon their captain and begged
him to cut us adrift, as It looked certain
that to continue would mean destruc-
ton. The bow Of their boat was lifted
high out of the water, and the stern sank
deep down from our weight The Wild
flowers captain answered them that as
long as he could see our tunnels he would
keep ahead.