St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1894-09-17
STEAMERS GREATPERIL
THE ITALIA'S MARROW ESCAPE
FROM SINKING.
A Big Wave Sweeps Over the
Fort Bow and Renders Nearly
Everything Useless.


NEW YORK. Sept. 16.-Away out in
oid ocean, with land on either side, 1900
miles away, and on vessel which they
believed to be sinking was the position
int which the passengers of the steam
sup Italia found themselves on Sept.
O. Tue Italia did not sink, but came
SafeIy INTO port today with as
scared crew of passengers as were
eyer found on shipboard. That some
thlng fatal did not occur seems a mar
vel, for nothing short OF III iraclem AIDE
the Italia stand the wear and tear of a
battle with the waves. When she
reached port today she presented only
rant resemblance of the craft that left
here two months ago for the Mediter-
ranean. Most of her lifeboats were
missing, and such as were not were
unfit for use. They were STAYED in and
battered, while the interior of the iron
hulled vessel, at least 10 far as the pas
sengerS were concerned, was almost q
total wreck. The damage was all
Que to one wave. The Italia was
not the only craft that had a rough
passage. The HindoO, from Hull. luck
lily without passengers, had similar,
though not quite such disastrous ex-
perlence. She, too, was badly damaged,
and for time in the eventfuf storm OF
Sept. s it looked as if she would plunge
to the bottom of the ocean. Sailors
old in years and tried in expert
ence who were on the Italia and
Hindoo shook their grizzly heads and
said that never before had they expert
enced such weather. Six of the Off
GERS and crew of the Italia were in.
jured. Second Officer Shewan was
washed off the starbOard ladder and
thrown against ventilator, sus-
tanning bruises about the face
aud legs. While repairing the
damage to the steering gear, First
Officer Sinclair and Chief Engineer
Stuart received slight injuries. Capt.
Craig and Boatswain McFarlane were
thrown into the lee scupperS, and when
the steamer rolled were hurled against
the smoking room. The captains leg
was injured. and the bOatSwain re-
ceived severe internal injuries. The third
engineer, j. FOneweather, was struck
by the water which poured into the ell
CINE room skylight and hurled into the
eccentric pit and severely injured about
the back and left leg. On Sept. z the
storm increased in fury, and at 8
O'Clock Capt. Craig ordered his ship
toward the sea. For three hours
the passengers were huddied to-
gether in the cabin waiting for what
they supposed to be the last moment.
The Italia rolled as if she were going to
keel over, while the voices of nearly all
the crew could be heard above the Storm
repeating the orders from the bridge.
The steering gear had parted. leaving
he steamship at the mercy OF the
ca. An attempt was ma de to ship
sand man the hand gear, but before this
could be done big wave boarded the
steamship over the port DOW and rolled
along the deck. carrying everything
before it. Life Boats Nos. and 2 were
smashed, No. was carried away,
the smoking room and hospital doors
were burst in. the steam pipes on the
deck broken and bent, the engine room
akylight smashed and the cabin flooded.
CABIN chairs screwed to the floor were
torn up and hurled along the apartment,
and considerable other damage was
done. The following day the storm
abated.