The morning call., 1894-12-14
DELAYED BY THE STORM.
At One Time There Was Five
Feet of Water in Her Hold.
DAYS WITHOUT COOKED FOOD.
Her BuIwarks Stove in and Her
Cargo Shifted-Captain Mer.
riman's Report.

The ship India, long overdue from
Nanaimo. arrived yesterday morning.
The condition of the vessel and the report
that she made to the Merchants Ex-
change showed very concusively that
there was good reason for anxiety con-
corning her. The India had as narrow an
escape from going down as ever ship
baG. Her commander said that he never
expected to reach port in safety.
Five feet of water leaked into the YES
sePs hold during the stolmS of the Sth and
9th inst, and pumps were kept going until
she was safely in port. The coal cargo
had shifted, giving the craft a bad list.
Bulwarks were stove in and cabins
flooded when the hurricane was at its
heig ht.
The India left Nanaimo on November
o. On December southwest gale was
encountered that drove the ship back
sixty miles to the nOrthward. The gale
moderated, and fair progress was made for
two or thr ee days, then head winds set in
again.
On December the storm that did all
OF the damage was found. The wind
blew from the southeast and developed
into hurricane before night. The waves
ran high, stove in the port and starb0ard
UulW al his, SUl1N6u tHo CdIRO anu htpl lu6
decks flooded, so that the crew could not
work. 1t was almost impossible to 20
from the forward to the aft art of the
ship. The f0recasile hands were pTacti-
ca lily prisoners and could hear the
orders shouted to them by their officers on
the poop.
The waves rolled over the vessel, first
one side then the other, and worked their
way into the cabin, drenching everything.
Tue galley fires were put out and for TIL rec
days the'cre lived on cold food, otwith-
standing the fact that their weakened con-
diton from exposure demanded warm
drinks and strengthening meals TO stimu-
late their bodies.
While the winds howled aloft, and the
seas dashed over the ship, smashing boats
aud damaging rigging on he morning
afternoon and night of the 9th and 10Th,
all hands had to stand watches to shovel
coal from the side of the list to the opp =
site side, in order to trim ship. It was a
trying ordeal; but to set an example for
his men Captain Merriman himself worked
like an ordinary sailor Until his hands
were so severely blistered that he could
labor no longer. In the meanwhile a de-
tail of men had to be set 20 work at the
pumps.
Before evening on the oh the schooner
General Banning was sighted. Captain
Merriman signsIed the vessel, and was
answered. He then signaled that the
India was leaking badly, and requested
taat the Banning stand by, as it was ex-
pected that the ship would open up and
go TO the bottom. n ght closed down with
terrific hail and thunder storm. Between
the flashes of lightning the schooner could
be seen standing few paints to star
board, with everything in shape for the
blow. She did not seem to be laboring
much, but nevertheless her captain must
have thought discretion the better part OF
val Or fnr after the India
for several hours the Banning hauled off
shore and was not seen again.
On the 18th the storm died down, but the
India was left in a sorry plight. Her
cabin skylights were smashed in. Her
galley was as complete wreck as ever a
galley could be. Great ragged holes were
torn in the bulwarks, and splinters from
the demo lsbed rails and Lighthouses were
strewn upon the decks in every direction.
The rigging was not so badly damaged a.
might have been expected, but with this
exception the vessel was as nearly a dere-
lict as she possibly could be without actu-
ally being one.
Captain Merriman says that fair weather
favored him from the afternoon of the 18th.
Without further trouble he made rort,
cleaning up ship as he came along When
the vessel was headed into Missions treet
wharf yesterday afternoon art of the evil
effects of the storm had been Obliterated,
yes. we nearly went down." said one
of the ships crew, "and if it had not been
for our success in shifting part of our
cargo back to place and the decrease OF
the wind at very critical moment / do
not think anything could have saved u.s.
The storm was the worst | ever expe-
rienced during thirty years of sea life.
The wind came upon us very suddenly,
and the seas were of tremendous height.
zone sea that went over US buried the
entire forward part OF the ship clean out
of sight. l thought that the cid craft
would never come out of it, but she acted
splendidly.
Working day and night shoyeling coal
and pumping, with nothing to eat but
bareback and dried beef, Is not very pleas
ant. There was no use trying to keep a
fire in the galley, though, so we had to
suffer.
81 heard some talk of tidal wave hav-
ing visited some parts of this coast. There
was Que sea struck us that looked very
much ike a tidal wave.
81 can see it now as it approached us.
1t was as high as the lower yard and over
topped all other waves about it. 1t struck
us with a roar and broke on deck The
bulwarks were splintered like fence rails
and the old ship shook like a leaf
The India will discharge. then 90 on the |
drydock for repairs.