The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1895-08-02
BY SEA AND SHORE.
LETTER FROM ABROAD.

A brighter day never dawned for
man leaving home and country than
that which greeted us on the morning
of last Wednesday-earth, sea and
sky conspired to wish us Bon voyage"
and happy return to the shores Of
the most glorious country under the
sun.
New York Bay lay spread before
us, calm and peaceful, waiting to wei.
come on its bosom an American ship,
floating the flag of the country that
has given new meaning to the word
Liberty.
The hearts Of twelve hundred
Americans bounded with joy at the
mighty engines first throb which start.
ed the good ship on this, her goth
trip across the Atlantic. The i'm
mense two story pier of the American
Steamship Company at the foot of
Fulton Street was crowded to its
utmost with men and women who
came to bid adieu to their friends,
and as the ship glided gracefully from
her mooring, the passengers were
treated to the first exciting episode Of
the voyage. Two bay horses and a
cab dashed down to the landing place
with two passengers who had arrived
| Just in time to be too late. The gang
plank had been taken in not two
minutes before, and the mighty ship
had actually started on her voyage.
The look of disappointment that filled
the faces of the belated ones as they
stood and saw the vessel move away |
can never forget. For the moment
we all forgot the waving of handker-
chiefs and flags by the throng on the
pier and l am sure every passenger
felt sympathy for those who were so
kaenly disappointed.
All too soon we passed the Bartholdi
statue of " Liberty lighting the world"
and just as the green shores of New
Jersey and Staten Island were fading
from view, we hailed the Lucania
coming into harbor on her return trip.
BY the time lunch had been served the
last vestige of land had melted away
and the good ship with its freight Of
fifteen hundred souls aboard was
; standing out to sea on a course slight
" ly north of east, at this season Of the
year a more southerly course is adopt
ed than that taken for the winter
: voyages thus avoiding the danger o.
floating icebergs which in July ant
n August are apt to DRIFT far southwark
IS About S o'clock in the afternoon o
e the first day out, when we were no
n more than hundred miles from New
J. York, everyone on the port Qeft) sid'
S. of the ship was startled by the cry o
It a whale see her spout T. and ther,
sure enough not more than two hund
red yards away, ploughing the smootl
sea with his huge back appearin
above the surface, we saw the whal
is heading straight for the ships course
He spouted three times throwing
column of water several feet into tn
v air, and then disappeared at about til
m same moment. We looked furthe
d northward possibly quarter of mil
at and saw another whale spouting an
gliding along like very monarch c
n. the sea. | ought to say that at thi
,e time, in fact all of Wednesday afte
n. noon the ocean was as smooth as tn
"a Susquehanna river. A mill pom
as would have been tempestuous con
m pared to it. Toward evening how
%. ever there arose a slight breeze whic
O. as the night deepened gathered strengt
re until midnight when we went to bee
1t was scarcely possible to walk o
IN deck. About five o'clock the nel
a morning Thursday July 4th) we wei
60 awakened by the rolling of the vesse
nd and looking out Of the port-hole sa
ed the waves tumbling about the ship
what appeared to me to be in perIe
fury. A slight rain was falling and
stiff breeze blowing. / was afterwal
told that this kind of weather was n
regarded as more than slightly roug
pg Saturday p. M.
no We waited till about seven o'clot
,hg before We attempted to get up ar
no then found considerable difficulty
US moving about, the ship rolled and II
cir waves dashed against her sides al
IT, were over the promenade (uppe
deck. When we appeared on dec
(only few succeeded in getting tn
far we found that almost every OF
aboard was sick, the dining room W
practically deserted, the deck whiC
was the day before filled with peop
walking backward and forward W
also almost deserted, few we
Ia. leaning over the rail getting the on
relief possible from sea sicknes
Some were wrapped in ship rugs al
like Bre'r Fox " "laying low and sayi
~ nuthin'. 1t is needless to say we a
W W. Slight breakfast-a few crackers and
ID bottle of Mumm sufficed. Abo
~ three o'clock in the afternoon v
:" struck comparatively smooth sc
and found comfort from that tin
- forward to the present writing, Satu