The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1895-02-12
o,se suts,oient to oau.. slarm. We lesrpea

noise SUFFICIENT to cause alarm. We learned
that the piston OF one Of the intermediate
cylinders had been broken, thus ineapaci.
Eating the entire machinery. We lay b
for sixteen hours, while the full corps Of
engineers worked on the fractured cylin.
der A brass sleeve was slipped over tho
fracture and bolted in position, and in this
way the engineers were enabled to again
start up the engines
1.-THE broken cylinder and It's companion
could not be used, however, and as steam
was cut off from the boiler of the engines
the speed was reduced onehalf. Even at
this rate we were further Handicapped by
being compelled to stop every twelve hours
to replace the brass Innings, which were
continually wearing out under tho strain.
"All would have gone well but for n
terrible strain which beset the disabled
vessel on the 4th Of this month. 1t struck
us while we were lying to making repairs.
Tho vessel pitched and tossed frightfully
in the gale, and for the first time since the
breakdown the passengers began to feel
uneasy. The engineers were unable to
work because Of the violent tossing of the
ship. 1t was impossible to handle the
heavy pieces of machinery. For forty-ono
hours the vessel lay to- while the engineers
pairs again. 1t was impossible to make as
perfect u job as at first, and we had to re-
duce our speed to 200 miles day.
This made progress exceedingly slow,
and we We're further impeded by the con-
stantly recurring gales. The weather Wac
frightful. A gale burdened with sleet and
snow came out of the west with terrific
force, and the vessel pitched and tossed in
the ferment. Passengers and crew alike
realized our serious position then, and for
the first time signals of distress were dis
played. Wealso indicated by signals that
we were disabled, but 1t was not until yes
terday that we signaled u vessel She
was an English steamship. She answered
our signals but proceeded on her way She
was too far away to understand that we
required assistance But for the storm
the passengers would not have expert
enced any anxiety"
A Hearty Welcome to New York.
1t was after midnight when La Gas
oogne reached the bar, where she anchored
for the night. This morning the vessel
was towed TO this city by the tug Hustler,
reaching her wharf shortly after o'clock
AS she passed up the bay the steamer re-
ceived noisy welcome from the whistles
OF vessels In the harbor and as the passen-
gers landed the welcome was repeated in
the cheers of waiting thousands.
La Gascogne left Havre on the morning
of Jan. rs. There were 80 passengers in
the first cabin, II in the second and lis in
the storage.
The officers of the steamer La Gascogne
are; Baudelon, commanders; Blanquis,
second captain; Gonticr, first officer;
Pitou, second officer; Landegren, third
officer Martin, chief engineer; lie Bars,
second engineer Gouverne, third engi.
nccF; Hannah, fourth engineer; Japeth,
purseri Darandeau, assistant purser; Ger.
yais, doctor
La Gascogne lisa two masted, steel, screw
steamer She registers 4,3li tons net and
1890 tons gross, Her Dimensions are 4sC
feet length, seq feet beam and 81. 1 feet
depth of hold