New-York tribune., 1895-02-11
THE UMBRIA SAFE IN PORT.
FAD AN EVENTFUL VOYAGE.
,rSr1-E OF THE CREW OF A WATER
LOGGED FRENCH BARK.

STEAMER-QtEER
INGs Or BIG SCHOONER
CAPTAIN DUTToN TELLS
OF THE TRIP
snow-clao iceberg could be of no more strk-
ing or picturesque appearance than was the
stanch and stately Cunard steamship Umbria
when she steamed majestically through the ice
embargoed harbor to her BERTH at Pier NO. 4o
North River, yesterday afternoon. Her shrouds
were thickIy incrusted with ice up to her tops'
her double-decked bridge closely resempieo ah
artificial ice palace coated with snow. and her
main and hurricane decks being hleu VII"
snow and ice looked as If they had oeeh N'si'ou
by an Alpine avalanche. Captain l. Du''oi' nei
veteran commander, stood on the ofluse ""''"
he had not left for over twenty-siX hours
but could scarcely be discerned behind the man.
moth and closely interviewer icicies' throush
which he peered as from a veritable Cave of the
Winds while calmly guiding his lordy ship. with
her human freight into a safe haven after an
eyentfu voyage DER an ocean swept by wntry
tempests end heavy seas
CAPTAIN Duttol. courteously gave TO a Tribune
reporter the following interesting account Of his
massage and its noteworthy incidents: The Um-
bria left Liverpool on Saturday. February :, and
Queenstown the following day. with 81 saloon,
80 secor d-cabin lS9 steerage passengers, includ-
and a cargo of general merchandise consigned 10
Vernon H. Brown d Co, her American agents
at this port. We had low barometer and high
seas all the way across the ocean. and struck the
storm two DAYS ago when encountered heavy
northwest gales and binding SHOWS. We slowed
down and approached the coast at reduced speed
TO prevent the ship from icing as much as pos
sible bu' even with that precaution you see, our
rigging bridge and decks are very thickly coated
with ice from flying spray. aided and abetted by
the snow.
THE RESCUE FROM THE JEAN BAPTlSTE.
"At l2I5 a. m on Wednesday. February 6, when
In latitude Al degrees 20 minutes north ana
longitude SO deg ees AZ minutes west. about
midocean, we rescued the captain. his son ana
twelve seamen from the water-logged French
bark Jean Baptiste. of HAVE bound from
Halifax Nova Scotia. to Cork With cargo OF
deals
..Tbere Is a strange story about that rescue"
said the hardy captain meditauveiy' as IL 'e-
calling the trite old saying There's sweet
little cherub that sits up aloft and looks out LOT
the life of poor Jack" land If it hadn't been for
IT we never would have seen the distressed DARK
At II o'clock on Tuesday night, when was on
the bridge we signals some three or iouF
miles away our port beam mace them out
10 be from the White Star freight steamship
Cavic whose captain and / are intimate friends
and were in port together a few days Garner.
answered them, although the weather was 70
thick on account of a heavy snowstorm that
could not see the ship. which. being freigh'er'
did not show many lights but she could see the
Umbria, which, being passenger ship was
brilliantly Illuminated fore and aft Before
had finished answering the greetings OF my
friend of the Cevic rockets Of distress were sent
,p frvm the French bark, which was herself in
visible some five or six miles distant on our
starboard beam. we lying about MIDWAY pe
tween her and the Ce,ic. which was too 1ar
away to see the barks signals of distress The
I,mbria Immediately steered toward the distress
signals which would not have been sent up had
not the French crews attention been attracted
BY the friendly signals between the captain OF
the Cevc and myself
SIGNALS FROM THE BARK
"While we were approaching the bark she
showed two red lights at her miZzen mastheau'
indicating that she was not under control Iheh'
few moments later three men could be maze
ont in her mizzen shrouds. one above the o'hel'
each with a lighted torch or flare light. which
is an out-and-out signal of distress we ran do
near to her as the heavy and driving snow
would permit and sent TO her Of our life
boats manned by five sedmen, commanded py
Second Officer Hogg. When our boat reacned
the bark the men found that she had TWO OF hei
own boats alongside. into which her captain anu
crew were slowing their dunnage, preparatory 10
abandoning the bark which was waterlogged
guess they saved all their duds. At any rate
know they brought a big lot of rubbish aboard
the Umbria. They transferred themselves ana
all their stuff tc our boat, which brought them
aboard the Umbria ! haven't the faintest idea
said she had been helplessly drifting about for
several days She may have started butt, or
something Of that kind, bat rather suspect that
he'd
treme old age.
BEFORE leaving the bark Second Officer Hogg
and her captain endea vored to set her on fire.
but were unable to do so. the swelling Of the
deals with which she was compactly laden mad
started her decks. and she was so thoroughly
saturated with the icy waves that swept over
her that her woodwork would not ignite. Inc
Jean Baptiste. for which her captain paid 1000
hard-earned francs about three years ago was, as
therefore reluctantly left floating about In the
very track OF transatlantic steamships, n
menace to shipping and formidable addition 10
the many dangerous derelicts now adrift
The purser. Thomas Fleeming. gave the names
Of the French captain and crew who VIII be
cared for by the French Consul as follows: Cap
TAIN Prosper lie BOT. and his son. Joachem;
Joseph La Court first. and Oliver Rerrien sec
ond officer Christopher Payen, Amedie Flefloch,
Ferdinand Lumecussens julien Thomas, Francois
Chloride, Jean Marie BaZie. Julius lie Muer. Eu-
gene Roucleures. Alexander Dayre and Louis
Calvez, seamel
BIG SCHOONER ENCOUNTERED.
Another curious incident Of our voyage" said
CAPTAIN DuttOn, happened about D. IN. yester-
day (Saturday). We were off Georges Shoals
about 200 miles to the eastward Of Sandy Hook,
and we'll into the heart Of the blizzard. encoun-
terng strong nor'west winds. thick and
heavy head seas. Suddenly large four-masted
schooner loomed up through the driving snow. ly-
ing al anchor and riding very heavily. She had
flag flying from her mzzen rigging think she
was an American vessel. but could not make her
out clearly on account of the snow, which was
very dense. / had gone below for a moment when
she was sighted. but Immediately came on deck
and took the bridge. Mean"niie we had los,
her. When we had run as near to her as couid
be safely done we discovered that her flag had