The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-09-19


 tremendous strain to which 1t was be- ing subjected. Should it part the Wy
 andotte would probably be at the mercy
 of the sea and would probably founder.
 For the Wamptauk to heave to so that
 a nine inch hawser could De substitut- ed would be so dangerous as to be en-
 tirely out of the question. The crew
 of the Wamptauk attempted to float hawser back to the Wyandotte on a
 raft, but the attempt failed, the raft being smashed to pieces by the waves long before the hawser was within srapling distance of the Wyandotte. Consequently it was necessary to con- tinue with the seven inch hawser. This
 hawser parted two days later after all | danger had been passed. About this
 time leaks began to appear in all parts of the ship, and sailors of many years experience became alarmed lest some of the iron plates below the water line should open by the constant strain and | the ship founder. It was afterwards found some of the bolts in the forward l plates had been thus loosened. A new point of danger appeared about 4 p. m. | of the same day, when the heavy seas
 which were dashing over the ships | bows began to loosen the windward room hatches and threatened the flood | ing of the ship from that direction. To prevent this happening heavy pieces ot canvass were dashed over the combing | of the matches. This was work both | dangerous and difficult, the men en- gagged in it being frequently compelled to leave the work and cling for life to | the life lines, which were made fast to | the stanchiens fore and aft for their protection. Two of the men were dashed from the line, one saving him. | self by clinging to cable with which his hand came in contact and the other | by grasping the leg of Ensign Donald, | who had charge of the work. The | force of the seas which swept over the | bows is best shown by the fact that
 the iron combings around the ward
 room hatchway of solid iron half an
 inch in thickness, were driven inward | several inches by the waves, while the
 men were at work Up to this time
 the crew had regarded the situation rather loosely, but now it began to
 look serious. The ship was now seven- | ty miles from land and was making l slight headway.
 | The stiff breeze of the morning had | grown to a gale and the poor old monl- | tor labored and tossed heavily in the | trough of the sea. Sailors who had
 made light of the days breeze" looked
 serious when at eve it was seen that l the ship would have to encounter a 1 southwestern in addition to her already numerous troubles. The captain of the | Wampatauk signalled for the Wyan- | dotte to put on all steam possible to lessen the strain of the hawser. This | was was done the men in the fire room of the Wyandotte standing brave | ly at their work throughout che storm | and laboring like Trojans until the dan 1 ger was passed The deck crew was kept busy making ready for any emer- | gency. All the matches leading to the l berth deck from tho main deck were battered down tight, so that access l could be had to the hurricane deck only. All the ships boats and the cat | amaran were provisioned and made l ready for instant launching. At sun | down the situation was very serious. | Several of the crew had received in- ] iuries which rendered them unfit for ! work, while some had succumbed to l seasickness. The hard work and the constant wakefulness of the two pre- ceding nights combined with the scant
 rations of the day told heavily on the endurance and the strength of the men.
 Rest was impossible for officers and
 men alike on account of the pitching and the rolling of the ship and the leaks | which were all sources of bodily dis
 comfort and mental apprehension. The l berth deck was flooded with water and | the men who were drenched by the fre- | quent waves breaking over the deck | found 1t impossible to keep warm. Va
 rious devices were resorted to to dimin- | ish the discomfort. Heavy pea coats
 and sweaters were brought into requi- | sition and hooks and corners. hammock
 nettings and boxes afforded some l warmth and protection to some from
 the rain which had begun to fall and l the ocean spray which was now dash | ing over the hurricane deck. Others | huddled close on the lee side of the smoke stack or crouched beneath l pieces of canvas to avoid the cold and cutting wind. The southwestern struck l the ship at dark. The quantity of
 water which was being shipped through | the leaks was constantly increasing. All the pumps were kept working. | Water was coming in back of the en- 1 zines in such quantities that the en- | gineer feared to let the men know the l truth. Considerable water had also been shipped in the engine rooms by 1 waves. which had washed over the | hatches
 The. unuttered fear was in every
 mind that the old Wyandotte could not 1 live through the gale. All understood | that should she founder there would be | little hope of successfully launching the I boats because of the deck lying so close | to the waters edge that the boats
 would be smashed by the heavy sea.
 The watches at the wheel and on the 1 bridge will ever remember that night. The sky was darkly .clouded; not a star | was in sight The waves oftimes dash
 ed high over the turret and struck the 1 bridge. For hours not sign of land
 or ship appeared, only on every side
 the dark tossing sea with patches of
 white caps here and there fantastic | with phosphorescent glow. The thought
 that the original monitor had gone | down with all her crew on board, also | while in tow, did not make the situation 1 any more cheerful.