The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-13

off and made back to the st. Louis, where
the youngsters were taken On board.
The Veendam was laboring in a heavy
sea and the work Of rescue was difficult
The passengers were lowered from the
excitement on board the Veendam was in
tense, but Captain Stenger and his crew
managed to keep the passengers in some
kind of discipline After all the children
had been taken from the Veendam the
women were transferred to the hfeboats.
Next came the men and last of all the
ships crew. Many of the women were so
overcome that they had TO be picked up
and dropped overheard into the arms of
the Efeboat crew Captain Stenger be-
Eaved like hero. Not only did he direct
the efforts of his officers and crew, but he
assisted in lowering the children and more
timid of the women
LIFE BOAT SMASHED.
1.-THE second boat to be lowered from the
st. Louis was commanded by George Beck
with, senior second officer. No sooner had
this boat settled into the sea than an i'm
mense swell smashed it against the ships
side and crushed it. Another boat was
quickly lowered, and into this Officer Beck
with and his crew were transferred. This
boat took eighteen women from the Veen-
dam Henry Campbell, second officer of the
st. Louis, commanded the third boat, which
also took seventeen passengers. BY the
time the third boat had pushed off from
the Veendam, had again arrived with my
boat, and in the meantime two of the Veen-
dams life boats had been lowered, manned
by the first and second officers of the Veen-
dam. The second boat foundered before
any passengers had been taken aboard. The
crew, however, was quickly rescued.
1T was 453 a. when the last boat
pulled up to the side of the ST. Louis, just
three hours and ten minutes after the first
boat had left our ship. My boat made four
trips and transferred ninety passengers;
Beckwiths made two and transferred thir
ty-six passengers; Campbells made two and
also transferred thirty-six passengers, and
the Veendam'S boats made three trips and
carried total of fifty passengers. Inc last
man to leave the Veendam was Captain
Stenger. i had to call him several times
before he swung himself over the side and
left the ship to her fate.
by this time the stern of the Veendam
had settled perceptibly and her bow was al
most entirely clear of water. Before leav-
ing the Veendam, Captain Stenger set fre
to various parts of the cabin. Aside from
the women and children. most of the pas
sengers of the Veendam behaved heroically.
Though the sea was running very high,
we were in little danger of being swamped
except when close to the ships side. The
passengers were drenched to the skin. We
protected them as much as possible with oil
skins and tarpaulins. When the work of
rescue was over the st. Louis had drffted
until she was a mile and a quarter from all
that remained above water of the Veen-
dam" This is the second rescue in which
Mr.. Seagrave has played a prominent part.
ON BOARD THE ST. LOUIS.
Archer Brown. of this city, was passen-
".
on the st. Louis while the rescue was in
progress, he said: Nearly all of the pas
sengers on the ST. Louis were in bed when
the news quickly spread that wreck had
been sighted. Then we crowded on deck.
We could see the glare of the skyrockets as
they burst in the air, and we could hear the
shrieks of the women on the Veendam. The
excitement on board the st. Loufs-that is,
among the passengers-was intense. We
cheered the rescuerS as they pushed Off for
the Veendam. 1t was perhaps three-quar-
tiers of an hour before the first lifeboat re-
turned. In it we could see about twenty
| five children, all huddled closely together
and crying Justify. Officer Seagrave was
doing his best to quiet them.
1T was a sight worth seeing the way our
well-dressed American women ministered to
the wants of the poor wretched creatures
who were hauled on board more dead than
alive. The rescued women, after they had
partially recovered, began to cry aloud for
their children, and when they found them
they cried for joy. 1t seemed to me that
some of us men SniVeled a bit about that
time. When the men came aboard we were
more in our element. We gave them whisky
and it did them no end of good. AS the last
boat hove in sight glare burst out. me
Veendam was on fire. The rescued paSsen-
gers hudded together and set up wall
They had nothing in the world except what
was their backs.
Mendel Mandoff and David Devinishke
two steerage passengers or the Neenuam
both hailing from Kovno Guberna. Russian
Poland, told q joint story of what befell the
Inflated Holland-American liner. 1T was
we were three days out when there came d
terrible crash. We did not know what was
the matter. The women, for the most part,
sick sprang from their cots and began TO
rush about. They shrieked dreadfully. The
ship stopped and from the rushing around
we knew that there must be some grave
trouble. and we began to pray to God Tor
His protection. Suddenly one of the officers
came into the steerage and ordered all the
work on the pumps. The crew of the Veen-
dam were brave fellows Not man would
get off until all of us were safe. When we
were on the st. Louis and found not soul
was missing, we fell on our knees, some OF
us, and thanked God We have been spi Is46
idly treated on this ship We nave no clotn-
ing only what we are wearing.
Chaia Wyitka, who came TO this country
with her father from Sushkovalen, kalish
Gnberna Russia spoke for the women who
were rescued I'VE were nearly all of us
Sick she said, when the crash came. But
frightened away. When we heard some OF
the men saying the shema' (Jewish prayer
before DEATH and others saying the Rsa1illS
we thought that the end had come When an
the men were ordered upon the deck we FOL
lowed, because We were afraid TO stay
where we could not see. On the decks we
saw men at work at the pumps and we felt
the vessel settling. We strained our eyes
through the darkness to see ships, but there
were no ships. Then great lights shot out
and they said rockets would bring us help.
For five hours we watched them snooung
up and then dropping INTO the I9 9;a1t 9es'
Then in the distance we saw a hght. Al
first we said it was another rocket. but the
light burned steady and it grew larger and
then the sailors said 1t was snip. Inc di
rockets flew faster and the lights in the dis
lance grew many On the darkness there
shot boat and we were all saved;
The 118 steerage passengers of the Veen-
dam were taken to the barge office. OF
these, seventy were detained because OF lack
of visible means of support. The captain,
officers and crew Of the Veendam sailed for
rotterdam on the Spaarndam this after
noon. r.. -. .,.o7
rasoIutions commenting the gallant service
and splendid seamanship displayed by the
officers and crew of the St. Louis in the
rescue of the Veendams passengers ana
The veendam was formerly the White
Star steamer Baltic. She was built at Bel
fast ireland by Harland & Weln, in 1876.
She was a four-masted barkentine-rigge
screw steamer She registered 4.OS6 gross
and 2.767 net tons, and was 4lS teet long,