The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-13
VEENDAM LOST; ALL SAVED
efe SOULS TRANSFERRED IN A TEN.
PEST TO THE ST. LOUIS,

Her Rockets-0O Children and 81 women
AueaE Those Transferred In the boats OF
Both s~hips-seventy OF the Immigrants.
who Lost All. Detained as Paupern.
Tho steamship veendam of the Holland.
America line, bound from Rotterdam for New
York, stove q hole In her stern last Sunday,
either with hor own shaft or by hitting a sub
merged derelict or both. After n terrific tusslo
with the pumps, in spite of which tho water that
poured into her kept gaining on the workers,
and when she was within, at the most, five
hours Of sinking, Providence sent along the
American liner ST. Louis. In the dead OF night,
with the sea whipped and tossed by q tempest, the
passengers and crew, 212 in number, of whom 20
were children and SO were women and girls. were
transferred in safety. not a soul lost, or hurt in
the slightest. The Veendam's captain, the last
mar to leave his ship, piled high in her cabin
the chairs and tables and other furniture and.
throwing kerosene oil over the mass, fired the
ship. The st. Louis sailed Off just at the gray
dawn Of last Monday, leaving the doomed ship
almost on her beam ends with smoke curling up
from her hatchways and shoots of flame licking
eagerly what littlo woodwork there was left to
burn.
The 81. Louis got here early yesterday morn.
ing. She signalled the observer at Sandy Hook
that she had aboard the voendam's passengers
and crew. He sent the news to Now York. The
Veeudam was not due until Tuesday, and the
arrival Of her passengers three days ahead Of
time and the news that she had been wrecked
were SO astonishing q combination that her
agents would not believe the report until the st.
Louis arrived at Quarantine and THE SUNS shin
news service sent out a detailed story of the
wreck and the rescue which had been prepared
by the officers of the two ships.
TheVeendam was O twelvo-day boat, behind the
times as an Atlantic liner. but, in her day, whom
she was known as the Baltic and was one Of the
White Star fleet, she was ono Of the finest boats
that 1oated. She was the best passenger
steamer that the Holland-America line had.
She left Rotterdam Fob. 3. She had nine cabin
passengers. They were DR.. and Mrs. Galowitz.
NJ. Kapteyn. and Miss Mary Ailinger in the
first cabin, and Mr.. G. K%ronwell. Miss Bertha
Won Fekete of Budapest, Mr.. Frank Lohmann Of
Boston, Mrs. Fanny Golub and William Bieling
in the second. She had also 11S steerage pas
sengers. She was three days out from Rotter-
dam on Sunday last, and was about 600 miles
due west from Lands End, England. The see
was rough from recent gales, and the Veendsm
pitched and rolled as she %ploughed her way
westward. 1t was half past 8 o'clock in the
evening and dusk had Just begun to settle over
the ocean. The ships lights were run up. For
half an hour before this the officers had noticed
bits of floating wreckage, and tho passengers
who had seen them, too, speculated on what
boat had been wrecked.
Suddenly the ship seemed to tilt up forward.
The same instant there was a fearful crash AFT
ishatracked the boatfrors stem to stern. Thsnc
there was another and then silence for an In
stant. followed a moment later by the roar and
hiss of escaping steam from the exhaust pipes.
This is what tho passengers heard.
| Down in the engine room when the smash
came the steady kerchuEi kerchugl kerchugi
of the engines gave way to . whir-r-r and o
buzz of deafening magnitude. The engines
raced like lightning. The shaft had broken and
the engines, with full head of steam and no
steadying strain. leaped ahead. The engineers
leaped to their places. and in less time than 10
takes to tell it they had stopped the racing
wheels and opened the safety valves. But above
the roar Of the escaping steam they could hoar
the splash and squirt of water in the after partof
the snip. They knew the boat was aleak, but
didn't for an instant suspect how badly.
Capt. Stenger was on the bridge, and two or
three of the officers were within hailing dis.
lance of him when the shock was felt. An I'm
vestigation was set on foot instantly. The
passengers. overcome with fright at first and
screaming in . panic-stricken way. were Gained
by the slowing down of the ship and the a.
| surance of the officers that there wasn't any
thing wrong. The engineers, headed by the
| chief, made their way down to the ehaft tunnel
and tried to enter it. They were swept back BY
q rush Of water. Again and again they dived
at the opening, but they might as well have
tried to stand In front Of an on-rushing looomo-
tive. They gave up the attempt. The water IN
the after compartment became ankle deep. then
| knee deep, then waist deep. The partition be-
tween the after compartment and the compart-
ment next forward strained and burst out with
the mighty pressure.
Not knowing the nature of the accident oven.
the Captain ordered the starting Of the great
steam pumps that pump out water In 6inch
streams. THE pumps labored and wheezed. and
| the water gushed out of Thorn. An hour passed.
Tho engineers reported that In spite Of the
pumps the water had gained q foot and was
knee deep In tho engine room and threatened
the fires. The men who had tried again and
| again to get into the shaft tunnel and see
what the damage was were bruised and ex-
hausted. Men had inspected the hull AZ best
they could from the outside. but they
could see no damage. Tho rudder seemed
to DO in place. and presumably the
propeller was still there. The gain of tho water.
considering the work of tho pumps. was tire.
| mendous. The veendam had settled aft per-
o~eptibly. The fears Of the passengers had been
aroused again. The CAPTAIN ordered all the
hand pumps on the vessel to DO manned. and
every sailor WAS pressed into service, while
passengers and drafted healthy men for reliefa.
Then It was that the passengers realized now
steerage set UP a wailing and tho children cried.
and some of tho men screamed and beat theif
breasts. Tho cabin passengers naturally shared
in the fright.
Capt. Stenger had had his hands full directing
the men under him and putting the steerago
passengers at work. He called the passengers
around him, and TOLD them that the ship had met
with an accident and that she was leaking.
"Now," he said, 'if you people will DO reason.
able and calm and stop your noise ! will guar
antee that I'll get you into port or land you
aboard some other vessel safely. II you don't
won't guarantee anything. and every damn one
OF us will go to the bottom"
This Is not the CAPTAINS exact language but 10
in substance what he said. He told the women
OF tho stecrage who were making the most
noise to go to their quarters and get into their
hunks and GO, TO sleep. The women went 10
their quarters but sleep WAS out of the question
with the rolling OF the ship and the noise Of the
pumps, The men at the pumps pun rs, p ,hfIs b Sna
yolumos of water. SIN, inch by inch, the water
in the hold gained; 4 second hour passed. Ihs