The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-12-03
WEATnERED THE STORM.
The IIoratio Halls Experience in the
Hurricane.
MUST HAVE BEEN NEAR PORT
LAND WHEN SHE SANK.

But the I'LL Fated Steamer Was not Seen
The Hall Proved Herself to Be Mag
nificent ship-she Was in No Ways
Damaged.
The handsome steamer Horatio Hall OF
the Maine Steamship company, which left
Portland Saturday evening for New
York, about the time that the Inflated
steamer Portland sailed from Boston for
Portland. and which went through the
hurricane of Saturday night and Sunday
without a particle of damage to herself,
arrived here yesterday afternoon looking
as spiclz and span as she did the day she
started out on her trial trip. There was
not as much as deck bucket missing
from this handsome ship, and though she
went through the hurricane which
wroughb such havoc allsalong the coast
and was for hours right in tho storm
center, the Horatio Hall was in no ways
damaged. There were only four steamers
out in Boston bay during this hurricane,
as far rs is known. These were the Gate
City bound to Savannah from Boston,
the Pentagoet OF the Manhattan Steam
ship company bound from New York to
Bangor, and which is supposed to have
been somewhere off Cape Cod when tho
hurricane burst upon her. the steamer
Portland and the Horatio Hall. OF these
four steamers only the Horatio Hall and
the Gate City have been accounted for.
Or the four the Horatio Hall was Tor
many hours right in the storms center.
but she was at no times in any great
danger and was in no ways damaged.
This shows better than anything else
could what mangihcent seaboat the
Hall is. She has proved herself to be one
of the safest steam. rs along this coast and
she was also one of the best handled.
It was about three o'clock when the
Horatio Hall tied up TO her dock here
yesterday afternoon on her return from
New York. Captain A. Bragg was seen
by PRESS reporter and told the Ioliow-
ing story of the experience OF Jne Horatlo
Hall in this terrible storm. He said.
eve lett Portland about 1850 Saturday
night, and went outside where we found
the sea smooth and : moderate breeze
blowing. At that time while the weather
looked a little threatening we had no idea
of what was in store for US before morn
Cod and at about 10. 30 O. olock it began to
breeze up a little from the east northeast.
When we were little ways past Boone
island IL began to snow. This was about
eleven O'Clock. We continued on our
regular course south by west for the Cape
and continued to run at full speed. AT
midnight it was blowing heavy from east
| northeast The sea began to come up
| fastSandEin as.iittle time we were running
through tremendous sea and shipped
some water forward. The wind continued
| to increase in fury and I knew that we
were in for a very bad night Of it. The
barometer was constantly falling and at
half past one O'Clock Sunday morning
| when we were about thirty miles from
| Cape Cod I told Captain Harding the
| pilot, that l believed we had better heave
| too. We brought the nose of the ship up
into the wind without any trouble and
| heayed too at about this time. Cape Coo
bore from us about southwest at this
l time.
| 1.-The wind continued to increase in
strength and at two o clock 1t was blow
| ing a hurricane with the barometer drop.
ping off in startling manner. The Hall
behaved splendidly. l never knew OF a
vessel which stood the heavy seas as Well
as she did. OF course we shipped little
water, but not any great amount OF 1t at
| a time I knew that we were making a
4
that we could not hold the Hall right up
| into the gale. The sea was terrible. |
/ have been going to sea for thirty oad
years, but / never saw the waves run as
| high as they did Sunday morning about
three clock. 1t did not seem possible
that such enormous seas could be kicked
up in such a short time even with tne
| hurricane blowing as strong as II was.
| The barometer dropped down until IL was
! at 90 08 and about six O'Clock sunday
morning the hurricane was at Its worst.
At about this time / told Captain Hard (.
| ing, the pilot, that did not believe the
wind would hold up as furiously as II
| was then blowing for very long ana !
was right for at seven O'Clock the barome'
| ter went up tenth. But the seas con-
tinued to rise higher and higher. They
went fully ten feet above our hagstaH
ever time, never in all my life saw suoh
waves as we were then riding over and
we didn't ship very much water either,
cat eight o'clock Sunday morning the
wind suddenly died away and for some
time there was little or no wind TO SPEAK
of. At half past eight O'Clock we got the
shin around on her course and headed mel
southwest. In about an hour we made
Nausett and Chatham right ahead. We
had drifted in seven hours about forty
| miles to the southwark with our engines
going hard enough to keep cur head up
| to the wind. During all this night We
| did not sight single vessel nor hear the
sound of one At seven O'Clock SUNDAY
morning we could not have been very faI
| from the steamer Portland, which must
| have drifted down to about this point be-