The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-09-06


er-The Confusion and Excitement
Only Temporery-A Great Peril Easily
Over.
The terrible though brief danger that
the one thousand people on the DIG
steamship City of Rome encountered on
the passage of the steamer to New York
this week is told in the following inter-
view by Courier representative with a
distinguished visitor to this city, Rev.
DR.. Stark of Aberdeen, Scotland, VINO
was a passenger on the steamer and
arrived here yesterday at the mousse OIL
his friend, Rev. Mr.. Mulch, by Whom
he is being entertained here:
AT o'clock on the evening OF the last
day of August l for the first time IN
my life came into close contact with
an iceberg, and l have no desire to re-
new the experience. The meeting came
about in this way. We were steamlng
in the City of Rome with slackened
speed along the banks of Newfoundland
on the sixth day of our voyage more or
less enveloped in that dismal fog, which
like an evil genius haunts this region.
The steam horn of our big ship with
it's deep bass was roaring to ward off
ships which might be in our neighbor-
hood, and leave us sea ROOM But alas,
what we had TO dread most Of all at
this particular time was something up
on which fog horn could make no i'm
preston.
The passengers Of the first table, full
200, were just finishing dinner and the
others were waiting their turn when the
lookout stationed at the bow Of the boat
shouted out Iceberg dead ahead! I
was sitting in the reading room on q
level with the upper deck, ready to go
down to dinner when suddenly felt the
ship humping againet an object with
such violence as almost to drive me
from my seat. A few seconds after that
another shock was felt, accompanied
with a grinding, crunching sound as if
something We're being scraped by the
ships keel. / rushed out and saw to
the right a magnificent lump Of ice
about 300 feet long and standing out of
the water thirty feet or forty feet, bob
bling in the sea on the starboard side and
disappearing in the mist. l could not
but notice its striking appearance, with
its varied tints, grounded upon an ala
baster wilderness, as it sailed away into
the fog, from which it had come to give
us a fright.
The iceberg was rotten, that is, hon
eycombed with the action of warmer
temperature of air and water. 1t was
stray survival Of those annual visitors
from the far north, whose career at this
time of the year is supposed to have
come to an end. / could see that con-
siderable part of the rest of it was
washed away by the tapping of the
waves. The bow of our ship struck the
south end of it and rebounded, and then
the second conclusion took place, the
ship rising several feet from the ice.
The bow of our immense ship was thus
lifted up and listed slightly to the one
side. The superintendent weight broke
the ice, part Of 1t floating past on the
left hand side, the main body of it, as 1
have already said. like an enemy who
Is foiled in his onset, sneaking away
into obscurity. The great practical
question now in everybody's mind was
what damage has the ship sustained?
We had been going a. a reduced speed,
as the captain detected the neighbour
hood Of ice, and the engine was stopped
and reversed before the impact took
place but of course the momentum car
ried ii along. The crisis was trying and
might have been tragic Bulkheads were
Immediately closed so that If water was
coming in 1t might be kept within the
enclosed compartments. The crew was
taking their immergency stations. The
good captain made personal inspection
OF the forepart of the ship, and the reas-
surfing news was soon passed around that
no serious damage had been done. That
did not mean very much to some of us.
as we knew that to prevent panic the
officers Of ship ever put the best face
upon anything that has happened. But
as the vessel still remained stable most
of us gradually became more confident
and thanked God for our deliverance
no harm being done to anything, except
to the Roman Emperor who was our fig
ure head. He, as the doctor phrases 1t. |
having sustained a compound fracture
in his arms, and some allege that his |
nose is smashed.
All on board, with very few excep- |
tons and promptitude, behaved admir-
ably during the painful suspense The |
Anchor line has reason to be proud of |
the efficiency of the officers and crew, |
The fortitude and self-control Of the la |
dies was beyond all praise The gray- |
ity Of the situation was plainly reflect
ed in the countenances of all, male as |
well as female, but there was no panic.
The comic mingled itself with the tragic.
One passenger was observed dragging
his luggage up determined to leave the
ship no poorer than when he entered II. |
Our young bugler showed great pres
ence of mind in running to the biscuit |
box that he might be so far fortified
for any emergency.
When it became evident that there
was no immediate danger l went down
to the state room for my great coat and
cap and on the way saw the floor of the
saloon streWn with broken dishes.
There was a considerable amount of
excitement, and the doctor
ordered the lights to be put on all over
the ship. But having confidence In the
Of the men under whose
charge we were voyaging and feeling
my utter inability to do anything ex-
cept to trust in God, | went to my cab
In shortly after ten o'clock, and was
soon fast asleep. I awoke before dawn
to find that the fog was gone and that
we were going fill speed q head