The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-09-02

into the furnaces. | went down to
the starting rhehostat and tried to
start it, but it would not move. 1t
was impossible to get to the motor,
on this particular one, for the tenn
perature there was something over
200 degrees, and one breath would
have finished any man. There are
sixteen of the blowers in all, so ] ran
up the speed slightly on all the 9TH
ers, SO as to make up for the def
cheney. | went on deck again thor
Oughly convinced that the machinery
would never stand the tWeive hour
test. | had been on deck about Is
minutes looking at everything reeling
and rocking, twisting and straining,
the smoke stacks getting red hot in
places, just thinking that we could
never keep that up for four hours
longer; in fact everything seemed on
the point Of going to pieces. | was
standing about 20 feet from the air
shaft down 10 the engine when |
thought the entire ship had blown up,
and steam came up that shaft like
volcano.
One of the big siX-foot cylinders on
the port engine had gone up, and the
steam at 275 pounds pressure was
coming directly out of the top of the
cylinder.
The lower part Of the engine is par
titioned off from the upper part and
luckily. too, for if it had not been, all
the engineers would have been killed
or scalded to- death. No one knew
what had happened for about that
time about twenty black heads appear
ed on deck, coming up through the
coal bunkers. Even the engineers
came up that way, and all the ma
chinery below was left . pound away
unmolested 1t was lucky we were
far out at sea with plenty of water
room, for the big ship was running
away with no one at the throttle or
boilers. There was really no danger
or reason to be scared, that is unless it
had blown a hole through the bottom,
and that would be almost impossible.
The chief cause of excitement was
that no one knew what had happen
ed. Upon looking around it was as
certained that fifteen firemen were
missing and there was considerable
anxiety manifested as to their safety.
On we went for twenty-five minutes,
without any one to guide the ship
some of the men were able to get be-
low to close the throttle. The fire
men were found down in the shaft
alley. which leads aft from the bottom
of the ship. They had dropped
through the hatch in the bottom OF
the fire room and closed the hatch so
that no steam could get in. Three
of them were badly burned before
from
| furnaces. AS soon as the escaping
steam would allow it, every man went
| to his place, the boilers were fired up
and the starboard engine started
| and the ship was directed toward the
Delaware Brcakwater, though we
were hundreds of miles out on the
ocean. did not go to bed that night
| for there was too much going on to
think about sleep. When relieved
from duty, | found it nice and warm
on deck, and the salt air was fine, but
| wouldn't have gone to sleep even if
| had been sleepy.
Sunday was one of the finest days
ever saw, and all day we moved along
at about II knots without a sign of
land in sight. We passed fifteen or
twenty schooners and one ocean liner
headed for Liverpool.
Monday morning we sighted the
| Delaware Breakwater, and then came
the run up the Delaware River
| which / enjoyed, for the country is
beautiful all the way up to Philadel-
phia.
On the preliminary run on We'd
nesday, and just after the run, there
were some very distinguished guests
aboard, among them Admiral Samp'
son, Mayor Hart, of Boston; City En-.
Igineer Jackson, Corporation Counsel
Bailey, Congressman Foss, of the
House Naval Committee; Joseph Lett.
er, of Chicago: c. b. Davis, Thomas
Liverman, II. NJ. Whitney. Naval Con
structor Baxter, U. S. Navy; and a
good many others. The Gar was rep
resented by Baron Fersen and his
suite Tho Russian officers of the
cruiser are Captain Vladimir O.
Behr; Lieutenant Commander f. X
Kraft, Chief Engineer n. G. Leykoff
and others whose names | do not re-
member.
| Captain Sargent, the navigator fol
the Cramps Company, was in eXecu
tive charge of the ship, assisted by ;
picked crew from the great ship
| building plant.
At the time Admiral Sampson came
aboard | was up aft on the. aft bridge
and had searchlight controllel
apart, trying to find a ground in it
The Admiral came up on the bridge
and asked me what was the matter
with it, and a good many other ques
tions.
After the highest record ever made
by war vessel of its size was made OF
Wednesday, Mr.. Edwin S. Cramp, the
constructor, was the recipient of con
gratulations from nearly the entire
ships company, starting with Mayor
Hart, Baron Fersen and Captain
Behr.
/ JAMES G SpAJNHOTTP