New-York tribune., 1902-12-02
ELEMENTS FIGHT ST. LOUIS.
vGyr SWEEPS SAILOR TO DEATH
FIRE PUT OUT-PASSENGERS
KEPT BELOW DECK.

In vain did the sailors Of the steamer St
1ouis which arrived here yesterday from South
srapton beseech Niord. the ruler of the ocean
md the winds and stiller Of the waves, TO act
sn their behalf For once he withheld his re-
strssning hand and the big steamship had 10
fight every foot of her way across the turou-
lent Atlantic Ocean. The fight was stern one
and II required days, IL hours and ~ minutes
40 bring her into port Niord claimed a life ana
Loki. toe. showed his hate. for small fire
broke out on the main deck on Sunday after
noon
All the transatlantic steamers had trying
passages last week. and not all OF those which
usually reach here at the week end are in port
Vet. The St Louis and the Ryndam, from Rot
terdam. arrived here yesterday. The French
steamer La Champagne should have got here
also. but she did not. She was reported last
night and will dock early this morning.
The tTip of the ST Louis was the most exct-
ing Of those reported by steamers which have
arrived here since the storm broke loose She
bore the marks Of her fight when she docked.
Her stacks incrusted with salt, and hang
ing at the davits on the starboard side was the
wreck Of q lifeboat-
The ST Louis ran into the gale almost as soon
as she left the English Channel, and from that
day until she sighted Fire Island Light she had
to face driving winds from the northwest and
southwest that heaped up the waters across her
path For days the ship ran at reduced speed.
end the passengers were kept below deck
throughout the entire voyage
On Wednesday. November Is. the waves
were dashing over the bows so iercely that
Captain Passow thought IL best to order the
boats on the starboard side OF the ship. which
was the weather side. made fast, and he told
three men on the boat deck to perform this
task. The waves were sweeping this deck in
way which made the task dangerous The sail
ors crept along the deck under the shelter or
the deckhcuse. and worked their way TO boat
No. Is. the forward boat They had been work
ing at il only few minutes when heavy sea
came curling over the rail There a warn
ing shout. and al the men grasped something
except one. J. Walur a Norwegian, twenty
four years old. He struck by the onrushing
water and swept overheard, his body striking
the rail as it carried over The ship was
stopped. but in the Witness Of the sea moth
ing could be seen of the seaman. So far as
any one vas able to tell he did not rise TO
the surface.
a hailstoru1 on Saturday, November %. made
navigation doubly difficult The officers on the
bridge could hardly face the storm When the
ship was off Nantucket, fire was discovered
amidships at the end of an alley on the main
deck. II broke out while the passengers were at
luncheon. Il supposed TO have been caused
by defective insulation of electric wire. Sew
eTal feet of panelllng were ripped out aho d
few buckets Of water sufficed to drown the
flames. The damage was confined 70 the wood
work.
The days runs eptoTnze the trip They were
805 3S5 33e 344. 3e9. 406. 3o4, $40 and 22l
knots.
When the baggage was landed il was found
that the water had psrcolated through the hatch
covers and done considerable damage to some
Of il. The clothing of Countess dller, which
she valued at $500, was ruined 1t was soaked:
A wicker basket containing the clothing or
c. E. Lorraine, on opera singer, was tncrusted
with salt Being an old traveller, she had
thoughtfully lined il with rubber, ana the con-
tents apparently were not seriously damaged.
Another whose baggage was injured was w u
Russell.