Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-09-17
PRESIDENT IN PERIL
Yacht Sy1ph, With Roosevelt Party, Braved Severe Storm.
WAS A HURRICANE AT HELL GATE
Xsnn(Ied at Navy Yard, Where, as the Storm Had Abated Nm Fury, 1t Was Decided to Go an to
 EIIis Island.

| NEW YORK, Sept. 17.-While Presi- l dent Roosevelt was en route from Oys- l ter Bay to New York on the naval yacht Sylph he passed through a terri 1 flying wind and rain storm, during 1 which the vessel was in imminent dan- ger.
 l Shortly after 10 o'clock, nearly an hour later than had been arranged, l President Roosevelt boarded the Sylph l in Oyster Bay. He was accompanied I by Mrs. Roosevelt and their son ker- 1 poit, Mrs. Richardson, New York friend of Mrs. Roosevelt: Secretary Loeb, Professor Albert B. Hart of Harvard college, Professor J. E. Moore of Columbia university, 0. Grant La l Farge of New York and Jacob A. Riis 1 of Richmond Hill, Long Island. In ad- l dition the guests of the president in 1 cluded members of the executive staff | and representatives of the press. l When the Sylph weighed anchor the skies were dark and nhrhidding, and as 1 the vessel drew out of the bay light rain fell Less than an hour after the Sylph had entered Long Island sound she ran into a terrific wind and rain storm. The storm increased in sever 1 ity rapidly, and off Fort Schuyler it de veioped into hurricane The wind blew, according to an estimate made | by Lieutenant Preston, commander Of l the Syiph, at the rate CT sixty-tlve
 miles an hour. The Sylph, a compara- ] lively small vessel, pitched heavily and off Willett's point listed very sharply to starboard. The president l and his guests had been forced to go below, and, beyond drenching, none 1 of them suffered inconvenience. The storm became even more severe as the vessel neared He'll Gate. The waves and wind swept the deck, mak- l ing it almost impossible for the sailors to remain exposed to their force The baggage of the party, consisting prin7 l cipally of hat boxes and dress suit cases wasAsWept about the deck, and ,I everything movable on deck had to be clewed down,to prevept it's being swept | overboard. Tn Hell Gate, quarter of mile off the port bow of the Sylph, q tugboat having in toW large three
 masted schooner was capsiZed by the
 wind and waves She sank stern fore
 most, but did not settle completely cut
 of sight for perhaps five minutes A
 small boat from the tpg put off with
 the crew, except two men, who chung to the bow until the vessel disap-
 peared. It appeared from the Syiph
 that the two men were taken aboard
 the yawl.
 It was the expectation that Mrs.
 Roosevelt, Mrs Richardson and some of the gnests of the president could be
 landed at Twenty-third street, Mrs.
 Roosevelt desiring to pass the day in
 the city vifh Relatbves- Owing to the
 severity of the storm, which still
 was raging with furious energy, it
 was found impracticable to make a
 landing at that point Mrs. Roosevelt,
 Mrs. Richardson, Kermit Roosevelt,
 Professor Hart and MT. La Farge were landed at tue Brooklyn navy yard.
 Rear Admiral Rodgers, commandant
 of the yard, went aboard the Sylph and
 after consultation with the president [ the storm meanwhile having abated
 and the wind having veered from south.
 east to west, ii was decided that the
 proposed visit to Ellis Island could be
 made in safety. The Syiph weighed an
 chor and arrfved.oR Ellis Island. where
 the president and his party were
 landed.
 During the visit many interesting in
 cidents occurred, the president acting
 upon his, desire to go directly among the immigrants themselves with view o1
 ascertaining personally how they were . treated, He was particularly interest ' ed by the fact developed that fortynint [ out of fifty of the applicants for admis | sion were supplied with American Il money. The presidents interest was at e tracted by comedy German woman f Adele Walter, from Leutendorf, whc | bore in a wicker basket a tiny seven f mnnth-old babe. After chatting mo e ment with her the president slipped ; '- five dollar bill into the hand of Jacol s Riis to be given to the woman for he D child. She nearly tainted upon learning 5 that the gift was from the president O # the United. States.