Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-02-16
IA DEED OF COURAGE.
Arrival of Mate Adamson of
the Collier Alexander.
HIS VESSEL Is ADRIFT
SHAFT BROKEN ON THE WAY
FROM PORTO RICO.
Ofdcer and Volunteers Set Out in .
Rowboat to Seek Assistance for
the Helpless Vessel.

the Helpless Vessel.
The naval collier Alexander is drifting
thelplessly in,aWest Indian waters as a re-
suit Of an accident to her main shaft. The
news OF the accident was first received at
the Navy Department this morning In the
shape of a telegram dated Delaware
Breakwater, February 10, 1903" as fol-
| lows:
| United States naval collier Alexander,
shaft broke February 10, pm. Latitude
twenty-six degrees forty-four minutes. lon
| gitude seventy-one degrees eighteen min
utes. After accident ship making one and
one-half knots northwest. First officer on
board steamship Admiral Sch.ey. for Phil
.adelphia VIII be in Washington tomorrow
| morning
| This telegram was signed "Adamson,"
meaning Thomas Adamson. first mate Of the
Alexander. Shortly after the receipt of the
! telegram Mate Anderson appeared in per-
son in the bureau Of navigation, Navy De-
partment. to confirm the news contained
in the telegram and give additional details
of the accident. His presence in this city
| at this time affords rare instance Of cour-
| age and devotion to duty such as are usual
| ly associated with romances of the sea In
the older times.
| Breaking Of the Shaft.
Briefly told his stery is as follows:
| The Alexander, with fun supply of coal.
| left Norfolk July 81 last and proceeded
| around South America to Pinchilinque, on
| the west coast Of Mexico. where the United
| States has established coaling station for
the benefit of its vessels in the Pacific
ocean. Discharging her cargo, the Alex
| andria began her homeward journey No
vember . last. and proceeded without spe-
| cial incident to San Juan, P. R., having
touched en- route at Valparaiso and Monte
| video. Saturday, January 81, the AIexan-
der left San Juan bound for Norfolk. the
! last stretch Of her long cruise. The weather
| was fairly good at the time, and there
were no indications Of trouble in any quar-
ter.
! After being out several days, however,
| the weather became boisterous and con-
| tinued rough to the evening Of the 10th
| instant. when suddenly without warning.
| during heavy swell with nasty cross seas,
| the propeller shaft broke and in SO doing
| disabled the steering apparatus. The stu
alton was exceedingly grave owing to the
rough seas and would have been worse but
| for the fact that the vessel was schooner
| rugged Sail was hoisted at once and the
vessel headed before the wind, but owing
to the damage to her rudder 1t was dan
gerous to put on much sail, and not more
than two and half knots were made.
Set Out In Rowboat.
| At this time while the ships was being
| tossed about at the mercy of wind and tide
| 1t was deemed necessary to send word to
! the nearest cable station for assistance.
! Observation showed that the vessel was
| about 400 miles from Nassau. the nearest
csble station. Volunteers were called tor
| to make this trip in the only way possible,
in an open rowboat. None of the sa Tors
! n riC in nf,1rp a
undertaking. Mate Adamson CALAMITY vol
| .unteered to lead the expedition If four other
men could be obtained to man the oa.s.
| Four men thereupon stepped forward and
offered to accompany Mr.. Adamsen. s'
| These were Peter McClinchy, boatswain;
| Harry Rose, quartermaster; John Strong,
second assistant engineer, and Lewis Rey-
! holds. ships clerk. McClinchy and Strong
are old man-O warsmen, having previously
| served in the United States navy. Mate
Adamson. who is graduate of the British
service, now claims Brooklyn as his home.
He has been attached to the Alexander as
| first mate for over two years past,~ and is
an experienced navigator. - 80
| This small party embarked in a whale
boat in mid-ocean about $3.50: O'Clock on
| the 10th instant. not quite three hours after
I the accident. Their small boat narrowly
/ escaped being dashed to pieces against
! the side of the vessel by the big waves
| 1t finally got clear, however, and headed
east by north for Nassau. The sea was
so rough that every wave dashed over
the little craft and kept the men busy
bailing her out. Notwithstanding these
| drawbacks. the crew managed to make
| fairly good progress.
Picked Up by Schooner.
They had gone about half the distance
and had been exposed to the elements for
two nights and two days without rest, when
on Thursday. the 18th instant. they sighted
a sail. 1t was then about II o'clock, but
their efforts to attract attention to them
selves were not successful until about dusk,
when their red rocket signals were OBJ
served on board the schooner, which then
| hove to and the sea being calm Adamson' 8
crew was able to pull up to her They were
about three miles away when discovered
The schooner was the D. H. Rivers, bound
| from Port OF Spain, Trinidad, for Savannah.
The next morning the steamship Admiral
Schley. bound from Jamaica to Philadel-
phia, was sighted, and in response to sig
nails from the schooner Rivers approached
| that vessel and took on board Mate Adam
son. The whale boat and the remainder of
| the volunteer crew of the Alexander re-
| manned on the schooner.
When the Admiral Schley entered Della
| ware Day Mate Adamson sent telegram
| ashore by pilot notifying the Navy De-
| partr1ent Of the accident to the Alexander
| Arrival Of Adamson.
At the first opportunity he left the steam
| er himself and took the first train from
| Chester to Washington, getting here this
| morning while the officials of the depart
| ment were considering what should be done
for the relief Of the Alexander It was
made apparent that prompt action was nee
essary to save the drifting vessel Orders
were telegraphed to Norfolk to prepare the
steamer Lebanon for sea at once with a
| view to finding the Alexander and TOWING
| her safely into port.
In order to assist in the search Mate
Adamson was ordered to proceed Immediate
~ to Norfolk and take passage on the Lee
banon. which. 1t Is expected, will start on
| her mission tomorrow morning
| The Alexander Is a steel single screw
collier and has displacement of 6,1S1
tons. She has secondary battery Of two
guns. Although in the naval service, She
Is manned entirely by merchantmen She Is
commanded by Master A. E. Cove and has
crew OF thirty-three men still on board.
Do "a