The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1903-09-18
THE ROUGH RIDER
IS ROUGHLY TOSSED
The Sylph Dashes Into a
VeritabIe Hurricane.
WILD SCENE IN HE'LL GATE
A Tug Goes Down, But the Pilot of the SyIph
Fears to Go to lHer Assistance
The President Gets
Drenchlrg.
WILD SCENE IN HE'LL GATE
(By the Associated Press


New York, Sept. 16-President Roose
welt is resting quietly on his train tonight
after day of strenuous and varied ex
periences. While en- route from Oyster
Bay to New York on the naval yacht
Sylph, accompanied by Mrs. Roosevelt
and party OF guests he passed through
a terrifying wind and rain storm dur
ing which the vessel was in imminent
danger. Subsequently he visited the i'm
migration station on Ellis Island, New
York Bay, and made a thorough inspec-
ton of the institution.
Alter dining on the Sylph tonight he
went On the revenue tug Chamberlain to
JersAy City where he boarded a special
tram on the Pennsylvania Railroad which
Is TO convey him to the battlefield of An
tletam, Tor the dedication ceremonies
When the Sylph weighed anchor the
skies were dark and forbiddng and as
the vessel drew out of the bay a light
ram fell. Less than an hour after the
Sylph had entered Long Island Sound she
ran INTO terrific wind and rain storm.
The storm INCREASED IN severity RAPIDLY
and off Fort Schuyler, it developed into
hurricane. The wind blew. accord
ing to an estimate made by Lieutenant
Preston, commander of the Sylph. at the
rate of 65 miles an hour. The Sylph. a
comparatively small vessel, pitched heay-
lily and oft Willett's Point, listed very
sharply to starboard. The President and
his guests had been forced to go below
and beyond a drenchng none of them
suffered inconvenience The storm be-
came even more severe as the vessel
neared He'll Gate. The waves and wind
swept the deck, making it almost impossi-
bic for the sailors to remain above
In He'll Gate, quarter of a mile off
the port bow of the Sylph a tug boat
having IN tow a large three masted
schooner, was capsized by the wind and
waves. She sank stern foremost, but did
not settle completely out of sight for
perhaps five minutes. A small boat from
the tug put off with the crew, except two
men, who chung to the bow until the YES
sci disappeared. 1t appeared from the
Sylph that the women were taken aboard
the yawl. Lieutenant Preston wished to
stand by to render assistance, but Cap
tain William p Brainard, an experienced
pilot, who was at the wheel, declared it
would be foolhardy for the Sylph to at
tempt a rescue in such storm Presi-
dent Roosevelt knew nothing of the cap
sizing Of the tug boat until nearly All
hour afterwards. He then expressed the
wish that some assistance might have
been rendered by the crew
Mrs. Roosevelt and the other members
of the party were landed at the Brooklyn
navy yard. but the President proceeded
to Ellis Island where he spent some four
hours in inspecting the station. A mum
Der of persons interested in immigration
were on the island. Four of these were
appointed by the President a committee
to make a thorough investigation of the
station and its administration. During
the afternoon many interesting incidents
occurred. the President acting upon his
desire to go directly among the emigrants
themselves with a view of ascertainiug
personally how they were treated He
was particularly interested by the fat
developed that forty-nine out of fifty of
the applicants for admission were sup
piled with American money.
The President talked with German
woman who had a baby in a wicker
basket and gave her a S. bill for the
child. The case Of a Russian family de.
tanned for deportation was personally in
vestigated the President deciding that
the family need be detained no longer. a
son already in New York being financially
able to care for them.