Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-20

Biscay possessed all the elements OF modern
sea tragedy, xlorlned by the splendid be-
havior OF alN concerned-offcers passen-
gers. and crew. Amidst the bowling of the
hurricane. and the gradual disintegration
of the ship. everybody kept their heads
nor disgrsced their humanity. There are
few finer spectaeles IN our ocean history
than that Of the doomed captain OF the
London hanging the lee of the wreck
ed bridge and shouting to the steerssnaR
OF the one boat that got clear with run
freight of rescued ones, the course and
distance to Brest and a safe passage 10
you" Think II you can of the might OF
this seif-sacrificss and behold II too in thosa
passengers left behind without hope rails
ing out of the depths of their chilling hearts
a goodbye cheer
OF a very different character appears tho
terrible tragedy of the Northheet, sailing
ship, at anchor in the Downs with six or
seven hundred iiavvfes AMI their wives on
board outward bound to the colonies At
dead or night she was run into by a large
Spanish steamer, the MuIiIIo. which in das-
tardly fashion backed out OF the wreck she
had made and steamed away. An awful
scene ensued. IN which the few brave ones
who endeavored 10 stem the flood OF panic
lost their lives, indeed only the merest
handful of them were saved And the
agonizing part Of It all was that when day
light came there were the three tall masts
towering above the water TO a height Of n
hundred feet. for the ship had been at
anchor In less than sixty feet of water and
had settled straight down standing erect
upon the bottom. So that nearly IL not
quite all of the drowned might have been
saved had they possessed this little bit Of
elementary knowledge and climbed I'D out
OF death. There is a tri1ing amount OF sat
isfaction in the knowledge that the coward
steamer was afterward caught and con-
fiscated.
~
That terrific enemy, fire. is never mora
terrible than when Il gets the upper hand
at sea. and the last century afforded some
narrowing examples OF it's destructive
power. Chief among these was the case OF
the Cospatrick a fine emigrant ship, sail
Ing along that gigantic void OF the South
ern ocean on her way to the Australian
colonies. 1t is place OF tremendous stress
even for the best equipped sailing ships.
the roaring fortles, requiring high sea-
manship and courage TO take advantage Of
the great gales which blow almost con-
dnuaily, in order to make passage But
when suddenly from the bowels Of the fly
ing ship already straining every item OF
her construction to meet the demands made
upon her by the elements, there bursts the
long. greedy spirals of flame, no amount Of
descriptive power can exaggerate the tragic
potentialities of the situation. The gigantic
seas rolling up preclude the idea of being
saved by the boats, the awful loneliness Of
that vast ocean renders the possibility II
being succored by a passing ship almost
entirely out of the question, while the state
of the weather forbids that maneuvering
which in fighting fire in sailing ship is 50
essential All these hindrances combined
to render the disaster to the Cospatrick
complete, and yet by some miracle five OF
six persons did escape from that awful
calamity and were picked up alive by a
passing ship. But of the details of that
terrible conflict we are ignorant except that
we know what sort of a fendish combiua-
ton fire and gale and sea and night and
perfect isolation could produce 1t would.
however. be too cruel to dwell upon it.
Far more grateful is 1t to record how. In
spite Of what those who should know better
lament as the decay Of the romantic side
of seafaring, the tale OF sea tragedies
grows ever smaller and smaller. Many
causes contribute to this most desirable
end. The most highly educated officer has
put Into his capable banda scientific aids
to safe navigation which makes his ar
duous task not perhaps easier, but far less
liable to disaster. He Is far less dependent
also upon the seafaring ability of his crew.
In the great majority of cases only needing
what he almost invariably receives, the
loyal support of men who handle coal
and engines far below And the ships of
today, of whatever class, are built with
such mechanical skill and such amazing
fidelity on the part of the workmen that it
really appears as If we were within reach
of the unsuitable ship. AS to fire getting
the upper hand. that, owing to improved
chamical appliances, has almost been rels-
gated to the ignoble position of an almost
impossible idea OF course until all the
sailing ships are gone, tragedies of the sea
viii still occasionally furnish forth harrow
ing reading owing TO their many disabilities
in the strife with the ocean. But a glance
at Lloyd's register of wrecks during the
last twenty-five years VIII show that
by leaps and bounds We are approach
ing the time when seafaring shall have be-
come as safe as any other calling although
of course that does not mean that shalt
ever be without tragedy at sea.