The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1908-01-23
YAGDJOGLOJ HAS
NARROW ESCAPE


A letter received by friends ut Port
land from Honolulu graphically de-
scribes the narrow escape from ship
wreck OF tramp steamer on which
d. s. Yagdjoglou had taken passage
for Vladivostok, and on which we're q
shipment Of Hood River apples for
Vladivostok. The letter Is as follows
From II noon Dec. % TO the 25th
inst. the following events occurred
A storm from east southeast in
creased into a hurricane, a high sea
following steadily higher, and to-
wards 2 In the after noon we we're un-
able to steer our course any more aud
we had to heave to aud go half speed.
Two skylights Of the engine room
we're blown open, and while we were
trying to shut them our quarter mas.
ter, Woah Ka Wong, was blown clean
overheard. We mediately threw
overheard to him life belt, but ow-
ing to the high sea aud wind, IL was
quite impossible to stop the ship or
turn her around. So We we're unable
to do anything more to save him.
Towards 4 o'clock in the afternoon
en- iron bar shackle Ut the steering
gear broke. We stopped the engines
and orde, ed all hands on deck. The
Chinese crew would not come on deck
even when threatened with revolver,
and all remained cooped up In the
forecastle There was tremendous
force from side to side on the rudder
and we tried at once to make fast
with tackles which broke. The cap
tain, officers and engineers then got
6h inch Manila rope and wove around
the quadrant like tackle and man
aged to get the handgear into work
Ing order, and the moment after this,
said gear and Manila rope broke d.
rectly behind It and again the rudder
started to hit from one side to anoth-
er.
We tried again, but with no better
result. We then got 81 inch steel
hawser and wore the same like u
tackle round the quadrant on both
sides and then onto the steam winch
and this was successful In holding the
rudder, which We put aNout 25 to
starboard and then started the en-
gines slow, half, full, as was neoessa-
~ to keep the ship to the sea.
During all the time We we're work
ing aft the ship was lying with ter
rible sea breaking over both her sides.
The forward starboaid lifeboat was
bI oxen clean from her lashings and
hurled against the wheel house, stav-
ing In galley stove pipe and damaging
the boat. The att starboard lifeboat
was broken loose from Its clamp and
she stanchion bolts were wrenched
from tho deck and the planks opened
up. The aft port lifeboat was forced
with Its clamps toward the inside !;
the side light shelves, both port and
starboari, we're washed away. Great
volumes OF water poured into he
stokehole through the grating and in
to the engine room through the brok-
en- skylights. In the stoke hole the
floor plates were washed up by the
water aud we had to put out the FIRE
In the port furnace. The lges in
stokehole and engine room we're full
to the top with water, ashes and coal,
so that the pumps could not work, as
the suction pipes we're blocked up.
With great difficulty could we keep
steam iu the starboard boiler. The
ship took a great list to port, as the
cargo shipped considerably.
When the iron bar for the steering
gear was repaired by the machinist
and the shsckle renewed we wore a
four .roped tackei to relieve the strain
and took off the steel hawser from the
quadrant, aud we kept the ship In the
sea at slow speed. The storm oontin
ued aud the wind veered around to
the southeast and We steamed with
one boiler south-southwest by the
compass. In the tunnel was three
feet of water. 10 get the ship little
straight again we started to trim the
coal from port to starboard with all
hands. Towards II noon OF the oath
the storm quieted little. We opened
a hatch and trimmed the cargo from
port to star board. Cargo on Tween
No. l was moved to port. Towards 8
o'clock the ship was little bit
straig ightened, while We only used the
coal In the port bunker.
When we opened No. hatch lit
tie water was coming into the hold.
Toward 8 o'clock we opened No. 3
hatch and trimmed the cargo from
port to starboard. The ship was now
about 40 over to port. The water in
stokehole and engine was being
pumped out very slowly. In Nos. 3
aud bilges there was 3.inoh walls.
Through the great rolling and pitch
ing OF the ship the decks opened out
and we saw little water In No. 3
tween decks, but the matches, when
taken off, weie quite dry. The steer
ing gear again broke down on the
oath: the bar repaired, again breaking
In the same place.
We repaired by 1880, substituting a
wire hawser for the broken bar. The
same day, 9:30 In the evening, the
steering gear again broke, this time a
link In the aft chain rarting. This
We repaired by 1880 q, m.
You cannot imagine the terrible
suspense In which we we're during the
time we were drifting at the mercy OF
the angry sea--an experience | hope
never to repeat. Any moment might
have been our last. The captain, offi.
GERS and engineers showed great oour.
age and GOODNESS In those trying
times, In striking contrast to the dis.
graceful cowaIdice OF the Chinese
crew, and 1t was simply owing to the
untiring efforts of the former that the
ship escaped with so comparatively
slight damage.
So terrible was tbs sea that the cap
tain ordered oil to be poured on the
waves in the hope o, breaking the
toice OF them, but owing to the exces-
sive rolling and pitching Ut the ship
but little effect was noticed. You can
Imagine how speedily that Chinaman
who was blown overheard was drowned
IA matter Of minutes only
You NAV he. no doubt. eurprieedsto