Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-04-26
WARSH|P RAMMED
BY YANKEE LINER
st. Paul Sinks British Cruiser
Gladiator.
cEuC0A1 cAIl A0o nnAlagu
SEVERAL SAILORS DROWN
Stricken Vessel Settles in Less Than
Twenty Minutes.
COLLISION DURING sNowsT0RM
American Boat Little Damaged.
Used to Be Warship Herself.
Passengers to Take Teutonic.


Passengers to Take Teutonic.
SOUTHAMPTON. April 25.-The Amer
lean line steamship St. Paul. which left
Southampton on her regular voyage for
New York via Cherbourg this afternoon
in dense snowstorm. rammed and de-
stroyed the British second-class cruiser
Gladiator of the Isle of Wight. The first
reports declared that from twenty to
thirty OF the Gladiator's crew had been
drowned. but later intelligence reduces
the number Of casualties. The exact ex-
tent of the disaster. however. cannot be
accurately known until tomorrow.
No one on the st. Paul was killed or
injured. but the bodies of Steward Wild
gerry, Writer Cowdrey and q Maltese
steward named Diebras. all attached to
the cruiser. have been brought ashore;
one oflicer. Lieut.. William G. p. Graves.
an Irishman who attempted to swim to
land, Is missing and eight injured have
been taken to the military hospital at
Golden Hill for treatment. II Is believed
that only q few others are unaccounted
for.
Rams Cruiser in Blizzard.
The st. Paul left Southampton at 1880
O'Clock. She was an hour behind her
usual time Of sailing. the delay being
due to the belated arrival Of q passen-
ger train which was blocked by snow
drifts on the trip from London. The
weather was comparatively clear in
Southampton waters. but as soon as the
st. Paul turned into the Solent, which
| II YulA ~ ~kA
encountered a severe blizzard. Capt
Passow and his chief, ofilcer,. with the
American Lines regular pilot. were on
| the bridge. and a lookout was In the
diately in front OF them. It was the
Gladiator at anchor. Orders were given
instantly for full speed astern. In an
endeavor to clear the cruiser. but It was
| too late -.
The St. Paurs sharp stem rammed tho
anchored vessel amidships: she quivered
and reeled, and the passengers rushed ON
deck in great alarm, the women on tho
verge Of 2 panic. a, Ins omosrs & ~. and SsSw ~
passengers. Five lffeb0ots were lowered
| within q few minutes to rescue the crew
| Of the Gladiator. which began to sink al-
most at once. Her men gave magnin-
cent demonstration Of discipline. At the
captains command they formed In line
| on the deck and stood in ranks while the
| cruiser settled In obedience to orders
successive details marched to the gang
ways and entered the st. Paui's boats
| until virtually the whole crew had been
taken on and landed at Yarmouth. on the
| Isle of Wight.
The Gladiator's crew numbered 40 men.
and Capt. Walter Lumsden. true to ma
val tradition. was the last to leave his
ship Only q few men then were missing.
and 1t was thought that most OF them
had been saved by boat which had
put out from Yarmouth. Capt Lums-
lam a n me89AR0
| to Capt. Passow, thanking him for his
promptitude in lowering boats and speak
| ing In the most complimentary terms OF
the conduct of the American seamen.
Liners Injuries Slight.
The Gladiator soon settled down. Only
| her upper works are now visible. The st.
Paul returned to Southampton and her
passengers were put ashore. seeking ac-
commodations at the various hotels. They
will sail by the Teutonic Wednesday. spe-
| cial arrangements having been MADE py
the American company.
The fact that the st. Paul sustained
no worse damages than badly buckled
bow and a comparatively small mole on
her port side is the most remarkable
| feature Of the whole occurrence. Her In.
juries were temporarily repaired before
rutting back to Southampton. On the
other hand the Gladiator was protected
cruiser. especially designed for ramming.
full force OF the St. Pauls momentum
| amidships and she was cut almost In
half.
The storm which was responsible for
the collision extends along the whole
southeast coast of England. and Is de-
scribed as the worst since the blizzard or
1881. All the landmarks were hidden by
the driving curtain OF snow as the st.
and it was exceedingly dificult to locate
any sound Of warning that came through
| the storm.
Several men rescued from the Gladiator
declare that 1t was marvellous that the
ship was not lost with all hands. One OF
| them said:
Sinks in Twenty Minutes
I'VE left Portland at 10 o'clock this
morning in foggy weather. After We
passed Hurst Castle and were inside the
Isle of Wight. the snow. which all the
time had been falling. came on thicker
than ever. Suddenly there was terrific
crash. and the crew, most of whom were
below, found on running up the COM
panionways that the st. Paul had run
| into us amidship. The cruiser sank In
! about twenty minutes and II ts lucky
| that we were not i'm deep water. for when
| the Gladiator went over on her Deam-
ends we we're not able to launch all the
| boats. We got out few, however, ana
| others came from the ST. Paul and from
ashore. To them we owe our iveS.
All the men speak in terms OF highest
praise of Capt. Lumsden, who, living
| up to naval traditions. refused to leave
| the ship until the last. The st. Paui
| reached Southampton at O'Clock In the
evening Although the damage was severe
| enough to necessitate her return, II was
anna zingly slight in comparison with the
| damage to the cruiser. In ACCORDANCE
| with the admiralty regulations the st.
| Paul was proceeding at reduced speed.
The Gladiator was a twin-screw pro-
tected cruiser Of the second class. She
was of $50 tons and was 80 feet In
length. She was built at Portsmouth In
1896.
Passengers Take Teutonic.
LONDON, April 25.-The American
Steamship Company gave the passengers
on the st. Paul the alternative of remain
ing at Southampton to sail on the Teu-
tonic, or return ng to London. A very few
took advantage of the latter oner and