Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-22
A Capital" Operation

TAKE the strange case of the Milwaukee
This was brand new steamer of eight thou
sand tons which left the Tyne in ballast one
lovely September day, on her maiden voyage
to New Orleans. Steering merr1ly north by
the Scottish coast, she into bank OF fog
and then straight to the awful rocks be-
tween Aberdeen and Peterhead- Her bottom
was entirely torn out IN the forward part and
her master sent hurry call to Liverpool, even
though he thought the case hopeless, with
huge moss green rocks driven right through
his ship and wild seas flashing the wreck.
A fleet of tugs responded as ambulances
and surgeons" there were IN plenty, with the
famous ship salvors Captains Bachelor and
Pomerov in command. After much consulta-
ton it was decided that all of the patient
could not be saved. Her forward section was
so badly hurt and would take SO long to make
ready for the final operation that the dreaded
equinox would surely be on the workers be-
fore thew were ready For this reason it was
decided to save only the Milwaukee's huge
afterpart which was swinging dangerously In
deep water if in pain through her bows be-
ing so cruelty impaled on the Jagged rocks.
And so the difficult and delicate work was be-
gun of cutting the vessel in two at the bunker
bulkheads, with view to wrestling from the
rocks the whole of the afterpart containing
the big boilers. the mighty engines and the
whrling propellers of phosphor bronze.
Captain Bachelor, the chief surgeon y in this
queer operation, had drastic remedy at hand
He applied belt of dynamite cartridges weigh
ing FIVE hundred pounds all round the hull,
taking care that the explosives did not dam
age the boiler room bulkheads. The main
operation of cutting took more than week;
but it was successful and away t1oated the
enormous afterpart of the Milwaukee from the
rocks leaving her worse half still impaled,
pounding furiously, and clearly doomed to
destruction in another tide two.
But now another danger had to be faced
The immense weight of boilers and engines
caused the rescued section to sink dangerously
deep and the surgeons were by no means sure
that the engine room bulkheads would stand
the tremendous pressure. But the Milwaukee
proved to be pretty healthy patient, and
no part of her amputated section gave sign OF
yielding. That the crippled ship. so strangely
saved by leaving half of herself on the rocks
was able to get back to the Tyne at all IS sui
fciently remarkable; but more marvellous
still she was able to use her own steam during
the whole trip of one hundred and fifty miles
OF course, the rescuing tugs stood by the
wounded monster
Arrived at last in hospital, the drydocks
of her builders,-a new fore part was built
and spliced on the saved section, so sk1lfully
that the reconstructed ship huge as she was
differed from the original by only SIX tons IT
her gross weight This surgical" operation was
worth two hundred and five thousand dollars
to the owners.
Case of the Suevic
A SIMILAR, but even more extensive case
was that of the White Star liner Suevic
impaed on the needleike Stag Rocks, off the
Corni III coast of England one day In March
She tore into the sunken rocks at a thirteen
knot clip; so that, like the Milwaukee, she was