New-York tribune., 1909-10-19
SANDERS TELLSOFGALE
GOVERNOR'S TRIP ON THE
STEINER ANTILLES.
Describes Passengers Experiences
in Big Storm off the
Florida Coast.

How a hundred good Americans, with few
who did not make speeches at all, sat in twenty
three feet of blue tropic water and enjoyed
themselves for week, when the Antilles came
down through the hurricane upon the Great
Bahama Bank and went 10 bed there-it took
landsman and a true Southern gentleman to
spin that yarn. He added something of thriller
about the storm. sitting up in bed most demo-
craticay to swing his leg over the side of a
brass and mahogany bunk in the Waldorf.
He J. " Sanders. Governor of the State
of Louisiana and great friend of free speech.
we cleared from New Orleans on Saturday
night" he began. laying his tongue along the
cigarette he rolling, reckless of the Waldorf
bed linen. land Sunday all day IL was rainy and
raw, and all of that knew the region down
there knew there something going to break
right soon. I got up at o'clock next morning.
and il blowing great guns and raining tom
cats. BY O'Clock 1t hurricane all out of
the soueast Stand amidships, and you couldn't
see for'ard of the bridge aft to the tahrail
for the rain
'I never saw in my life such blow. Believe
me or not but nine feet Of solid by oak rail
was blown of the iron stsnchions. The Antilles
is big ship, but those just took her and
shook her and then knocked her the head.
stove in skylights and half drowned the cabins
punched the bottoms out of boats on the daYits
and. of course nearly turned the passengers in
! side out. We had hundred or so, lots of them
from Louisiana and Mississippi and more from
about New York here. Both kinds get sick
sometimes.
RAN AGROUND AT IL P. NJ
AT IL :25 that Tuesday morning the barome-
| ter was lower than I ever saw il before At
noon ran into the dead centre of the hurri-
cane out of a wind Of heaven knows how many
miles into fat calm. Thirty-hve minutes after
that caught the hurricane again. but in the
opposite quarter 1t was out Of the northwest
now. and harder than ever. That night at III
o'clock We ran on the Great Bahama Bank.
'I was In my cabin when she struck. We went
ashore easy and kindly and ahead till We
| were fast aground 1t wasn't quite like turning
over in bed, but there nothing like shock
| TO your nerves till IL was all settled that
had got there
'Out deck it dark the inside of a
COW. They couldn't the jackstaf from the
bridge, but she went on so easy 1t seemed sure
we were on something soft that wouldn't rip her
open. We quieted down the women folks. There
| was nowhere near as much excitement as might
be expected
We had soundings all around the ship withia
few minutes, and found she was in twenty
| three feet of water, on sand and clay bottom.
An earthquake couldn't have hurt her there
the captain came, and told us so. From the
bottom he round with the.lead. nd-seeing there
were no breakers anywhere. around he figured
we were on the Great Bahama Bank, which we
were.
Well. there stayed The storm blew OUT
that night, and by Wednesday noon it was a fiat
calm. with lots Of sunshine and blue water with
hardly ripple. The wireless fixed us I'D. of
course. getting help for us and sending news
CHI
up our message and was coming to help us but
the captain didn't see it that way. seeing she
was bound back 10 New Orleans and we were
headed for New York. So we waited till the
COmus was sent out for from New Orleans
From the day the storm hit us till she hove in
sight there wasn't a smear of smoke in sight
of us.
GOVERNOR SANDERS CHAIRMAN
We held a meeting right off the first day, of
course. I was elected chairman We upheld
the great prerogative of the American people TO
meet and resolute and adjourn. and we did il
every day from Tuesday till to-day when we
got in.
Every day we met in the smoking room and
read out the news of the ship and talked things
over. The last day we got TO resoluting and
/ passed thanks and appreciation to Cap
tain Burns. There were lots of porpoises and
flying fish and some iamingoes every now and
then to vary the view little. The news we
got wasn't much. We heard about the COmus
coming for and about the wreckage along
the Florida coast and then we got some base
ball scores. BY thunderr'-here he straight
ened up in bed and put both feet on the floor
how did that championship come out any
way?"
The Southern Pacific steamer COmus from
New Orleans, brought TO port yesterday Gov
ernor Sanders of Louisiana, the purser and sew
cnty-seven other passengers of the steamer An
, titles. which was blown a sand bar of the
Great Bahama Bank during the recent hurri-
cane off the Florida coast.
The Antilles left New Orleans on October o
with sixty-three first. seven I'd and seven
third class passengers. She crossed the Gulf
through bad weather saturday and Sunday,
and Monday was caught I'm the middle of the
hurricane. At 1:30 a. m. Monday the barom-
. eter dropped to 2S.35 The hurrici ms kicked up
heavy and by the Antilles was
pounding her way through the worst storm she
; had ever met. Big cOmbers broie over her bow
and stern and crashed with terrific force against
her big steel sides. BS midnight driven by the
storm far out of her to the westward the
Antilles grounded on the sand of the Great
Bahama Bank.
Only one person was hurt in the troubles of
the Antilles That happened Monday before
the liner went aground A big that broke
over the vessel smashed in port OF the
dining saloon Miss Amy Cortwright of New
ark. first cabin passenger was standing near
5 and struck by flying glass She slightly
injured the head.
CITY OF COLUMBUS BREAKS SHAFT