The Washington herald., 1909-08-27
MENACE OF THE ICEBERGS
Danger Of Seas Against Which
Wireless Is Of Little Avail.
Government Makes Guides, but
There stIH Remains the Old
time Dread of the Ocean.

The fear OF lcebergs has been partly re-
moved IN recent years by wireless tele-
graphy, but their presence on the seas is
still menacing enough 20 cause anxiety.
The government every summer and fall
makes out an iceberg guide. When some
ship reports an iceberg in a certain lati-
tude and longitude a little red dot IS
placed on the iceberg chart
II Is drifting IN a southerly direction,
and allowances are made for so many
miles OF advance every twenty-four
hours. SO the red dot Is moved slowly
forward. But adverse winds. seas, and
currents may change the course Of the.
berg. and this sort OF reckoning may
prove all wrong.
Later another ship reports the same or
another Iceberg in & different place, says
Earper's Weekly. More red dots appear
on the chart, and as the season advances
the danger points Increase. These charts
are issued as warnings 10 mariners. Ships
sailing in certain northern ATTITUDES must
study the location OF the icebergs. and
/ for the sake Of safety the captains pro-
vide themselves with duplicates OF the
charts
! Icebergs are dangerous obstructions 70
navigation on clear. dark nights as well
as in times Of fog. They carry no lights
and they cannot be detected IN the dark
/ until close upon a ship.
Experienced sea captains possess a GER
tain instinct for detecting the presence OF
/ tcebergs. Some captains claim that they
can smell an iceberg miles away. Some
thing In the atmosphere warns them OF
/ the danger, and they double the watch
and reduce speed until out OF the danger
zone. Then again when near an iceberg
/ the air grows suddenly cold and chilly
and sometimes there IS a drop OF several
degrees IN the temperature
! Many unaccounted disappearance OF
ships and steamers are attributed TO col
| lisions with icebergs. ships and all on
/ board going 10 the bottom without so
much as a remnant left 10 tell the tale
I To this cause mariners and marine insur-
ance companies attribute the mysterious
vanishing OF the City CT Boston from the
/ face OF the ocsan with all its passengers.
/ There is the unparalleled case Of the
steamer Portia in Notre Dame Bay. In
clear daylight an iceberg was sighted, and
! passengers and crew begged the captain
20 approach nearer IN order that they
might inspect and photograph II. The
| Portia, therefore was steered close to the
towering sides Of the mighty berg, whose
highest pinnacles glistened several hun
dTed feet above the sea.
Then the unexpected happened There
was an explosion like the shock OF a vol
! canic eruption, and the mighty berg was
riven asunder. One OF the pieces split
apart. grew topheavy. and toppled over,
it's base, far under water, catching the
Portia AID lifting her high and dry some
ten or twelve feet above the sea.
The mighty overturning OF the berg
created enormous swells, and these huge
waves were the only thing that saved the
ship from destruction. The weight OF the
ship caught on its shelf OF ice kept the
berg from turning a complete soUersault,
and a huge swell picked up the vessel and
launched her again, stern first in the sea.
This sort OF rough launching was not
the kind a ship expects, and the force
carried her so far down into the sea that
the captain and crew never expected her
TO come Up again. But she bettled brave
Is for her equilibrium, and finally righted
herself and steamed away from the dan
gerous spot, The whole mishap had taken
only a few minutes. and before crew and
passengers had time pore than to catch
their breath they had been into the jaws
OF death and out again.