The Washington herald., 1909-02-14


ed at Pier l. Staten Island. with one OF
the richest cargoes ever taken out OF the
East
They had expected her last Saturday
She was due then. having left Yokohama
on November :. But on that day she was
far from port. She was merely reeling,
rusty shape, hove to, fighting for life. in
the middle of q desolate expanss OF slaty
cOmberS. with green-gray clouds bearing
upon her stubby mast tops.
And there was wind. AYE. there was
wind as Henry Lloyd. chief oflcer. put
It. From the southwest Il came. Shrek
ing ID 10 force 10" which means be-
tween sixty-fve and seventy miles an
hour - hurricane force. It lashed the
ocean into waves which broke over the
bridge, thirty-twc feet above the water.
Heading Into Seas.
so there we were" said Lloyd, a
stanch, rugged little Scot, with snsppy
gray eyes, q heading I'D into the seas
from o'clock last Saturday until
o'clock Sunday morning. Twenty hours,
with Just twist OF the screw now and
then for stserage way-and there's good
twelve knots and a wee more In our en-
gines in almost any ordinary sort OF
weather"
The chief officer added that only once
before. in the course Of his twenty-Odd
years Of experience on the North Allan
&c. has he seen higher waves.
There were two OF three Of them he
said, "and they were forty-five feet high
They were & DIT lower on Saturday and
Sunday, but there was no end OF them.
One after the other they came, nOsing
into our bow, sometimes Jumping and
landing full against bridge or deckhouse.
It was a mans work every minute. q
good time 70 get acquainted with your
boat"
big as ye are. they'd racket ye-"
As the officer vas talking the great
Mauretania, with a grim whistle blast.
bored her way through the swiriing snow,
tan. powerful. majestic, headed for the
gray sea
They'd Racket Ye."
Aye" resumed Lloyd, big as ys are.
they'd a racketed ye, those waves-and
they viii, for the very devil himself Is
abroad on the waters these days"
When Lloyd returned 70 his story. he
told how the Wray Castle had made the
best OF weather until Monday, January
3. when. in latitude 3 north, longitude 81
west the ship ran her blun bows into
west-northwest gale. But her cargo was
extremely valuable. and Capt. Francis
Mcdowell was opposed 20 any delay,
seeing he had como so far without one.
So he kept up fun speed and snuggled
into the teeth OF the riot
It was mighty wet going. The seas
came aboard viCiOusly and picked every
movable object from the deck, carrying
it into the sea Then. Just az sunset, q
hungry gray-back climbed swiftly aboard,
paused. upreared for q second, as though
taking aim and descended upon the port
iife-boat II wasn't much OF boat when
the wave, shattered and broken, ran out
OF the scuppers Ike q mill race. Then
came another roller 70 lean a heavy
shoulder against the vsntilator over No.
2 hold, fattening Il to the deck This
wave also deftly picked Up Sing Kee. able
seaman, from the top Of the forecasts
head and landed him sprawling under
the break OF the deCkhOuse- Sing Eee
went 10 the hospital. and he vas there
this morning gToaning over his shattered
bones.
So Il went, gale after gale, until Thurs
day night. when the winds gave q fare
vel shrek and went away. But not for
long, for on Saturday morning. January
80, in latitude S7-S0. longitude 67-1s, the
steamship ran into the hurricane. Capt
Mcdowell now had no thought OF avoid
ing further delay. It was q question OF
getting IN at al; and so. with engines
down 70 one revolution O. so a minute,
The Castle hove TO for the fight
Witch Broth of Water.
L was a good one A seyenty-rnile
wind lsshed the ocean into q witch
broth OF cross seas, lifted up the biIlows
and dropped them hard on the struggling
vessel One OF them, striking the steel
deckhOuse with the force Of a battering
ram, started the plating where II joined
the deck. letting IN a flood Another
jumped aboard. Just aft the starboard
bow. Il bent and twisted the bridge
stanchions like 50 much wire, and carried
away a whole section Of plsnking and
plates and beams.
But these were superficial injuries. and
the Wray Castle, holding her bow true,
lived out the tumult, and on Sunday
morning began 10 loaf toward port, which
she -,sschad to-day. Just five days late.
Shippers here s2ere glad to see her. for,
as said in the foregoing. no ship from the
Orient was ever laden with a more valu-
coo cases OF tea. 1890 ingots OF copper.
200 ingots Of tin, 600 tons Of antimony
ore. very valuable, and there were Japa-
nese and Chinese porceIains. gum, gam
bier, rubber, and seventy-three cases OF
human hair
Aye, There Are Stories.
In regard to the last the chief officer
sighed and shook his head.
trTha IA f- fc fo- --ors~ --7rr- ------,.--
he said. They make It into rats I be-
lleve. 10 beautify themselves. I wonder
If they knew how this hair is obtained II
they would wear IL Aye. there are stories
I could tell about this-how they collect
all these cases Of human hair, or some Of
them But neve. mind"
They have a crew OF Lascars and
Cinnamon On the Castle. MaEOmet Ali
Said is the serang. and worse martinez
never welded a Delaying pin. To-day
he spent his time running into the fore
castle with a length Of rope, Turks head,
laying Il across the backs OF MS shiver-
ing LasCaTs.
The cold weather had filed them with
an absorbing desire FOR warm places, and
they are not used 10 the winter climate
OF the North Atlantic ssaboard- When
day dawned cold. and the 'longshoremen
stood on the pier-head waiting to board
the incoming vessel and break her cargo,
the Lascars appeared before Mah0met.
Abdul IOsuf. able seaman, was the
spokesman.
Topside te0 cold" he said; we 80
dOwnside-" 7 ken. in his eloQuenoe, he de-
parted from pigeon English and spoke 10
the serang IN his native tongue
By everything sacred. he swore, II was
OF GOODNESS which surpassed the physi-
cal capabilities Of him and his brothers.
Neither he nor they would work IN such
perishing weather. He had spoken. But
Mahcmet had not n fact he dId not