Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-08-19
RECORD YEAR FOR ICEBERGS
Nothing Like II Up North For
Over 40 Years.
OFF the Newfoundland Coast aud on
the Grand Banks the Elocs nnd
DerHs Are proving q Menance 10
shippinG-Fishin9 Fleets Ham,
pered.
trrom the 81. Johns. N F. Cor Of the N
Y Evening Post)

tFrom the ST. Johns. n. F. Cor. OF the n.
Y. Evening Post)
August 1.-The present year continues
to maintain its unenviable notoricty for
the seriousness of the iceberg peril N
this the first week Of August iccbergs
are as numerous about the Newfoundland
coast as they have ever been In mld-win
ter. and more numerous than at the Same
time in any year of the past 1uarter-ccn-
fury The whole Of Newfoundlands cast
ern senboard. and the Grand Banks also.
are thickly strewn with these floa ting is-
let's. that spell destruction for every YES
sci that hits them Daily the steamships
plving In these waters report sighting
scores, If not hundreds Of | ergs. and one
passenger ship from New York to this
port counted over n thousand during
twcntv-four hours.
What they mean to ships at this season
ia shown by the fact Of three steamers
having been crippled by them In tho past
ten days on July q the steam freighter
Berulus entered this port with her bow
battered in by contract with n berg In a
dense fog off Cape Race. She was so seri-
, ouslv injured TINT deckload Of machinery
had to be iettsoned. and 100 tons Of coal
thrown overheard but, even with this
relief, she barely succeeded in making
port. Three DAYS later the Black Dmond
liner Bonavsta, with seventy passenre :.
aboard, made port also with her bow
stove in. At the impact her passengers
stampeded to the deck and rushed for the
boats. and only The most strenuous OK
er,ions on tho Part Of the officers avert cd
a tragedy Az the same time. the Canadi-
an Pacific Line steamship Montrosc was
! living off Cape Race for four dnvs. re-
pairing damages caused by running into
another berg while on her way to- Mon
treal with 3o passengers She was badly
| battered forward. and the British warship
Brilliant stood by her until she effected
| repairs to enable her to reach her desti-
| nation.
| Several other steamships more or less
crippled from contact with ice had 70
make the same port recently and there
are a few missing and overdue vessels.
Navigation along the Canadian route
| has been seriously hampered by tho pres
ence Of the bergs and floes in these lati-
tudes Relle Isle Strait has been closed
! TIL an unusually late period. and the La
| brador waters have been rendered Very
| dangerous The fishing fleet from New
foundland numbering 1.Jn vessels. and
|
unable TO operate there. SO far, and 1t
| looks as n the catch Of cod on the ast
for this summer would be seriously cur
tailed owing TO the long continuance Of
tho ce-nack. Even on the section Of the
! Newfoundland soahoard from 81 John $
to Cape Race, are abundant now that
| fishing operations are practically sus-
pended. as mon have to take their nets
| n,It ~ tfn 10
being DESTROYED.
AS the Labrador fishery represents one
third Of the annual catch Of cod by the
people Of Newfoundland. Il can easily he
seen how serious situation this iceberg
incubus represents, and as the season Is
short at best. the situation is causing
! much concern.
On the Great Banks. too the trawlers
are hampered by the presence IF bergs:
and all the big liners are obliged to slow
down In passing The story Of iceherEs If
the North Atlantic shows nothing to re.
semble the conditions that prevail nj pros
en-.
No one can explain why these ice con
ditions exist IN certain years md not II
others. Not since 1868 has there been an,
approach 10 the present condition. ard IL
that year much less Inconvenience was fel
az business interests did not demand sucl
regular communication ~ at presence II
the spring Of 1900 foes and hergs wer,
numerous In tho North Atlantic. and
number Of marines tragedies resulte,
which are attributed 70 this cause Fou
stout steamers. with an aggregate list o
nearly So one or wo having some pas
sengers aboard. vanished. and II has nj
wavs been believed that ice was the caus
Of their disappearance. In the spring q
lSea, again; ten freight steamships, will
$50 souls vanished IN the same wav Al
had left American ports at dates whicl
would bring them together on the Crane
Banks and the theory always has bee,
that they were caught IN the floes IN. 90
and n hurricane sprirgng up. were mound
ed to pieces In the present YEAR. however
the floes have been even worse than o,
these occasions. and the harbor Of ST
Johns has been icchound and sealed vi
against all arriving and departing vessel
even more securely than il surrounded b,
: a bloclading fleet
! To worst feature Of this iceberg stun
tion Is that all the bergs and flocs ar
now drifting south into the track Of Ney
! York liners. Tho more ice there Is tn
f more fog will follow, since the mist. tina
!
to the steam generated by the comming
: ling Of the Gulf Stream with the Arcti
I Currcn, and us burden Of ice The bergs
moreover. are OF monstrous size and III
larger they are Of course. the longer the
y take to melt and the further south the
I are carried before they disappear. Their
are always during the summer month
more or less of these silent destroye or
cruising toward the ocean lane south Il
Y tho Great Banks and this year promise
1 TO witness a record number. Until to
9 years ago accidents 70 liners from coll
sion with these We're numerous as the
Y the sailing track Of the New York grey
l. hounds" traversed the southern end E
\ the Great Banks which. owing 10 IN
= meeting Of the currents. ia where most {
= tho bergs are found. Disasters became $
3 common that an International Conferenc
i was called which resulted In shifting III
l. ocean lane nearly 900 miles further scout,
n Last year one OF the German flyer
o struck a berg. fortunately without injul
O ing herself but It is rarely that steam
k ers survive an encounter with these ic
masses. as only one-eight Of the tot;
volumn Of the berg appears above wat'
and its contour below may be very diffe
ent from that above so that when
!, steamer rams an iceberg she may distur
its equilibrium and cause It to topp
S over.
POLES IN MASSACHUSETTS