The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1909-08-17
RECORD ICEBERG YEAR
Nothing Like 1t Up North For
Over Forty Years.
PERIL IN FLOATING IsLETs

ing Fleets Business Sadly Ham,
pered.
The present year continues to main
tain it's unenviable notoriety for the
seriousness of the iceberg peril. In
the first week of August icebergs
were as numerous about the New
foundland coast as they have ever
been in midwinter and more numer-
GUS than at the same time in any year
of the past quarter century. The
whole of Newfoundland eastern sea-
board and the Grand banks also are
thickly strewn with these floating
isIets that spell destruction for every
vessel that hits them. Daily the steam
ships plying in these waters report
sighting scores, if not hundreds, OF
bergs, and one passenger ship from
New York to st. Johns, n. F., counted
over a thousand during twenty -four
hours.
What they mean to ships at this
season is shown by the fact OF three
steamers having been crippled by them
In the past few days. On July % the
steam freighter Bergulus entered ST.
Johns with her bow battered in by
contact with berg in dense fog on
Cape Race She was SO seriously in
jured that q deck load of machinery
had to be jettisoned and 100 tons OF
coal thrown overheard, but even with
this relief she barely succeeded In
making port. Three days later the
Black Diamond liner Bonavista, with
seventy passengers 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 eXertions on
the part of the officers ayerted a trag-
edy. At the same time the Canadian
Pacific line steamship Montrose was
living off Cape Race for four days, re-
pairing damages caused by running
Into another berg while on her way to
Montreal with 300 passengers. She
was badly battered forward, and the
British warship Brilliant stood by her
until she effected repairs to enable her
to reach her destination.
Several other steamships more or
less crippled from contact with Ice
had to make the same port recently,
and there are few missing and over
due vessels.
Fishing Fleets Hampered.
Navigation along the Canadian route
has been seriously hampered by the
| presence of the bergs and foes IN
| these ATTITUDES. Belle Isle strait has
been closed till an unusually late pc
| Rod, and the Labrador waters have
been rendered very dangerous. The
/ fishing feet from Newfoundland, num-
bering 1,5O0 vessels and employing
| some $4,000 persons, had been unable
| to operate there up to recent date,
and it looks as if the catch Of cod on
1 the coast for this summer would be
| seriously curtaiIed, owing to the long
| continuance of the ice pack. Even on
1 the section of the Newfoundland sea-
1 board from st. Johns to Cape Race
bergs are so abundant now that fsh-
Ing operations are practically suspend.
ed, as men have to take their nets out
| Of the water to prevent them from be.
Ing destroyed.
AS the Labrador fishery represents
| one-third of the annual catch of cod by
| the people of Newfoundland, it car
| easily be seen how serious situation
| this iceberg incubus represents. and al
| the season Is short at best the situation
| Ia causing much concern.
/ On the Grand banks, too, the trawl
ers are hampered by the presence Of
bergs, and all the big liners are obliged
/ to slow down in passing. The story Of
icebergs in the north Atlantic shows
nothing to resemble the conditions thal
| prevail at present.
Cause os Many Marine Tragedies.
No Que can explain why these ic'
| conditions exist in certain years ant
not in others. Not since 1868 has thar'
| been any approach to the present con
i dition, and In that year much less In
convenience was felt, as business In
/ terests did not demand such regular
i communication as at present. In tn
spring Of 1890 foes and bergs were nu
i uGIOAS III luS uCAlA 1AGaAtdSS anu
i number OF marine tragedies resulted
4 which are attributed to this cause.
Four stout steamers, with an aggre
gate list of nearly 800, one or tw,
having some passengers aboard. van
ished, and 1t has always been believes
that Ice was the cause Of their disap
pearance In the spring of 1899, again
ten freight steamships. with $50 souls
vanished In the same way. All has
left American ports at dates which
i would bring them together on tn,
Grand banks, and the theory Away
has been that they were caught II
the foes there and. a hurricane spring
ing up, were pounded to pieces. In tn
4 present year. however. the foes hav'
been even worse than on these occa
sions. and the harbor Of st. John
has been icebound and sealed NJ
against all arriving and departing yes
sells even more securely than IL SUI
rounded by blockading feet.
Monster Masses Of Ice.
Il The worst feature of this icebert
situation is that all the bergs AMI
foes are now drifting south into tn,
~.