The evening world. [volume] (New York, N.Y.) 1887-1931, 1909-02-25
LINER DENIED
| BY SMASH INTO
! GREAT ICE FLOE
Seams Opened Below the
FurneSia's Water Line, but
Passengers Were Not Told.
sALL FELT THE CRASH.
Ships Commander Kept Them
in Ignorance Even When
Held Up by Fog.
sALL FELT THE CRASH.

The passengers Of the Anchor Line
!. steamship Furnessla, which locked to-
day, after being held up in the fog out
side the Hook for almost twenty-four
/ hours, were sure last Friday night that
they had bumped into something about
(, rs substantial as the rock OF Gibraltar,
4 but they did not learn until they were
safely ashore that the hump had denied
{ In the bow plates OF the vessel and
Opened several seams Just below the
4 water line.
Capt. Lunsdane kept this fact carefully
concealed from the passengers, as he
did not believe In needlessly alarming
them. They were nervous enough as 1t
was, when on Friday morning the Fur.
nesia ran into great field OF Ice and
began ploushing through 1t with bull
dog pertlnacty OF a Baltic tug.
Like Arctic Regions.
I 1t looked q whole lot like the regions
OF the North Pole. that vast field OF Ice
which stretched out to the h!ther and
4 neither horizons. And here and there
and everywhere were baby bergs. Not
really dangerous bergs, from the looks
OF their stunted pinnacles and mlnarets,
but, as it proved, there was one Of them
that drew a mile or so OF water, II 1t did
have a fiat top. At least that was the
guess Of some OF the seventy-three sec.
ond cabin and 2l9 Storage passengers.
( All day Friday the Furnessia
'ploughed through the ice doe and there
were a good many minor bumps and
faint impacts. When night fell the
ocean looked like an endless eypanse
of frosted mirror, with its bosom OF
ice rising and falling sluggishly.
! The bump came about 10 O'Clock. The
jar trembled through the ship and cast
a good many things off centre. For
while the vessel stood still, with its
1propellers churning and ripping at tons
Of Ice. Then there was lurch and
smooth swishing noise. after which the
steamship ploughed ahead as before
No Panic Among Passengers.
There was scurrying about OF the
crew and few sharp orders from the
bridge. Then quiet. There was no
panic among the passengers and the
few Of them that asked questions re-
ceived laughing replies from the officers.
But on Saturday morning" said
James McLewy. of LanItckshire, Scot
land. one OF the passengers, on landing
to-day. Il saw water being pumped out
of the bow and knew that We had
sprung leak somewhere.
THE crew were close as clans about
giving any information, and as they
seemed perfectly cheerful about il no
one did great deal OF worrying. We
got out OF the Ice floes on Saturday and
went away at our usual gait"
In No Danger, He Says.
: Capt. Lunsdane said that there really
hadn't been any danger. His log
showed that In latitude 47l6, longitude
4jT the Furnessia had run into a field
OF ice. The vessel had made fairly good
headway through the Ice all day and
seemed to be breaking out OF the tlocs
ct 10 O'Clock at night, when there was
Q severe bump
forepeak to see II any damage had been
done" said the Furnessia's skipper,
and he reported that whatever we lad
struck had opened some Of the seams at
the waterline. We changed our course
TO the southard then SO as to escape
, from that ice pack, and before morning
we We're pretty well clear OF 1t. No,
We didn't have TO use the pumps-at
least not because of the little opening
In the seams OF the bow. That must
: have been a whaling big cake Of ice,
though, 10 dent us the way 1t did"
After the Furnessia had locked an
examination was made OF the damaged
bow. 1t was reported then that repairs
could be made at the pier as the injury
was not serious enough to necessitate
going into drydock