New-York tribune., 1910-12-29
STEAMERS FATEFUL '2S'
Many Things Happen to the
Cheruskia on That Date,
MOST EvENTFUl VOYAGE
Ship Breaks Propeller, Chi,,
officer His Leg, Rescuers
Their Hawsers.

All the big things happened % the H,.
burg-American steamship Cheruskia q, .,
18th day OF tho month. She left Brs.c,.,
on the Persian Gulf. on September "a. b.
propeller snapped off on Octoher q. ana -.
finally reached New York her dessinas,o,
on December g. after the longest and rro..
eventful voyage OF her career In sor -
the wrecking tug Rescue, Of the Msrrf.s :
Chapman Company. she slid into her sn.,.
in the Atlantic Basin. Brooklyn. last 49,
ing. well rusted from her three r,on@.,
battle
Captain George Sacher had hoped Z,
rive here on November With tha A..
cargo OF dates this season. At Buzso-..
his ship lay outside the bar from ssr,.,
Der II to September %. receiving case, :.
dates from the little Turkish stearns--
which piled between her and tn. pIar,,
tions on either bank OF the river. Wa,
eighty thousand cases of dates had rou,s
room in her capacious hold, aIonsztda a,
the general cargo of wool. rlillet and sim,
the Creruskia steamed away. She had a,
board a crew OF fifty. including twenty-sv.
Arabs employed in the engine room and =,
stokers.
Alden was the first port OF call. WHARF
the Cheruskia discharged ESQ tons Of dates
Port Said. after the Suez Canal had bar
negotiated. was the second. and here ON
October L., the Cheruskia took on r1or.
coal Then il was all aboard for May
York, with no stops between, D. V
The Cheruskia passed Gibraltar on Or,
tober 1e, having experienced good aver
age of weather. The next day, howevs-
she struck gale which caused Mr.. w,-
kelmann. the chief officer, to break hi. leg
He had gone out on deck to lash loose
fractory spar and brought il down On hi,
leg. crushing 1T against the hatch. Thanks
TO Dr. Ika, the ships physician. il Is nov
as good q leg as ever
The real calamity befefl at o'elort 81
the morning of October 7s. when. withou.
warning OF any kind. the propeller sts-,
broke Off short a foot or SO from the pro
peller- The consequent racing Of the ma
chinery shook the boat and smashed
things up in the engine room This han
pened in latitude s4:57 north and zitud.
4S:5o west. with New York only five a-5
a half days distant under normal rossi
tions
The helpless steamer plunged about II,
the heavy seas To give her steeraze v,v
Captain Sacher had sail hoisted and avn
tngs spread. The crew rigged up = ward
on the foreuast. and with six or ssvs,
fore and aft sails and one square sar tina
Cheruskia in a light wind kept her cc1Irss
and made as much as three knots. Bur IN
heavy wind she drifted- CAPTAIN -sschs-
made it his object to drop down thres de-
grees Of latitude to the regular tracks Of
steamships bound from the West Indies Z,
Europe
Four days later. on November ! IN. Itsl-
ian steamer Mera, bound for PhiIadelpna,
was sighted But her captain didn't hays
coal enough to tow the Cheruskis
Early the next morning the disabled beat
fell in with the British steamship Catalena
Of Newcastle, which offered a tow. au-
broke the only hawser avaiIable before q
start had been made On the morning q,
November Il the American EJ1nboats Wheel
ing and Petrel hove in sight.
Neither Of these boats was heav-- ensrz.
to tow the Cheruskia in a seavay. but the
provided her with more food and repor-ss
her plight TO the German Consul at Der
muda. As a result the Hanburg-Anlsricsn
liner Graecia, which left st Thomas fcT
Havre on November 90 had orders to pici
the Chsruskia Up. This was done on TIE
18th, and, after breaking one havser ard
experiencing such rough weather that On
one day only twenty-six miles were lozgsi,
the sister ships mads Bermuda on Decsal-
Der 5.
Here the Cheruskia remained until the
Rescue arrived a start for New YeTk was
made on December Il. but after two DAYS
of unusually squa1ly weather the capsain
OF the Rescue decided TO put back 10 Bsr-
muda lest he run out Of coal Bermuda
was made again on the 17th. and that night
the Cheruskia transferred no bags OF her
useless coal to the Rescue
The next day saw fresh start, and this
time the tug dragged her charge as far as
Cape Henry at an average speed Of -four
knots. While the Cheruskia anchored at
Lynhaven. where the oysters come from. tins
Rescue proceeded to Norfolk for more coal
On her return she resumed the tow, and IN
three days of the finest weather the che
ruskia had experienced during the snt1rs
trip the Rescue brought the battered vet
eran of the seven seas to port
The dates are still good. Captain Sachsf
says. After disgorging them the Cherussis
will go into dry dock