Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-04-23
STEAMER ON THE ICE.
Niagara Has Distressing Experience
of New Foundland Banks.

OF New FoundIand Banks.
The French liner Niagara, bound for
this port from Havre with about 100
cabin and more than 600 steerage pas
sengers, was for an hour in peril off
the banks on Thursday afternoon, the
sea flowing into her through two holes
stove in her hull by ice foes, through
which she had been picking her way
for several hours. She got here safely
last night and will dock today. The
Cunarder Carmania, in yesterday from
Liverpool and Queenstown, brought
word of the French ships temporary
distress.
Captain Dow of the Carmania found
the Atlantic lane Unexpectedly frosted
when he looked from the bridge sew
enty feet above the sea. on Thursday
morning, and deserted dimly off his
starboard bow half a dozen stumpy,
but long icebergs. He changed his
course to the southwark, but he had
already become enmeshed in an ex-
tended field of ice. which, to star
board and dead ahead, reached beyond
the vision and to port for miles. At
noon the passengers came from their
luncheon to take in the unusual Arc
tic aspect and look at the bergs. One
that looked like floating table noun
tain, formed of solid green ice, inspir-
ed the snapshotters to get out their
nf hn 20
were frightened by the crunching Of
the ice under the bows and the scrap
ing of foes alongside the ship, but the
officers said that there was no danger
The wireless operators startled Cap.
Dow about 1910 p. m, by bringing
him a wireless from the Niagara,
which was out Of sight on the star
board quarter Of the Cunarder, saying
that the Frenchman had two holes
punched in her below the water line
and would the Carmania stand by her
as she was in imminent peril.
Capt. Dow thought little over this
urgent request, and partly with the
idea of getting out of the ice field, and
partly to go Immediately to the help
of the Niagara, he turned his ship
around and steered north h-eastward.
In about hour another message came
from the Niagara, saying that she
could take care Of herself Captain
Dow inferred that the holes were not
as big as the French skipper had at
first surmised and that he had stopped
the leaks. Another message said
steamship was standing by the Mag
ara. The Carmania then turned and
stood on her course again.
She found the ice much further south
than usual at this season and her ice
log says that she stopped at 1.35
o'clock, passing through the field Of
ice; and proceeded dead slow. The
whistle was sounded, fog having set
in, and all the usual precautions were
taken. Thereafter until $40 o'clock
the fog was intermittent. Then the
sun burst through the vapor and the
ship went full speed. A dense fog
wiped out everything afloat and the ST.
rem began to complain again, the ship
stopping for a time and then going
dead slow. The air was very cold and
the nearness of bergs was apparent.
The sound of the ice against the ships
sides made the timid shiver as much
as for the cold. Every now and then
the "growlers"-which may be foes
crunching against larger foes Of bergs,
or great hunks of ice breaking from the
sides of bergs and plunging growlingly
into the sea-startled the watchers and
listeners on the Carmania's decks.
The fog veil would lift occasionally
and reveal groups Of bergs to the north
of the ship. One of these was low ly-
ing and long, and when Capt Dow got
his first glimpse Of it family in the
outline he thought that it was another
ship. Within three hours the passen-
gers sighted twenty-five bergs, the
greatest number ever seen from a
liner, the nearest of which was not
more than a quarter mile away. There
was no breeze worth recording while
the Carmania steamed through the
| ice but there was a mighty swell and
the foes, most of which were larger
| than a lifeboat, rose and fell as If en-
dowed with life. 1t was supposed tnat
"growler" from one Of the bergs may
have smashed the side of the Niagara
and given her the wounds that made
her skipper fearful that she might not
get through the trouble without help.
The passengers united in declaring
that the vision of the colony of bergs
when the sun came out and broke his
lances on their shimmering masses was
better than a moving picture show OF
the highest class. There was not
moving picture man aboard to take
advantage of the occasion. Capt. Dow
will not promise to let his next lot OF
vogagers go seeing the icebergs.
Some passenger said the situation
when the fog was just thick enough to
reveal indistinctly the menacing Ice
mountains was uncanny. The plant of
the siren and the grinding Of the foes
on the reverberating steel sides of the
ship gave them the creeps. The skip
per said that at one time from his 20
foot perch he could see nothing but
ice in every direction, and he was
mighty glad to get clear of it. He saw
at one time a full rugged ship and a
fishing schooner courtesying in the ice
crowned Swells
The tank steamship Excelsior, In
from Hamburg, passed on Wednesday
an ice field fifteen miles long in which
there was a bark which displayed no
signals Several steamships recently
arriving at this port and Boston have
reported encountering ice a little fur
ther north than the place where the
Carmania discovered the herd of bergs.
The Niagara is a twin screw of
about II knots. She carries only one
class of cabin passengers, (second),
and has accommodation for about
1000 steerage passengers. She sailed