The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1913-04-09
SAVED THEIR lives
STEAMER PASSENGER Was Wire.
LESS EXPERT.
CHANGED TO Be ABOARD

CHANGED TO Be ABOARD
His Work Made Possible the Thrilling
Rescue in Md-Ocean Of the Steam
ship "Texas" and Her Forty-three
Passengers, Including Fifteen Wo-
men and Nine Children.
It was a modest, yellow-haired,
blue-eyed young man in his early
thirties who made possible the thrill
ing rescue in mid-ocean of the forty
three passengers, including fifteen
women and nine children, Of the dis
abled Swedish steamship "Texas" by
the Scandinavian-American liner &c.
F. Teitgen'', which arrived at her pier
in Weehawken Sunday morning, says
The New York World. But for him
the forty-three would probably be
now in Davy Jones' locker.
The young man to whom the sur
yivors owe their lives is Axel H. Geer-
mann, an electrical engineer and pas
senger aboard the Texas on his
way to Vera Cruz. Geermann is the
man who has set up most of the wire
less appartus on the Mexican coast,
and what he doesn't know about
sound waves isn't worth knowing, but
this was the first time that he was
ever called upon to use his knowl-
edge to save lives.
The Texas, a steel single-screw
vessel, sailed from Gothenburg,
Sweden, for Newport News and Gulf
ports on March /, just in time to en-
counter the worst blows Of North At
lantic weather in the vernal equi-
noctial period. From the very start
Of her voyage the Texas encounter
ed bad weather-in the Baltic, in the
North Sea and, worst Of all, on her
trip across the ocean. AS she pro-
ceeded the force Of the winds increas-
ed, whipping the waves into huge
whitecapped combers, any one OF
which threatened to swamp the ship,
eliminating on Wednesday, March
Is, in what is known among seafarers
as a whole gale.
All night long the "Texas" rose
and fell from mountainous wave-top
to the green valley below, until,
about two o'clock Thursday morning,
the largest wave Of all crashed d
against the ship with Jolt that
shook her from stem to stern. The
.Texas" shivered in her every tim
Der as her engine raced wildly, all the
blades Of her propeller having been
torn away by the tremendous impact.
She sank into the trough Of the sea
and another great wave slammed ov-
er her bows, carrying away the masts
and antennae of the wireless outfit,
leaving the "Texas" as helpless in the
ocean lanes as a blind man in the
heart Of Broadway traffic.
When the news spread through tn
ship that the wireless had been de-
stroyed, in addition to the propello.
being rendered useless, captain, crew
and passengers were alike conscious
Of the desperateness Of the situation.
Then some one remembered Geer-
mann, and also that he was wire
less expert. For the next thirty-si:
hours German labored with the de-
molished apparatus before he got il
tuned up for an 'tS o S" call across
the waste Of waters that would bring
a succoring ship.
All this time the t''Texas" was wal
lowing in the trough Of the sea, toss.
ed and pitched about like cork by
the highe waves The forty-three pas
sengers had lost hope and were pray
ing in their staterooms when sudden
ly sparks began to craokle from the
wrecked wireless house on the upper
deck, to be answered by other sparks
that meant that the &C. F. Tetgen"
had heard the call for help at 5:29
Friday morning and was steaming
165 miles out Of her course to the
assistance of the Texas.
Scarcely bad German pounded
out the latitude and longitude of the
disabled vessel when another gigantic
wave destroyed the heartrending lab
or of over a da- anda half, and the
wireless was again out Of commis-
sion. Once again Geermann straight
ened it out and thereafter was able
to hold conn ection. On Saturday
morning about four o'clock, just as
day was beginning to dawn, the
"Tietgen" was seen sliding over the
pillows close at hand.
Then came another problem-hoW
to transfer passengers from the
..Texas" to the 'Tietgen'. The waves
were so high that the usual method
Of letting down a ladder over the side
of the ship was out Of the question,
because the rolling motion Of the
"Tetgen' would have carried each
climbing passenger under, and in the
terror attendant upon rescue at sea
would have meant more passengers
lost than saved.
Just then Capt. A. G. Thomson OF
the "Tietgen" had an idea. He sent
to the galley for a potato basket,
strongly made of wicker work, which
was rigged up in place of one Of the
"Tietgen's" lifeboats. The Texas"
sent her passengers over in 1ifeboats,
and one by one, except for the chill
dren, who went III pairs, they clam
bered into the basket and were hoist
ed aboard by the ''Tietgen" crew.
The captain and crew Of the "Tex-
as'' refused to desert their ship. 9th
er wireless calls were sent out and a
ship responded with an offer to tow
her to the Azores.
Gives Tn Dogs for Babies.