Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-01-25

AAS O&A " II IL SS1 P4SS
vented her from offering aid, although
h ventured perilously close in the
attempt to pass a line across the
STERN
Over on the beach the coast guards
began action and attempt after at
tempt was made to shoot a line across
the ship. Later in the day the vessel
dred yards of the island and at this
distance a line was successfully shot
to the ship and secured to the bridge.
A breeches buoy was rugged blu
weather conditions made it impossible
to rescue the passengers by this meth
small boat from shore but repeated
attempts were frustrated by the roll
ers which picked the craft up and
turned it completely over, end over
end, and left it lying high and dry on
the beach. "
No Immediate Danger.
An examination of the stranded
had resulted to the hull and officials
in New York were notified that there
was no immediate danger. Thousands
of gallons of oil were poured upon the
water to smooth the sea and lessen
the possibilities of destruction.
The ship was listing far over to port
and the oil bearing waves breaking
over the decks. left a black, greasy
coating, which added to the ice,
handicapped the sailors who manned
the deck gear.
Fresh water had given out and the
condensers were choked with sand so
that 1t was impossible to evaporate
n make a supply. The boiler fires
had been extinguished and all heat
was cut off in every compartment.
"A constant vigil was kept for the
remainder Of the day and the next
night and IN the morning of January
2 the sea had Gained sufficiently to
permit the launching of a coast guard
boat and bring it along side. Several
boat loads of wounded were taken to
the a but it was a hazardous task
n when n load was thrown into
the sea when h boat capsized the
; small boats were abandoned.
Ashore Through the Air.
1t was then that the breeches buoy
was brought into play and several
men We're safely conveyed to shore via
the aerial route. The method was
slow, however, but it was continued
until a calmer sea permitted a sub
chaser to draw up alongside to lee
ward and the most severely wounded
were lowered to it's deck in wire
baskets. h litter cases were handled
with extreme care and the soldiers
who had encountered much in France
were safely placed OF board the rescu-
ing ship without the slightest suffer-
ing. Each wounded man had been
carried to the side and lowered by
sailors who worked night and day to
assure the safety of the men who had
already undergone more than their
share Of hardship.
The unwounded men from training
camps in France and England were
transferred to safety and were taken
to the U. S. S. Mallory, a transport
that had anchored a half mile from
the Northern Pacific in order to lend
aid.
On the third day the last of the
soldiers had been transferred and the
last rescue boat carried away two
bodies, soldiers who had died from
their wounds while en- route home.
Then the sailors too up the task of
rescuing the ship. The rescue parties
that had lined the beach during the
first few days disappeared and half
the crew were left on board to aid in
floating the ship. The $50 men were
alone with the five tugs that had Sc
cured lines to the stern in the attempt
to draw the ship off the bar. For 10
days the task continued. Gradually
by inches and feet the big vessel COM
menced to loosen itself from its grip
on the sane and with two thousand
feet to go before she would float, it
became a d~iscouraging task. The
fresh water shortage had been par
TALLY relieved after the first week,
but there was not enough to permit
its distribution for washing purposes.
The men were glad enough to get a
drink of it once or twice a day in
stead of the coffee that had been
rationed out.
After 10 days of hard work the YES
sci finally slipped off the bar and last
Saturday evening at SAT she was again
af1oat. Her engines were useless and
it was impossible to even use the
rudder.
No Need to "Sally" Ship.
The fact that she was again afoat
was enough to bring happiness to the
crew. 1t meant an early return to
New York after 81 days at sea and a
rest that was badly needed. There
was no more need to sally ship for
hours at a stretch when all hands
would turn to and run from one side
of the vessel to the other in /the eff
fort to roc it and work it loose from
the sand.
On Monday morning, January 20,
the Northern Pacific was brought into
South Brooklyn and locked at a
t~hirty-1fth street pier preparatory te
putting her in dry dock. She was a
different vessel from the proud craft
that had shattered all records in the
transportation service. Her record
for making the trip from Hoboken to
Brest, discharging the cargo and the
thousands Of soldiers and returning. to
her home port in IA days, her unex-
celled efficiency record and her record
for he number of trips made remain
but a memorial. Every man Of her
crew was contented and everywhere
in naval circles she was known az a
"home," which is the highest word OF
praise that can be given a ship. Now
she is stripped of her signal towers
davits, lifeboats and life RATS, her