The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-02-08
FIRE WRECKS
OCEAN LINER:
CREW SAVED
Former Army Transport,
Northern Pacific, Aban-
doned 40 Miles off Cape
May by Captain Lusti.
SHIPS PICK UP MEN
tBy Associated Pressl


NEW YORK, Feb. S.-The former
transport, Northern Pacific. which last
claimed headlines in 1919. when she
crashed onto sandbar off Fire Island
with 1900 American soldiers she was
bringing back from France. today was
destroyed by fire, 40 miles off Cape
May, New Jersey.
A crackle of the radio early this
morning brought word that fire had
broken out aboard the swift steamer
and that she was mass of flames.
Later messages reported that she
had been abandoned by Captain Will
lam Lusti, and her skeleton crew, who
were taking her to drydock in Ches-
ter, Pa.
Rescue of all her crew BIZ steam
ships which had rushed to the scene
next was recorded. The latest mess
age stated that the vessel blazing
fiercely and listing hard to starboard
was drifting southwestward.
Employees Rescued
For time there was some alarm
over the fate of four employees of the
Sun Shipbuilding Corporation of Ches-
ter, Pa, who were on board, but the
dispatch stated they had been picked
up by a steamer standing by.
The wireless calls for aid sent out
by the flaming steamer were first ans.
wered by the Herbert G. Wylie and
the Transportation, which reported at
3 o'clock that they had picked up
boats containing members of the
Northern Pacifc's crew
A few minutes later the Wylie sent
radio saying she had picked up a
boat containing the second mate, the
second engineer, two sailors and one
oiler and fireman
Trapped by Fire
The second mate of the Northern
Pacific, when picked up by the Wy
lie, asked that the Transportation be
asked if all men employed in the
stewards department of the burning
ship were safe, adding they were vir-
utally trapped by the fire.
The Transportation replied that all
the men under the supervision of the
! Northern Pacific's steward were safe
and on board the rescuing vessel.
The Northern Pacific was built in
1915 by the William Cramp & Sons
shipbuilding company of Philadelphia
| for the Great Northern steamship
entered the war the vessel was taken
over by the American government as
transport, and was in operation dur
ing virtually the entire period of the
subsequent struggle.
! 5000 on Board
Z! On Jan. 1, 1919, she went ashore off
! Fire Island when a mistake in the
lights shown along the southern shore
of Long Island confused her pilot
At this time she had aboard 5000
American soldiers being brought back
to America from the battlefields of
France. The soldiers were removed
and the vessel was at last floated on
4 Jan. IS.
Almost a year later, on January 90,
1890, she PLAYED a heroic role in rush
ing to the aid of the steamer Powha-
tan, now the Hudson. which was
drifting helplessly off the Nova SEQ
tian coast. She took off the passep-
gers of the Powhatan and landed
them in New York
The Northern Pacific had the dis.
tinction on this trip to be CARRYING
the last regular contingent of return
. ing soldiers.
During the early summer. of 1870
. the Northern Pacific carried General
Pershing on his trip through the An.
titles and the caribbean. but she came
to grief at San Juan, Porto Rico
when she went ashore at the harbc:
entrance closing the port for some
time. Upon her release she returned
to the United States.
To Be Rebuilt.
The contract for reconditioning the
Northern Pacific had been awarded
the Sun Shipbuilding corporation oil
! Chester, Pa, it was announced here
H. T. Alexander. president of the cola
pany, said the vessel was to be con-
, pletely outfitted in 80 days at an ap
/ proximate cost of S500,000.
She was then to have been re
! named the H. F. Alexander and placed
: in service by the Admiral line between
Seattle, San Francisco and points OF
( the southern California coast. 1t wa:
} intended the ship should leave for tht
} Pacific coast on May q.
The Northern Pacific was 500 fee
long, 63 feet wide and had depth o
Il feet Her registered gross Tonnage
2 was S,255.