New-York tribune., 1922-01-12
Craft Rushed From East
crn Ports TO Aid Trans
port Crook in Peril as
Storm Rips Open Seams
Hurricane Reported
AS Ship Is Repaired
Troops and Soldier Dead
on Crippled Vessel Trv-
ing to Flee NewTempcst

From every Eastern port north OF
New York government vessels arc rae
Ing toward the Grand Ranks Of New
foundland In an effort to reach the dis
ablcd army transport Crook before .ho
violent storm which is sweeping UP tho
coast with hurricane force ovcrtakcs
her.
In the mean time aboard the Crook.
which is bringing 953 troops from the
occupied area of Germany, the crew
OF $50 is making desperate efforts to
calk the leaks opened in the seams
of their agc-worn craft by the con-
tinuous pounding of the tcmpestuous
Atlantic
According to latest adviccs the
weakened transport is proceeding at
slightly increased speed in the calm
which precedes the advancing storm
Since her commander first sent out the
S 0 S call for assistance the vessel
has made more than 15O miles.
At o'clock yesterday morning Cap
tain Joseph Kappa, commander of the
transport, reported by wireless through
Bar Harbor, Me:
Lat. 4o:3o north, longitude 62:os
west. Have all leaks calked and
cemented Proceeding unaccompanied
but ships in close proximity; making
nine knots an hour Danger passed
unless encounter very bad Storm
Hurricane Threatens Ship
This was followed at noon bv an
other message reading:
Light following breeze and sea
making eleven miles. Al's WE'LL"
These reassuring messages were fol-
lowed Immediately by hurricane
warning from the Weather Bureau,
which said that a storm of great in
tensity centercd near the Virginia
Capes was moving northeast, and
would increase to gales by evening
messages from Captain Kappa the
transport st. Mihiel, which left at day
break to go to the assistance Of the
Crook, was ordered back to her base
by the army transport officials at
Brooklyn. At o'clock yesterday
afternoon, when the Weather Bureau
warning was received, Colonel W.
Basche, in command of the army
transport service ordered the ST.
Mihiel to sea again, and then sent the
following message to the captain Of
the Crook:
Preference made tc radio this after
noon that st. Mihiel would not be dis
patched to you. it has been decided on
account of weather conditions to send
the st. Mihiel to Your assistance. She
sails at o'clock to-day Acknowledge
and report general conditions as to
safety Of Crook"
Reports from New England areas
showed that the Coast Guard cutter
Tampa had left Boston, under Cap
tain w. J. Wheeler, to go to the as
sistance Of the Crook, and the Coast
Guard cutter Osspee departed from
Eastport, Me-, for the same purpose
Dispatches from Washington reveal
the anxiety of the War Department Of
ficials over the safety of the trans
port In the face of the growing gales
now blowing across the stretches Of
tho western Atlantic in the direct
course of the Crook. These officials
fully realize the desperate nature Of
the race the leaking vessel is making
against the approaching storm. Should
conditions become very bad they expect
Captain Kappa will make an effort to
reach the sheltering harbor Of Port
land, Me.
Transport Fully Loaded
Fears for the safety of the vessel
are heightened by the fact that she is
forty years old and is fully loaded.
She was built in Dumbarton, Scotland,
in 1882 and formerly was the British
steamship Roumania She is 4,126
tons gross, 2,703 tons net and 420 feet
long. She has a 47-foot beam and the
depth Of her hold is PCS feet.
AS transport the Crook has had an
interesting career. She was first used
for that purpose during the Spanish
American War. Recently she has been
in transport service in the Pacific
Ocean and was then sold to private
owners, but was returned to govern
ment operation because the purchasers
lapsed in payments.
Besides her crew and few civilian
passengers she has on board thirteen
officers and $40 men from the army OF
occupation returning from Germany.
She also carries number Of soldier
dead from the battletields Of France.
1t is thought that one of the vessels
reported by Captain Kappa to be "in
close proximity" is the big American
liner George Washington, which is due
to reach this port Friday.