The Cordova daily times., 1923-02-07
STORMS TAKE HEAVY TOLL
 ON ATLANTIC

storms which nave been sweeping the Atlantic for nearly two months, have spent their forces, the weather bu- have left stranded and sunken ships, unsolved and mysterious tragedies of the sea, and series of delayed runs" for transatlantic liners which has not
 been equalled since war days. Now comes the worst month of the year. January brings more vicious pounding gales to Atlantic ships than any other. But the weather bureau joins with maritime experts, this wear, in the belief that it cannot pos sibly equal the late November to Janu- ary 1 record.
 That seven week period which came to it's end January left a record hard for any like period to approach. The Atlantic claimed 12 ships; it took 2S men to their deaths it made 23 giant liners more than 12 hours late-most of them were from to 8 days behind schedule-and it left the unsovable mystery of what happened to s other ships.
 In addition there were accidents or near accidents on the Sea of Mamora, the Pacific, the Great Lakes, the Bal tic sea-but the hurricanes which crossed the Atlantic were the worst. Secretary Hughes brought the first from South America in November. It swept out from behind Bermuda with force of more than 100 miles an hour. It tore across the Atlantic hit the French coast and tore right back again. And on November 2S there began to be reports of trouble at sea.
 Five Canadian fishing schooners failed to report that day Anxiety is felt for them" said the despatches. Later four got in; the fifth is in the list of missing ships.
 On the same day a bootiegger went to pieces on Long Island, and resi- dents of the vicinity got most of the
 cargo, according to the prohibition agents. Towards night a bottle was washed up on Long Island with the story of six men who had fought ! death two weeks in an open boat
 Two days later the Italian liner, President Wilson. crept into Quaran- tine here, and with her came the first reports of what actually was happen ing out on the Atlantic.
 "Storms?" said her officers. "storms? We have never experienced anything like it. The gale at times was 120 miles an hOur''
 For seven weeks since then incom- ing liners have told the same story.
 So often has it been retold that it had to be a particularly desperate fight to get into the news.
 But from then until January ' hardly a ship entered New York har bor that did not show the scars of it's fight And daily there were reports of s. o. s. received of laundering
 ships, of boats driven on unprotected shores, of liners with passengers bat tened in to keep them safe from waves which crashed over smoke stacls-in short, of everything terrible the sea can do.
 On December 24 the liner President Garfield brought in a three-master she had lowed from off Nantucket. The Rosa Ferlita, the schooner, was in a bad way and her crew was starving. Two days later the Menominee, an other liner, came in three days late
 with a fishing crew of four. Those
 men had fired their schooner, which
 was leaking and crumbling under them.
 Such great ocean travellers as the
 Caronia the Berengaria, the Olympic, i the Majestic, the Zeeland, Samland
 and many others, came in, all days | late. They told of terrific battles with the waves. La Savoie of the French
 line reported 100 mile gales and 90 1 foot waves.
 | Ships put into Halifax to get out
 of trouble. On December 2S four
 small boats crashed to the beaches
 near New York harbor. They were all 1 ill-fated bootleggers.
 The Heinrich Kayser, a freighter,
 joined the mystery ships on December | 6. A wireless from her said her rud
 der chains were broken. She was drifting. There was a full gale. With a crew of 42 aboard she is still miss ing. Her owners at last are ready to | admit her probable loss. The Valacia, a freighter, came in
 January with story of 2 dead and yst nnJ>1 I c