SHIPS AND THE SEA.

Evening Post, Volume LXIX, Issue 118, 20 May 1905, Page 12

SHIPS AND THE SEA.

Treasure-hunl ing is a pastime that dies haul. Despite tho f:\iluio of many pii;viou.s expedition 1 ) and ollkisil disbelief in ils exis-eViice, another attempt is being organised lo recover tho Dorothea treuBiue, Known to the credulous as the '"rviuger million*, 1 ' tho Dot ot lieu treasure whs certainly not a hoard of tho late ex-Prosident of tho Tran.svaal, and when, a few months ago, a correspondent Miggesled to tho Colonial OHke that iheßiili.sh Government should lecover tho tieatmro, for tho benefit of the Transvaal linanci'B, tho JJuko of Miulborough replied that of the Irea^uieV existence there, w.i.s "no reliable information." Transvaal Government ngeiitw, according lo the story related some months ago by Mr. Ward'jl.ill in the Wide World Magazine, fraudulently amassed gold to tho value of £450,000, and in 18D6 smuggUl it aboard the bniiiiie Dorothea at Dclagoa Bay. She left for Durban, with South America as final goal, but oft' Capo Vidal was wiecked. Tho gold, stored in bags and boxos, and .solidified into ono ma.ss by cement, is now guarded by tho tcrrilic surf which beats upon the reef where tho Dorothea lies. Hitherto this natural protection has defied all would-be- explorers of tho wreck. L;i«t August tho Penguin, a coasting steamer, was lost, with 25 lives, in a vain treasure-hunt. Now, a Captain Hall, not discouraged by the fruitlessness of fivo previous expeditions, mado before the war broke out, is going to approach tho submerged Iretusure in another way. A sloping shaft is to bo driven from tho shore to a point fifty or sixty yards away, above which tho Dorothea 'a skeleton lies on a rock. The end of this tunnel is to bo blown up, the object being to give divers access from tho shore to the ship. Tho divers will dynamite tho wreck, and get to work upon' this cemented treasure. Another expedition, which is already on tho spot, is s>aid to be armed with a legal permit. A New York report dated 13lh March says : "The French liner La Touraino reports having met with terrific weather. Tho passage lasted nine days, and on sighting land yesterday evening the pas- ' HcngcrM joined in a prayer of thanksgiving Thoy presented Captain Emunual with a signed testimonial, expressing their admiration of lii« skill and courage. Tho captain states: 'The weather was Ilia worst 1 ever experienced, tho velocity of tho wind was fully seventy to eighty milea an hour, mountainous waves smashed tho port-holes liko paper, and washed over tho decks, until it was feared tho deck-hotMOH would bo carried oil ; tlic ship rocked so that it seemed m» though tno steel plates must rend apart.' " Tho armoured cruiser Maryland has recently completed her trials, and baa proved herself ono of the fastest ciuideis in tho United Stntas Navj, having attained a mean speed of nearly 22J knot* over a 44-mile c-ourae. She is a Iwiu-wrow vessel of 13,680 tons, and carries a very heavy atmament, coiiAisting of four Oin guns in pairs in turrets fore and aft, fourteen oin guns on tho broiul.sid««, bcsidos 48 /qimllcr pieces of various calibie. There aro also two 18in .submerged torpedo tube*. Tho belt, with n maximum iniekness oX 6in, extends fiom stem to /.torn, and is 9ft wido sft bf low tho wuturlino, and 4ft above it. Tho turrets carry 6Jin plates. Tlu-ro aro two «et« of triple expansion engines, of tho four-cylinder typo, placed in ocpainto compart'incut.*, divided by a longitudinal water-tight bulkhead, and on the trials a total indicated nor&o-power of 28,475 was developed, the engines running with an averago of 128 5 revolutions a minute. Sixlcor Baheock and Wilcox boilern are tilted, supplying nleain at a pleasure of 3001b to thowjuaro inch. It nuy bo noted that this Ls tho typo of boiler which i« now favoured in our own navy, instead of tho Belleville, tno Maryland Is 502 ft long, by 69ft Oin bpam, and at the above displacement sho drawn 24ft Un. Her normal coal supply Is 900 tons, but it is possible to «,tow 2024 tons altogether. She will have a complement of over 800 oflleeis and men. iwo great transatlantic liners, the Parisian. of tho Allan line, and the Albano, a Hamburg-American boat, both bound in, heavily loaded with pa.««engci«, wero in collision off tho hnibour'o entrance at Halifax on tho 25th March. Both received fearful damage, but mimuged to rratli their pieiw and land their jmnic-stricken passengers in safety. The Parisian's htrrn touched bottom as .nlio nuigod along.sido hnr wharf, while hard pumping kept the Albano free. Both j*t camera weio from f'uuopcan ports, tho Parisian from Liveipool and Moville, and the Albano from Hamburg. Tho Parisian had on board n thousand passengew, many of whom wero bound for her other port, St. John, N.B. Tho Albnno carried about eight hundred passengers, nearly nil bound for Philadelphia. Tho "Pnrisian arrived off tho entrance to the harbour at dusk, and was taking a pilot on board, when tho Albano whs .seen coming in from sen. As the German boat uppioached, tho officers of the Parisian realused that there wm danger of a collision, and the engine-room was signalled for full speed ahead. Before tho Parisian could got under way, however, tho Albano struck her on" the starboard side, a short distance astern of her engine-room, crushing in tho great bteel pluUw and opening up a holo through which the water poured in tons. The bow plates of tho Albano wero bent nnd the .stem was twisted, but her watertight compartments wero promptly closed and her pumps sot vigorously at work. Immediately following tho collision the steamers hr.wled into tho harbour at full epeed, tho Parisian with a heavy list to «tnrboard, and tho Albano somewhat down at tho head. The Parisian had considerable water in hor stern, which was nls.o sinking deeper as aho steamed along. Both vessels whistled frantically for help, and every tug in the harbour "responded, and a« tho Parisian appeared in greater danger sovoral ranged themselves along.sido that vessel and assisted in tho pumping. Tho passengers on board both vessels wero fairly panic-stricken, and beggod loudly of the tugboats to tako them oif, but tho little steamers clung tenaciously to tho side of tho great liner, and never left her until she was safe at her pier. Many of tho passengers rushed excitedly about the decks, wliilo others knelt in prayer. Tho ofilcors weie unablo thoroughly to reassure them, but within a few minutes after tho collision all had been supplied with life-preservers, while the lifeboats wero hoisted out ready for instant launching in case tho vessel showed signs of foundering Tho suspense of those on board tho Parisian was intense. Great volumes of water were pouring from Iho vowel ; the engines quivered not only with tho exertion of running tho minioioiw pumps, but in keeping tho vessel ploughing along at top .speed. Halfway up tho harbour her stem had settled many feet, and tho list to .starboard had become pronounced, but tho steamer kept on, with her faithful fleet of tugs alongsido working energetically to keep her afloat. At lust tho bright light on tho pier was won, and those on board realised that the danger was nearly over. The vessel ranged alongside her wharf, lines wore thrown out, gang-planks lowered, and a thousand passengers rushod to land, us the stern of the vessel touched bottom. Tho Albano, which was 4 behind tho Parisian, had a somewhat similar experience, although her pumps were able to keep her bow compartments fairly free, no that the alarm on board was not so gicat. The Albano reached her pier a wborl timo after the Parisian, and all passengers, only a fow of whom were booked for this jioit, hurried ashore. Tho discipline exhibited on both steamers following tho accident was admirable.