CAUGHT BY AN ICEBERG.

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9941, 18 January 1900, Page 2

CAUGHT BY AN ICEBERG.

A TERRIBLE MqMENTi Icebergs are the great terror of navigators in crossing the North Atlantic, i''rom the Arctic regions these stately . wanderers come sailing south in their lonely grandeur and dazzling whiteness, There are few more impressive, object* ni Nature than one of these white.-robea ice-gianta, its pinnacles towering two or three hundred feet above the waves, whilst two-thirds of the whole huge mass yet lies below the surface. These bergß mo of all sizes — some being met with from a mile to five miles in length — and i they aro often of the most fantastic shapes. Beautiful ns they look, however, they aro often "death on the white, horse" to many a g&llant ship. In the darunesa ol the night, in the blinding snowstorm, or enveloped in the ghastly fog, they lie in the path of the great At 1 Untie liners with their living freights, " and woo betide tho unfortunate vessel that blindly dashes herself against their crystal sides. Some years ago the steamship City of Boston sailed for Liverpool from Boston with aonjo hundreds of passengers dn board. No trace ,of her was e+Qr afterwards found. There can hardly be * doubt that the fangs of an iceberg were buried in her bosom, and in a moment *' she went down to destruction. But des- ' truction, actual or threatened, from an iceberg may occur in other ways besides collision, as the following exporienco abundantly proves- — Some six or seven years ago there sailed from New "?Bri for Newfoundland the s.s. Portia, having • on board a party of American touristSj After touching at St. John's to land ' cargo, the, Portia had to go north to -> Pilley's Island for a cargo of iron pj" , rites, and the whole party took the "lound trip." After a delightful voyage, they started on tlld return journey, tb was an ideal day as the Portia was crossing Notre Dame Bay, and the wholo party were on deck enjoying the grand acenery. The deep blue aky was cloudleas, and the sea breeze positively intoii-' eating. Never was there a; gayer party than that assembled oh de.ck. To cr,offri their happiness, a magnificent iceberg!, loomed ahead in the distance, almost directly in their course. None of thp _ tourists had ever seen a^ch an object. Tho ladies greeted its appearance withbeaming smiles and waving 'of handker.? chiefs, and somo of the gentlemen with cheers and hand-clappings. , Aa the steamer rapidly approached THE GLITTERING GIANT, its grand proportions astonished the spectators. The practised eye of the captain scanned it, and he informed his passengers that it was at least 800 ft in length and nearly 200 ft high. It was one ' of the largest of its kind; and with its massive, perpendicular sides glekmiig in the sunbeams, crowned witu doinos,'^ towers, and pinnacles, floating sldvrjly lif-"' 1 majestic grandeur, it was indeed a sight *-' nover to be forgotten. The tourists werii '-, enraptured, and reckoned themselves •-. specially fortunate. Thore was scaroelj * a flaw or fissure in its massive sides; all seemed as solid and atable as when it left its parent glacier. Kodaks and sketching materiala were got ready; for ' the ateamer was now within a few him- ; dred yards of the colossal berg. Nearer and still nearer the vessel glided, and " presently all on board were lost in admiration of the emerald caves which ,in- " dented its lofty sides. - A moment more and they were startled ' by a low sound that Bpeedily mounted into a dull roar like the rumbling of an earthquake, drowning all the clatter of tongues. The huge mass suddenly burs* *, asunder as if a mine had exploded in its icy interior. It had separated into- three ' . immense blocks. The oilo neareßt the ' Portia staggered for a moment; became top-heavy, and turned right over. There, wore a fow moments' pause, ant} then'itg" wide-spread base, coming tip from be-i v " neath, caught the big vessel, and actu-- l ally lifted her clean out of the water. 1 , Tho incident is quite unparalleled. It?was aa if some huge invisible crttne had>' 6wung hor aloft, and placed her, hi^hO and dry, in an. icy cradle,,, twelve feet •* above the snrface of tho 'Surrounding , sea ! - , i No machinery of human contrivance^ could havo performed such a feafc as lifting a vessel of 1200 tona, with a -full v cargo of ore, clean out of the wjater, and - depositing her in a moment iif a sort of , a "dry dock" on a shelving portion of the '- enormous iceberg, where ahe lay on - a_' pretty even keel. But the thrilling hor« r-^,r -^, ror of such a situation for those on DoarxT may well bo imagined. t * INSTANT DESTRUCTION ■ . - v soenied inevitable. The bravest heart - stood still. Cheeks that a moment.be- ■ fore were flushed with pleasure were now " pale as death. ' } . If the berg had completed its over-/, turning movement and risen bottom uppermost, the'ship would iave been fluagcover on the other side, and '-eitlier^ crushed like a nutshell or sent in a mo- * ment to tho bottom. On the other hand, if tho Portia held on in her slippery - berth on the side of the iceberg, how Was*" she to be launched? , >.. ■>• Fortunately, the smaller berg was un-- v ablo to make a complete Bomcrsault-r- *-, probably because the water in the Hay""" was not sufficiently deep to permit sucK? a huge mass to "turn over completely.^.; For about one terrible minuto the ahip^* hung in her perilous and astounding po-<)> sition, and then a huge 1 wave, created »' by the overturning of the otMer vastj, fragments of the original, berg, swept V her from her icy perch and launched heri _ stern foremost, witK a fearful plunge^ into the Bea once more. No one on board ', expected that she would ever rise again; < But the gallant ship came ug'riofrly/fbattling With the billows in that awful i maelstrom like a mother fighting forJier, * children. The captain, who had »p're-\, served his cool courage thioughoutjat' once aignalled. "Full speed ahead" tolis \ engineer; and in a few seconds the';*' Portia was out of danger. j "~ '-. The whole affair was over in less than ■ two minutes. — Wide World Magazine.