Rensselaer Union, Volume 11, Number 12, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 December 1878 — Sinking of the Steamship Pomerania Over Fifty Lives Lost. [ARTICLE]

Sinking of the Steamship Pomerania Over Fifty Lives Lost.

A London telegram of Nov. 96 gives the following particulars of the sinking of the steamer Pomerania, in the English Channel: The steamer Pomerania, of the HamburgAmerican line, Capt. Bchwensen, sailed front New York, on the 14th InsL, for Hamburg, with a crew and passenger list aggregating something like 250. The Pomerania reached Plymouth about three o’clock on the morning of the 24th, which port she left for Cherbourg, after loading some passengers and mail. About midnight last night, in a dense fog, and about three miles oil Dungeness Point, she collided with the Welsh bark Noel Eillan, of Carnarvon. The Pomerania went down in a short time. The steamer Glengarry rescued 172 of the passengers and crew. The Noel' Eilian was also badly damaged, and is anchored off Folkestone, with her bows stove in and her forward compartment filled with water. The passengers of the wrecked steamer, who have arrived here, give graphic accounts ot tlie collision and of weir rescue. They all unite in praising the conductof Capt. Schwensen, who unhappily went down with his ship, but whose courage, coolness and command over his crew contributed largely to the rescue of the survivors. The Pomerania, having touched at Plymouth, proceeded to Cherbourg, and then steamed slowly up the channel. The weather was very thick, but a good lookout was kept and no uneasiness was felt by the passengers. It appears, however, that some miscalculation bad been made as to the exact course of the ship, for when the collision occurred she was only three miles off Dungeness Point, while her right course would have placed her at least ten miles from the shore. The shock of the collision was very severe. The other vessel was the Noel Eiliap; a Welsh ship, coming from Rotterdam and bound for Cardiff in ballast. She struck the Pomerania on her starboard side, nearly amidships,* and stove in her upper and lower framework. There were some passengers in the saloon, but the most of them were in their berths and asleep. The shock awoke them, but they were scarcely aware of the danger berorethey were apprised of it by the exclamations of the passengers and employes of the vessel. The Captain behaved most splendidly, and there was comparatively little confusion. The boats on the port side of the ship were and lowered away in good order. There was, of course, much pushing and crowding, but the excellent example of the Captain aided greatly in maintaining order and discipline. He sent for rockets that are always kept ready for signal purposes, and in a few moments the dense __jog was. pierced by these signals. The steamer Glengarry was fortunately near at hand, saw the signals, and came to the rescue ot the sinking ship. The sea was calm; this aided the efforts to save life. In lowering one of the boats, her bow was permitted to strike the water too soon, and she filled and sank. The boats on the starboard side had either been crushed by the collision or had become so jammed that they could not be lowered away. Nothing could be seen of the Welsh bark until some time after the collision. She did not run away, as was reported, but she was severely injured, and, being under sail, could not be handled expeditiously, and the wind was from the northeast. The crew behaved well, and there was a general disposition among the passengers, with some few exceptions, to save the women and children first. The Captain absolutely-refused to leave the ship ahtu ev&ry one else had got off, and as this could not.be done he went down with her. When last seen he was standing on the bridge, giving orders in a calm, determined voice. The ship sank slowly, going down by the head and settling gradually. The survivors all speak in the highest terms of the officers and crew of the Pomerania and of the kindness they have received at Dover and here. It is now believed that fifty-eight of the passengers and crew of the Pomerania were lost

a survivor’s story. One of the rescued passengers makes the following statement: “ I had retired, as had most of the passengers. Shortly before one o’clock there was a sudden, sharp shock, which shook the ship as it she had run upon a reef. .1 heard cries and orders from the officers, and ran on deck immediately. There I found everything in confusion. The ship was wrapped in a dense fog, through which the ship’s lights shone dim and ghastly. The crew were running about, ana seemed utterly demoralized. Some of them said we had been run down by a large ship, and we were sinking. The passengers began crowding on deck, and soon there waa a complete panic. Many of the passengers were only half robed. When it was learned thjta the ship was really sinking the scene recame terrible. Men were looking for their wives and children, and halfdressed women were shrieking and crying out for their friends. The scene when the boats were being lowered was terrible, anfi makes me shudder when I think of it The passengers all crowded and struggled together to get places. One boat was overloaded, and sank as soon as it reached the water. There was a collision between two others, in which both were stove and lost. All the while the ship was filling and sinking. The only one who was cool and collected was the Captain, who sent up rockets and gave orders. I succeeded in getting hold of a boat, and was afterward taken on board of the Glengarry. Capt. Schwensen would not leave the ship. There were a lot Of women on board, and a good many children. I don’t think many of them were saved. Among the prominent persons drowned were Capt. Schwensen of the lost steamer; Count Bodisco. son of a former Russian Minister to the United States; Mr. Clymer, brother to Heister Clymer, of Pennsylvania; Mrs. Funk, of Milwaukee, and others. lowing story of the sagacity of a dog” “ When the dog wishes to cross the river where alligators abound, he goes up the stream a great way off and barks with all his might. The alligators go there and wait for his getting in to go across. The dog knows what he is about. When he sees from the number of snouts above-the water that his enemies have al 1 gathered to the feast, jhe runs down the bankas fast as he can and swims across before the alligators are aware of the trick that has been played upon them.” . —A Baltimore dentist says that eight children out of ten ihherit the father's teeth, not the mother's. "Fall fashions” always send a chill through an aeronaut '