| Show LINER PARS ON 1 MANACLfS ROCKS i j Went Ashore With Her Load of Human Freight I CALM SEA SAVED AN AWFUL CATASTROPHE I All Passengers Taken Off Without Loss of Lfe Place Where the Big American II s Steamship Struck Is Half a Mile i From Where the Mohegan Was I WreckedWas a Foggy Morning I and the Navigator Lost His Bearings I Bear-ings Calmness of Officers and I Crew Prevented a Panic r J t I Falmouth May lThe American mercan line steamer Paris Captain Walking t from Southampton and Cherbourg for i New York struck on an outlying ridge of the Manacles early this morning at a point half a mile from where the wrecked Atlantic transport liner Mo hogan lies and five miles from Falmouth Fal-mouth The Paris which sailed from Southampton South-ampton yesterday called at Cherbourg Cher-bourg and picked up fifty passengers She 1ettn Cherbourg I at 6 oclock rtl evening Soon after 1 oclock this morning at high tide and in a dens i fog she ran ashore From the first here was no danger Lifeboats and tenders were soon literally swarming around the vessel l rendering assistance assist-ance A majority of the passengers who numbered 3SO were brought tu Falmouth where they obtained lodg Ings for the night Captain Watkins reported that his r dln l f ship was lying comfortably in smooth water and there was no occasion for occason any alarmist reports He reported the passengers and crew all well Assistance Was Prompt The first Intimation of the vessels striking the rocks was a slight grat log sound which waj followed by a second and more pronounced shock The lookout shouted that there Wa something looming ahead but before there was time to reverse the engines the ship had gone on the rocks lOG yards from the shore Assistance was summoned by means of rockets and the coast guards promptly telephoned to the lifesaving station for boats A majority of the orly passengers were not aware that an accidenthad happened hap-pened until they were called up by thestewards On reaching the deck hey found the ships boats in perfect readiness for their reception The sea was perfectly calm and the only discomfort dis-comfort that the passengers experienced enced was caused by the slight rain that was falling at the time OwIng to the calmness of the sea the boats could be managed with entire safety Perfect order prevailed aboard the vessel Captain Watkins stood on the bridge giving orders and his perfect selfpossession and calmness of demeanor de-meanor had a reassuring effect upon the passengers In accordance with the instructions of the captain the women and children were the first to betaken taken off the ship Such perfect order was maintained that a passenger described de-scribed the scene as simply a slow procession cession of women and children walking walk-Ing in single file to the boats At daybreak the position of the vessel ves-sel could be better discerned The bril iant St Anthony light at the entrance trance of Falmouth harbor could be distinguished plainly through the misty rain and the still standing masts of nearby the illfated Mohegan could be seen Warning Was Too Late It is said that a Falmouth pilot showed a warning signal to thp Paris telling the caDtain that he would pufc the vessel on top of the Mohegan if he did not alter the course of th ship The warning however came too late and the Paris struck on a ridge to the westward of the Manacles It Is suggested that as this was their second trip from Cherbourg the officers of the Paris were not familiar with the course The crew of the Paris are still aboard the vessel It Is believed that the steamer has a large rent in her bottom In the forward part of the ship Tugs are standing by her and will assist In an effort to get her off the rocks Further details of the disaster show hUt when the vessel struck the crew were summoned on deck The passengers passen-gers appearing were met in the com anionway with comforting words and assurances of their safety Exceptional coolness was shown jon all sides the stewards distributing coffee and stimu ants to all who desired them Captain Watkins had his gig lowered and rowed ashore in order to ascertain his whereabouts and to telegraph to Falmouth for tugs to assist his ship In the meantime rockets were sent up and signal guns were fired The Sea Was Calm When daydawn broke everyone onboard on-board was relieved to find the shore on one side and life boats nearby on the other The vessel lay with her head to to southwest the reversing of her engines en-gines having put her broadside In the rocks Happily the sea was smooth and there was no wind Otherwise there would probably have been a different tale to tell The dangers of the vicinity were strikingly brought home to the passengers passen-gers and crew by the masts of the wrecked steamer Mohegan which are sticking out of the water and by a miserable bell buoy which tolls almost constantly as though sounding a death knell When Captain Watkins returned from his trip ashore he learned that there was already considerable water in the hold and the tugs which arrived stood b y In readiness for any emergency All the passengers were transferred to the tug Dragon but beyond the clothes hey wore they took nothing with them They were landed eafo Falmouth shortly l rt after 7 oclock the local agentt of the American Ine meeting them and providing viding them with every care and quartering quar-tering them at the various hotels and the sailors home When the Paris struck the tide was within an hour of the flood and this proved Insufficient to raise her oft tho j rocks Hundreds of people visited the scene during the 3ueo Brave Officers and Crew The passengers are lavish in their praise of the admirable behavior of the officers and crew and declare that It was due to their selfpossession that no accident occurred to any one Perfect throughout discipline they say was maintained I ia stated that those in charge of the Paris were so perfectly confident that they pursuing the were puring proper course that the vessel was steaming eighteen or nineteen knots an hour when they struck There will be little danger to the steamer if the long calm continues but should the wind veer to the east or southeast the consequences might be serious The tugs left the scene at about 5 oclock In connection with the accident to the Paris it will be of Interest to mariners and travelers to hear that persistent agitation since the wreck of the Mohegan ha at last induced the Trinity brethren to act and last week they promised to erect a gaslighted I automatic soundproducing buoy on the Manacle iri place of the useless bellbuoy now there Gangs of mon on lighters have gone on the stranded steamer to take on the belongings of the passengers It is reported that two forward compartments compart-ments of the Paris are full of water Thomas Allen of London a ron r-on the Paris on his way to New York said AH Hands On Deck I was in bed when the accident happened I heard a grating sound and then several hard thumps on the rocks which shook the ship The vessel ves-sel thenseemed to stop dead A few minutes later I heard someone calling All hands on dock I roused my chum who was still asleep and we went on deck We were told to secure our lifebelts and we returned below all sot them We were not allowed to return to the deck at that time All were kept waiting below At the first summons a few passengers appeared in their nightclothes but as soon as they discovered that there was no danger dan-ger they returned to their rooms and made themselves ready to leave the ship The passengers all behaved In the best possible manner There was no screaming on the part of the women and the most perfect order was maintained tained Wo were kept waiting below for an hour Coffee and ft were served and then we entered the ships boats Steam tugs brought us to Falmouth mouth Among the passengers of the Paris were many poor female emigrants mostly foreigners All have been safely safe-ly housed in the Sailors home here One of the women describes her experience perience as follows A womans Story I was awake when the vessel struck T heard a dragging sound and felt a gng shock then the engines stopped I wept upstairs to find out what was the matter I could see the land quite plainly I thought the ship had stopped to take on passengers I did not think there was anything wrong and I returned re-turned to bed and stayed there half an hour Then a steward told me to get up I said Theres my baby dont wake him The steward replied I you want to save your baby getup get-up I got up and dressed myself and the baby and went on deck We were much frightened but there was no confusion con-fusion They treated us in the kindliest kind-liest manner and finally brought us here on a tug lr Batchelor a sister of United i States Senator Vest of Missouri who embarked at Cherbourg says the Weather was wet and nasty when they left port She retired early and about 1 oclock was awakened by a tremendous tremen-dous crash which at first seemed to arise from the machinery Then every thing became so quiet that she did not leave her berth Soon afterwards however how-ever she was aroused by a steward who urged the passengers to dress and go on deck immediately Putting on a few things Airs Batchelor hurried above and found hundreds of half dressed passengers there before her Was No Excitement The officers were busily engaged in preparing the boats for launching and calming the passengers though there I was comparatively little excitement as I was evident that the ship was not I sinking and at daybreak all were assured as-sured by glimpses of the shore Mrs Batchelor said that some of the passengers asserted that they heard Captain Watkins say I am unable to understand how this happened There was no fQS when Mrs Batch elor went on deck but only a misty rain The worst trouble she says arose in transferring the passengers in small boats to the tugs The officers and crew she observed ob-served worked like Trojans in getting the old people and children off and they certainly deserve great praise |
