‘Twas on the 23rd of November, and in the year 1892,
The steamer Spree sailed from Bremen, with 753 passengers including the crew,
And their spirits were as light as a cork,
And bound for that famous city called New York.
The great ship was steaming along at a rapid rate,
And the passengers were never dreaming of their coming fate,
When a big wave struck the propeller of the ship,
Which rendered her quite helpless to finish her trip.
The steamer’s stern was damaged to such an extent,
That the water rushed in through the gaping rent,
And the passengers were thrown into a. state of excitement,
Until women became hysterical and very discontent.
Then every one on board was in a state of alarm,
Because they knew to the ship there had been done serious harm,
And the weather was bad, and the sea mountains high rolled,
Which tossed the ship from side to side, which was fearful to behold.
And the tossing of the water in the ship made a great din,
And the pumps were at work to save the bulkheads from being stove in,
And many of the women began to swoon,
Through fear of being drowned: ’tis an awful doom.
Mr Moody the Evangelist, he was there,
And amongst the passengers he engaged in prayer,
Whilst the passengers knelt in the saloon all round,
He prayed fervently to God to save them from being drowned.
When prayer was finished the passengers ran to and fro,
Poor souls, with their hearts full of woe,
Whilst their cries rose high in mid air,
Crying to God for help in their despair.
One young man, an Austrian, became so much excited,
That he jumped overboard he was so far frighted,
Whilst the angry billows covered him o’er,
And the Storm Fiend did laugh and did roar.
The great ship was tossed about with her three bare poles,
At the mercy of the elements with 753 precious souls,
And the stern of the ship had sunk in the water so low,
That the sight filled the passengers’ hearts with woe.
Sunday morning broke on them without any help in sight,
Which filled all the passengers’ hearts with fright,
And the thought alarmed them, for many felt sickly,
While Mr Moody prayed to God to send assistance quickly.
And to prevent the waves from breaking over the ship,
Bags of oil were thrown over her sides which did dip,
And spread around the ship, and calmed the water where she lay,
Which helped to chase from the passengers’ hearts all dismay.
Very few could sleep among the passengers or crew,
But numerous passengers kept a look out for a vessel in view,
When, to their joy, a steamer was sighted at half-past two,
Which proved to be the Lake Huron with a gallant crew.
Then there were shouts of delight by women and men,
Because the steamer had come to rescue them;
Then a wire cable was attached to the Spree,
And she was then towed ahead immediately
And the steamer Huron proceeded on her way,
And anchored her prize inside Queenstown Harbour on Friday,
And the passengers thanked God that did timely succour send,
Also the captain and crew of the Huron that did them befriend.
