7 o'clock
The _ Slavonia _ , of the Hamburg line left Brunshausen , on the Elbe , on February 26 last , under the command of Capt. H. Schmidt . She had only two passengers . The weather was squally and the air full of mist when she reached the outer Banks , 900 miles from New York , shortly after sunrise on Sunday , March 16 . The big vessel was heading west by north , when , at 7 o'clock , Second Mate Erichsen , who was on the bridge , saw emerge through the mist on the starboard side of the ship , at the distance of about a thousand feet , a towering column which united sea and sky . The column was in front of the ship to starboard , and was moving in a southeasterly direction , apparently at the rate of eight knots an hour . Although the Slavonia was running 9 1/2 knots , the column seemed likely to pass in front of the steamship when their paths crossed . Accordingly Erichsen did not try to alter the course of the Slavonia ; indeed , he would not have altered it had he known ship and spout were sure to meet , for he had encountered waterspouts before and was n't afraid of them .