The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1867-10-25
THE DEAN RICHMOND DISASTER.

Evid~nce-The serpent "Dragging It's slow
Length Aiong.o
At hafpast ten O'Clock yesterday morning the sd
journed cation the occasion and Of tho
Vanderbilt and Dean Redmond collision was resumed
before the United sates inspectors OF steam vessels
In the absence OF Of the Witnesses for the Dean
Richmond, mutual agreement was made between the
counsel on both SIDES 10 continue With the examination
OF Of the witnesses for tho Vanderbilt that there
might be no delay
BENJAMIN +. Batty, being sworn, tsstihed--l re-
member the occurrence in September last; on
the Goth Of tho month ! The second pilot
on board the propeller Honeysuckle; ] have fol-
lowed the water since this year 1921; and
was hftysx years Old the llh Of last April gradu-
ally worked my way up In boating first cook, then
pilot and then got to be OF vessel; have been
second pilot for two and half years atogether pre-
viousiy TO that had been sloopng and was engaged
occasionally steamboats, would be, perhaps At one
tune q sloop and then be the first pilot Of steam
vessel understand the channel or the North river;
have been employed tho Coxackie ferry pilot; the
Honeysuckle piled between Coxacke and New York;
she went to Baltimore twice; the night Of
the 18Th and goth or September l remember passing
Esopus Island; wo bound down the toward
New York. we had, think, three boats in tow; per-
haps there four boats cannot state either way
exactly we passed Esopns Island about twelve O'Clock
or little after recoect passiag the steamer Wander
bit, Low went by her could ly
she perhaps hfty feet from rs, maybe more; but
do not think sne loss distance from than that;
she was pretty close, at all events We had barge on
our port side, might have been thirty feet across this
barge, more or iess won't DO positive; we passed the
Vanderbilt from half 10 perhaps threequartors OF
mile below he island: this is merely approximation
OF the distance; both Vanderbilt, boat
more 10 the eastward OF the channel than othcrwse
| perhaps ABOUT onethrd OF tho width oil the
channel nearer TO the eastward than tho westward;
refer - my boat the Vanderbilt was even more TO tue
came down with the ebO tide; as passed the Van
derhlt che blew he wh,s,le We were not great way
oil from tho Vanderbilt at that time: she was little
ahead OF that Is, little farther down the river than
We were, N our port Dow; she blew tho whistle; not
more than distinct whistle certain that il
| If am in my right mind answered her whistle with
Single blast aso the next thing / heard
another distinct whistle; il perhaps minute
and half perhaps three minutes after the other whistler
she had so by us at al events, know tua; and IL was
single whistle. that single whistle from the Van
derbiit looked round Of boat when heard
IT. then saw large steamboat coming down; as near
| as can rccollect she heading southeast;
cant tel o' course what her exact direction was; bot
should Judge from the appearance OF things; cannot
say how far OF from the Vanderbilt she at that me
cnly took glance around, that all, but told my
| boy, " There's going 10 De cOlson;' the Vanderbilt
was about aeaJas east northeast and going 70 the east
ward 81 tue other as Tar as can recolec; can't give
any IDEA to how far apart these boats they
pretty close; saw the little island, which is just below
the point Of Esos Island Just in fact of the bow
o! the boat coming down ichnTt shown witness and
he ponted at The little island ne ailaded TO as Blunss
islandl
Questionable / understand you to say that the
| vessels were pretty close togetherY
Witness-I could between the little island the
big boats oow-that is to the westward OF Wander
b!l. did not bear any whistle from the Dean Rich.
mond. heard FIRST ain ule whistle from the Wander
| bit; l snswered that. then l heard another single
whistle from the Vanderbilt those nil the whistles
that neard saw no sloop between me and the Van.
derbii; there soops to the ard Of my
position; they Law AZ some distance OH: perhaps they
were re closer than hundred yards; perhaps
that distance; al! were going up the river; Thomas
Gunvard the engineer OF the boat that night;
the Vanderbilt passed near about half-past twelve,
should think that is 10 the time as recol-
| lect; came out tor my watch when we were near
Isopus Island about eleven O'Clock having turned
| TO pick up barge blew whistle myself: did not
blow than whistle; am certain OF that
sit in this chair: the Vanderbilt blew shrill whistles
good, ccar distinc; whistle; AIN sure, if had my
right mind that night, she only blow whistle at
that mo, had not much heaa OF steam on, and
boat did not speak very loud orr whistle was neither
SO clear or SO distinct as that Of the Vanderbilt.
Cross-exanined by Dir Prentice counsel for the Dean
Rchmond--it somewhere about eleven O'Clock
when deck and picked up barge 10 tow
down; the three boats had in were ice boats; we
placed couple abreast, ono on the port and one
the sarboard side ana the other we had to a hawser
agtern; can't be positive whether towed boats
Gstern not; propeller is ia the neghborhood OF
10 one hundred and twenty fee.- can't say exactly
do not what her tonnage is; her
napars these ice boats are Sometimes two hundred feet
| Icing, some less IN LENGTH but they seldom
| longer than that think; the boats were fastened
pretty close to US; We bad to keep them snug;
looked the barge Ia order to tie Vanderbilt
| when shc got aoreaa; Of u.s. there was man in
pilot house nine men all told on board the propeller;
cannot give tbe names OF these Dargcs had in tow
picked up at Ccopcr's, think can't tell where
| got them ali; the Kuickerbocker leo Company
them all forget whether picked up or the others
Baltimore not; cont rrcolect where started
| from the 10Th; 1t might have been from Coxacke,
hut cannot say positively cannot be positive where
4 started FROM al all; cannot tell what time we
started; cannot even give an approximation OF ihe
cannot be certain about T.; would not
| speak positively; think We got one barge at
EyspoT and The sara we picked up off opa 1:u did not
say had fourth barge might have had -four, and
We might NOT; IL was not my business TO attend To such
things and don't know anything about Such details:
don't know the name OF the barge picked up at
Esopus; dont know The names d any Of the men
board know some Of the men that engaged on
these bargos bur do not recol!cct o. their
don't the Of the captains OF any OF them:
don't know anything about them than tnat
picked them up and had them in o~; cannot remen-
Der; Il my business TO attend 10 them; the cap
tain keeps an OF such mattcrs-the names and
destination OF The bargcs that down, believe;
suppose the captain can tell all these rarlicuiars James
Desnes,e IL our captain the books nese rec
Kept probably Tho Offices Of company;
boat belongs the Kuicserbocker leo Company the
| same the barres do; rslde At Coxacsie; l havo
lived ffLy-gix and made homo;
live between the village and the Academy Just opposite
Mr. Bakers house. on the TOP OF the hall danl olecs
passing the ~ John that night: must have passed. her
somewhere, bu, don't recollecs when whore
pa scd her; licensed pilot OF the irs cass took
out my iccnse year ago last spring: belieya
acquainted With oioial for the government Of
pilots believe those rules up the pilot house:
handed them TO tho captain when got them: last
theml tlns, about ew weeks ego in drawer my
board tho boat the sarboard sdc; II
meeting boat We ought TO signal, | believe
when three hundred yards apart can't tell OK
acty what Is the regular distance within which We
ought TO signal ! should tbink near threo hundred
yards perhaps iess; that night going
perhaps, four miles hour; sometimes less were
going fast: when steam got ron. which did
sometimes, we went much more slowly might have
two The eastward when near Egopus Island:
good many steamers that night think we passed
remember getting out OF the ~ay them; fhee ars
windows In The po, house through which yoi can look
astern. did not see the Dean Richmond before heard
whistle Of the Vanderbilt, d1 uot know che was
pf 10 itxt pnt aua
the last whistle from her there might have been an in
sersa perhaps OF from and Ialf to three min.
utes: ] could not swear exactly what in;ervs
time elapsed; It might have been between
two ana bali TO three minutes, Il niaht
have been four minutes; | can't say; the
Vanderbilt made her r5t signal when she was ns, about
length bcios u; could tell how long tho
Vsndorblt h: when say lenQth oil mean cnc length
81 our own boat sho about hundred and twenty
annth ol think. I lhnk aha xnr Irn.i III,