The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1869-12-20
Sad accident i'm Eewark-Glve lien
Drowned In The ~ssassaic river.

From the New York World, December u.
At noon yesterday III accident occurred
in the Passaic river near the foot Oh Marker
street, Newark, by the sinking OF 4 boal,
hy which five men were drowned, and eight
others narrowly escaped, in 4 ha!t-iroZen
condition. by swimming ashore. y large
number Of men have for some tim" past
been EMPLOYED by the New jersey Railroad
Company in the erection Of Their new draw
bridge across the river at Market street,
which is TO form Il part Of the new shortcut
line that il being built for through trains
passing Newark. A party of ron-Workers
from Pittsburg were put on the force III
September last to put up the lTon-Work Oh
the bridge, and 1t was this gang that occu-
pied the boat which was swamped yestcF-
day.
The raising Of the draw was completed
vest forenoon. The men stopped
work, yiye three cheers. aud went TO their
boats, designing to 20 TO dinner. Inc spot
where thew embarked is one hundred ana
fifty feet from the shore. but the tiut Is al
WAYS strong, and navigation il Il small boat,
xuch rs that used by them, Is always dah-
nerous. The boat was = ilat-bottomcd, two
Dared scow, and thirteen persons took pas
SAGE in it To the shore. Soon after they lttt
| the draw they found the high waves dash
ing into the boat, and, becoming alarmed,
they rose to their feet, tipped the slight
rraft q little. when it became Immediately
| filed. The men lcaped out and struck out
for the shore. Five Of their number
drowned, and eight reached the pier De-
numbed and half frozen. .,
Tho search for the bodies was Immediately
| commenced, and five bodies were recovered
| These were the bodies OF Thomas griffith,
| Of Pittsburg. ayouug man Twenty-Five years
Of 0oe: Thomas Kelso, Of Philadelphia,
ared twcntr-four William Blltchlord, az
| Englishman, aged twcnty-three and Johi
| Riley, a resident Of East Newark, age
thirty years, who leaves o family ana Il boy
named John Leonard, residing with his pa
| rents in Newark.
Tie EIGHT men who escaped were George
Mershou. Of Columbia, Pa, the foreman o.
thc ranr: Samuel Hartman, OF Marietta.
Pa: Andrew Bell, of Wiliam,port, "a:
7 Mershon and S. Mersilon, Of Columbia
pa. r. Brum, Of Marietta, Pa; a. Riley
Of P%jttsbure; and William Hammell, @
WiIliamsport. ..
in charge by DR.. Dodd, the county physl
elan, who will order an inquest to De helt
immediately. :.
There is a widespread excitement il
Newark, occasioned by the disaster. VIZ
the feeling OF sorrow that prevails through
out the community, there Is great suIptls
expressed at the fact that the men shout
have been go imprudent-as TO trust them
selves in one boat while, as IS stated, tleI'
were two other boats within easy reach
The men were in the employ OF the hey
stone Bridge Company, Of Pittsburg, am
were quite hard-working young men, re
markable for their skill In their oocupatlon
The sad accident was witnessed by bu
few persons, and those who saw the strus
gles Of the drowning men from the s nor
we're at too great a distance from thsI
~ render anv assistance. Mr.. John II
L. Tan siaIst the eD proprietor of the sail-lo!t t,, o
the shore near Et which 6i t the boat h npo'
hearing the cries of the men, an
fastened with a few others to the rescue 2
the swimmers. But they could not b
reached, and as they lloa 9tst, down m w1!n w sb
'Tare Iess skilled In the art of sTtmntn
than their companions, threw mp thsl
hands and went down.