Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-09-23
FEARFUL CATASTROPHE.
4 Fleet OF Barges Sunk In Chesapeake
Bay Eight Persons Drowned.
Fall Particulars Names OF the Dead.
and OF the Boats and their Owners.
Baltimore G6zette,l

lt was expected in view of the disas.
uOus effects on land Of the storm of Saturday
ara sunday, that information would be re-
etlVed OF greater damags in the bay and on
tsue coast. Unfortunately these apprehensions
nave been more than real 2sd. The folio W
ing account shows that on Saturday twelve
ca q! poats, while being toWed from Havre-
ue-OiaCe 70 TINS city, encountered the full
ivlcs OF the gale while in the upper part OF
the chesapeake bay, all, or nearly all OF them
sunk ana eight persons were drowned. The
particulars OF the terrible disaster, as far as
coSfd be gathered yesterday and last evening,
are as follows; "fhe steamer Juniata, Cap
hanna tow line, ]. Joseph Taylor, agent, left
EaVre-de Grace at iFe o'clock in the alter
noon saturday, having in tow twelve canal
Doats or barges, loaded with coel for parties
In this city. OF these boats, SIX were con-
signed 10 Is stabler, Jr.; two TO Diggs Bros:
,,wo y kmelius Adams, and two 10 Samuel
johnson. at the time OF starting the weather
was quits moderate, but a. nine O'Clock in the
evening, when about halfway between 1ur-
place is in ths Chesapeake bay, distant thirty
seven miles from Baltimore), a strong
wind changing from northeast to
southeast suddenly sprung up. 1t
soon increased in viol nee to a gale SO
That before reaching the island, nine ef the
boats broke away, and being left TO the mercy
o. the wind, were blown up the bay aud prob
ably sunk or driven ashore near the mouth of
TIE Gunpowder river. On Captain Richard
son reaching the island with the three remain
ing boats, be anchored and remained there
until thi ee o'clocE Sunday morning. In the
meantime the gale increased in violence, ami
two OF the tn ee boats were swamped or SUNK.
The remainiL z one, the Prowess, was enabled
10 hold on to the steamer, and after hosting
anchor was lowed TO q more secure shelf at
seven O'Clock in the morning. 1he steamer
III started after the two other boats, one Of
which, the Emily l.. Kennedy, was picked up
and taken alocgside the PrOwess, ana made
fsst until five o'clock in the afternoon. At
that hour the cable attach ng these boats to
the steamer broke, and they were blown off.
of the twelve boats it is regarded as certain
that five were sunk, and probably the others
we're also swRmped. On board these boats
were thirty three persons, OF whom twenty
five were saved by the Juniata and brought 10
this city, reaching here at noon sIday. |
One-halt retarned home in the steamer, which
LEFT for Hav. .e-de-Grace last evening at six |
with lodgings on one or more OF the boats |
lying at the lower eDd of the Union |
dock. The were eight persons drowned, |
viz George Hook wife and child, as also a !
oi this CITY, and young man from Lancaster |
county, who was Tece lily employed on the |
canal. Tcey We're all on board the boat called |
the StarkweaJher and MunsOn. Thomas A. |
Reese, of PoJtsgrOve, Northumberland coun- |
ty, Pennsylvania, was drowned from canal |
boat No l4, as were also two o. asIs whose |
names c0uld not be ascertained. Reese had a |
DrOtner Nho is among those saved. Three /
mules and a horse were also drowned. Seven !
of the boats belonged TO the SuSQuehanna |
coal company, two to the Reading railro d /
company, and the other three we're Individual /
boats, one called the Stsrkweather and Mum /
fo2, belonging TO Nelson Hatch, Of Columbia, /
VINO was on board as captain; another, the |
Prowess, ]. w. MCarty owner and captain, of |
ilauphtn county anu the third, the E. ID. |
Kennedy, John Weaver owner and captain, |
OF MOnturesviile. On an average, each boat |
carries one hundred and twe' ty tons of coal, |
making an aggregate for the twelve boats OF
worth sevt raj thousand dollars, beside the |
value of the barges."