The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1877-01-15
steamboats, nnd Coal Barges swept Away
and Wrecked In IN Ice l:orrc.

inches thick. Before the freeze the water had
been unusually low. and large fleets OF
coal boats lined the shores on bo'h
sides. For nearly week past heavy
rains have prevailed at the head waters OF the
river. The river men below took no precaution
against the impending food. On Saturday
eighteen feet Of water was reported in the river
at Greensboro and destructive food Of ice
was inevitable. The river men began to move.
On Sa,urda, night the river rose to twenty feet
at Greensboro, and an hour afterwards the ice
gave way. Tho ice on the slack water Of the
river beginning at Geneva. probably the thickest
In the river. gave way Ut once carrying the ice
and all the craft held bv 1t irresistibly into
the slack water. Where moment before
had been no pcrceptbe current thore
was raging torrent. The ico fields
swept everything in their path. A fleet Of heavy
coal barges loaded deep, were play things for
the torrent. They were swept from their moor
ings one after another AMI whirled into the vor
tex, and crushed like cgg-shcls and sunk cut
Of sight. Ten miuutes after the ice started II
was dotted all over with the suliniered tim.
Ter OF boats and b rges that hdd represented
thous md. of dollars.
At Frankstowu. where an unusu'llv large hcet
of loaded harges were moored, were several
iron barres; but they were destroyed amos, a.
quickly as the wooden boats. hey were hardly
In the grasp of the ice before their sides seemed
When intelligence VS. received In this city on
SATURDAY. mornine that the ice had moved at
Morsantown, men were sent into Pool No. | to
cut away the ice, with a view OF giving the np-
pro- ching fields as clear way as rossible to the
ONO. Thia pool Is WITHIN the city limits Every
despatcn from the uruer river ported the loss
Of steamer or Of a feet Of coal boats, some
times of both. and at midnight on saturday the
Chie'tnn, l.. Bennett, aud Elizioeth steamers.
belonging to the Brownsville line ~ packets,
AMI OF an aggregate value OF about S6O.Cc were
reported lost. The ice was travelling at the rate
OF about four miles an hour. and 1t was due here
~ four o'clock thus morning.
From the junction OF the Mononcahela. Ale
gheny. md ONO rivers. the north shore was
thickly lined with steamers for quarter Of a
mile. All had steam up and were prepared
fun OF coal fleets. and It was seen
that no ear hly power could save them.
rhc nver front was lined with excited river
men anuiresdents, up early TO see the smash up.
Inc morning was dark snd the roaring Of the
Ice food was heard long before the tee was seen.
Al O'Clock Intelligence was received az the
Nonongahela House that the gorge, as every.
body called 1t. was sweeping through Pool No.
i, aNd In moment the bridges and levees wer,
II OK with men. At twenty minutes after the
first nsld was fully In sight abreast the city Every
steamer OF tic seventy Ave along the lower
river front started its whistle, and tnedem oniac
sceeechine seemed to mike the throng or ".
Almost At the head OF the Field were turee gre 4
improved barges. doubtless swept out OF Pool
No. i. as they weta yet seemingly unin-
isr, iicrs Of the Panhands road bridge md knocSed
10 splinters. Right behinc tne bdrGcs were two
dry docks that successively escaped the rairo d
down tie Onto river. Then ncet
q ten earses swept by. and on one
efforts to attract attention. s. tnat they might
escape. nien dropp d ropes from the suspen-
| sion bridge II smithheld street aud then II w.s
seen that each II the men hid rope re adv to
throw. The barge was watched with breat 1les-
each threw his line, aud both lines fell short. Tue
| poor fellows swspt under the bridge aud down
toward the Ohio. followed by the ,hrong, who
them; but none could render them the
| slightest assistance. Finally the barge stranded
| on Brunots Island, aud both men escaped.
| 1hey mad been played with 10y the Hood for ten
mil =. having been swept into II at Port Perry.
tunity tnat seemed to Z. ner Tor escape, sud when
| theS missed TINT botn gave themselves up a.
| lost, and the trip down the ONO To the Island
was marked by their prayers for aviation.
In forty minutes after the ice appeared in the
| lower str, tch of the river 100 boats and reos
siruck the piers Of The raiirc "a bridge were
| sunk there or at the su-rrn-ion bridge, or what
left Of them, after Oeaiing against the
,ssonad row du, Si pss s%e'' on down
| frame house went into kindling wood
| at the piers of the railroad bridge. A moment
| atierwaid there was even more exciting met
| dent IN n the attemrted rescue Of the two
bafgemen. The tuwboat II. Keeper was seen In
| the II ddle OF a neld with nye empty fats benind
| her and ioaded barge ON eacn side oI ler. linen
man was seen 10 run from one of the barges,
| and the next momen, the barge struck one Of
| the railroad bride piers, and the tow was
| divided, the barge with tue man upon II
| swinging near enough 20 the north snore
y
most at the same moment that the man
| was seen TO jump, a woman and child
were discovered ON the tow boat nesr the pilot
| house. A great cry went up from the tbrong,
| and thous nd voices shouted to her to get on
| The pilot house. 50 that s1e might ne caught
AS she passed under the bridge. Then
1t was seen that she was inside the wheel house.
| aud IN obedience to the shouts was making des-
perAte nofis to ret one Of the windows open.
| lne door was evid .nty locked and ever instant
the boat was drawlnl near to the bridge. Then It
wa seen that the boat must strike tue bridge and
Of
| tossed overheard irom different points on the
| bridge for tho woman To grasp. The next mo-
meni the DO 4 s'ruck, and II the woman and boy
had been on the pilor house the might have been
lost for after tie crash Il Was the tr-t thlng to
give wa, and was swept back into tue Ice an 1
ground TO pieces The boat went Gle ir
over on her beam ends and all ex-
Iected 10 see her sink with the wompn
and child Ut, Fighting alaln. she swept
th.t swept her over to a fleet Of barees on the
soIth ice oil tie river. The woman IN boy were
seen holding T. ropes on tn lower deck, and
th0u-ands srln across the bridge TO the barges.
Tue tow uoat came upon the oarses stern ilrst'
TO get to the littls family on the drifting
steamer. one of these was Bernard NJ ming.
fireman of the Hornet. VINO, IN sprinsinR from
one barge t. another, misc ilcuiated ms distance
| and sank mo the river with Cry Tor help. The
crowd WAS divided te'ween MIN and the unfor-
| tuuate ones oL the tow boat, which at this mo-
aud the woman and child were rescued. But
| Ia the mean time the poor fellow who had
I
his daring lie was found dead, with
his arms tighlly wrapped around the moor
ing CHAINS Of a targe, under which be
| had been swept ~ the current. The name OF
| the woman waa Palmer. and the boy who wa,
about eight years Ot age, WAS her son. The m ~
! who had successfully landed WIS her hush md
| and ms father Wn n he deserted them he told
| them to stpy on the boat as II was safer.
All day long the Ice swept by, nlled with
proofs u the destruction 1t mad wrought In
the afternoon the work Of estimating the
| loss began. Clufious coal operator, figure IL
| ut between two aud three millions Of dollars.
| Ten steamers, WlicA number includes two pas
| senger hOlts, and between three snd four hun
| d ed coal bTgrs were destioyed. Every dry
| dock between here aud Brownsville has been
| ucstro ed. Ten CoHl tiputrs or ; outs each
| worth from nSe 10 ten thousand dollars, have
| been destroyed. 4 reful estimate puts the
| number Of bushels OF coal lost at 2.5O)OU0.
| At TINS hour, IL O'Clock J.. NJ, reports are
| reaching here to the effect tnat the Ice IN the
| YoughiOgbeny ha. formed gorge near McKees-
| port. where the lr=t named river uuites WITH the
| MOnOngahela.
| CINCiNSArI, Jan. 1.-THE movement OF the
| ice Ia tho OuiO river has been almost general
from liftshufsh TO Cairo, entiiling heavy losses,
| chIchy upon owners Of coal boats ana btrge-
| 4 despatch flom Norm Bend, twelve niles be-
low here. repor over two hundred coal barge
| p4ssiug tuefe On the Ice to-day. At Mingo, nral
| StrdbrnyIlle, ten b-rgrs were swept away to
duy, and tour AT parkersburg 1he ice
! IA the kAuuwna river broke up Yesterday
carr,in. aw a wh RI boat aud several oarges