The New York herald., 1878-02-24
Death ON the New York waters.

Death ON the New York Waters.
The fog of yesterday was accessory to two
collisions in the waters around New York.
In each case there was loss of life. The first
happened in the morning in the bay, near
Robbins Reef, and one life was lost /; the
other on the North River at seven in the
evening" but the darkness has made it
impossible up to the present to state
how many have perished. The wild
est stories circulate as to the possible
number of the dead. It is indeed
reflection on the inventive skill of our
mechanical nation that no competent
means have been devised for the preven-
tion of such calamities in waters
so crowded with craft plying to and
fro at all hours. The skill of our trained
ferryboat pilots in avoiding visible dangers
is almost proverbinl, and nothing but
high skill could carry SO many Of
these large vessels back and forth
from year to year with SO few accidents.
But when fog envelops the rivers and bay
the confidence born of this skill appears to
escapes from horrible fatalities are recorded
thereafter as ''slight and fortunately not
fatal collisions" The stories of yesterday
morning and evening show that where un-
due risks are constantly taken the misfor-
tune will come at last.
We do not wish to PREJUDICE either case,
but where lives are lost in machines
directed by intelligent beings some
body must be to blame. The collision
of last night occurred by the Pavo-
MIA ferryboat James Fisk running into
q schooner lying at anchor and without
lights. A large portion of the ferryboats deck
and cabin was smashed in or carried away.
Numbers of the passengers were thrown
into the water, and only with daylight
can it be guessed how many were drowned.
Owing to the density Of the fog no boat had
left the New York shore for an hour and
a half before the fatal trip, SO that the
number of people who usually crowd the
boats on Saturday evening going to their
New Jersey homes was probably trebled.
Bodies are reported as being picked up and
taken to the Jersey City Morgue. 1t can
only be hoped that in the exaggera-
ton of fright the numbers supposed
to be lost are overestimated. There seems
unfortunately but too much reason to dread
deplorable calamity.
That one hundred lives instead Of only
one were not lost by the collision between
the steamship Spain and the ferryboat Cas-
tleton in the bay yesterday morning is
almost miracle Of good luck. We have
only one side of the story; for the Spain,
having satisfied herself that the ferry
boat was in no danger of sinking, proceeded
on her voyage. According to the state
ments of her passengers the ferryboat pro-
ceeded very slowly after she left her wharf
taking the precaution of blowing her whistle
every three seconds. With officers evidently
SO vigilant on board the ferryboat, and her
whistle sounding almost continuously. it
is certainly strange that the Spain should
have come 30 close to her that COL
lision was inevitable. What was the
speed of the Spain at the time of the acci-
dent? Was she driving in the midst of o
log tnrOuSn the puy as unconcerneuly as II
she had been at sea under q cloudless sky
Was the precaution taken to blow the log
signals to warn vessels of her coming !?
The liability to accidents in our crowded
waters in even the clearest weather
is SO great that it is of the highest
importance that the precautions and safe
guards which common sense suggests
and the law directs shall be enforced at oil
times. An investigation will show whether
they were taken in these cases and the
interests of the public require that they
shall be as full and rigid us possible.