New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-11-08
CAPTAIN MOTIFS STORY.
HE TELLS HOW HIS STEAMER WAS wRECKED-a
FATAL MIsCALCUIATGON-HIGH TIDE WOULD
HAVE SAVED THE VESSEL.

HE TELLS HOW HIS STEAMER WAS wRECKED-A
FATAL msCALCUIATION-HIG TIDE WOULD
HAVE SAVED TIE VESSEL.
lBY TELEGRAPH TIE TRTBUNE.l
Providence, X. l., Nov. IA special corre-
spondent OF The Morning SiGr. who spont part OF
Saturday night the Rhode Island, Obtained the
following story Of the disaster from Captain Mott,
who was in commando The night he said, was
very foggy-as focgy as l ever saw 1t. There was
scarcely any wind, and what there was, was ABOUT
southwest but there was pretty heavy sea on.
Everything went as usual through the night. L
was in the pilot-house all the time and we saw our
courses Just as we always did We passed Point
Judith few minutes before o'clock a. III. We
bove the lead and found eight fathoms OF water. l
beard the horn there all right; brought it abcam
and then took my departure for Beaver Tan.
In clear weather twenty-siX minutes run brings
US close 40 to tho light, but III thick
weather We run twentY-three minutes, ana
then if we don't hear the horn We slow down. FOR
a lcng time the horn at Beaver Tail has been all
but useless for us coming III from the ontsmc,
we scarcely ever hear it until get fairly abreast
Of it we have complained OF this often. Inc
trouble seems to be that there is an embankment-
the foundation Of an Old building or something OF
that sort-on the western side Of the horn which
stops the sound or rather throws II to The eastward
and go we have Mr. Walls at Beaver Tail to blow
a mouth horn and burn red fire for us in bad
weather.
This a. n. ] ran my usual twenty-three minutes
from Point Judith and then slowed In moment
or two beard Walls's horn and saw the flash OF
his red fire in the sky, although could not see the
fire itself on account Of the thickness Of the fog
We brought the sound of the horn well abeam. aud
then hauled up for Bonnet Point The run across
20 at ha
about mile wide, and we always intend to 50
through about midway In thick weather We
watch for the echo of our whistle from
the Bonnet Point bluffs. | have always
been afraid of Bonnet Point. Ii is a
bad place and ought to have had q light and a bell
years ago. | always give it u little wider berth
than need TO. Our course from Beaver Tail to
Bonnet Point Is north One-half eat. THIS morning
| ran my regular SIX minutes and listened for the
echo. | told the man at the wheel to let her go
north five-eglths east an eighth of point further
to tho eastward than usual. so to be sure to
clear the Point. Suddenly the echo came back sharp
and plain, and | saw the loom cf the land 1t the
! same moment. ! instantly ordered Hard aport,
and while the wheel was being pat over we struck.
Ifit had been high tide we should have gono along
all right but the tide was ebb and nearly low
wafer: or il we had been three rods further to the
!
We struck "A single lone rock, and the heave OF
tie sra forced Us mp further and further on II, while
at the same time the tide was dropping. We were
hard and fast almost in an instant, and such pound
! ing you never saw. within five minutes told
the pilot TO blow the whistle and upon trying the
line he found the pipe had gone; il had bTOSen 80
! soon by the pounding. The smoke stack; came
down and the hog frame broke within the first hall
! hoar. | cannot tcl for my life how we came so
f,r to the westward. Ihavc been IN here hundreds
! Of times and know the way like my own back yard
| I did exactiy what | have done before and have
aly-ays done. When | started on the siX-mnuie
| coufsc from Beaver Tail heard Mas's
| horn a cam and supposed from the sound thai
/ was the usual distance from the sAore thlo Is the
ONLY explanation that can think ol we must have
! been mi-led by the sound into thinking ourselves
further to the eastward than We really were. This
is probably tho wioa taug "a nut shell, rs iar as
/ ANYBODY knows anything about it. Judging by ali
our usual s.ors we supposed wo were IN our usual
| course: hadn't the f4in,est doubJ Of it until Jaw
/ the loom of Bonnet Point 30 close to
ne. II isnt matter OF any officers
! rop,lt; | vas in the pi.Ot-hoaie m,stl
and dong exactly what l have always done.
/ AM fairly beat can't understand u. came our
through Hell Cato LIST night IN a thth .oE as 1
! ever saw, and brought my ye~>"i tnfoaBh th2l
crooked place ~ comfortable rs could be and then
! 10 he picked NJ iillp this IN this straight channel
and under such circumstances, dong an t'1l men
| could do. AID Just what and only what we always
did; can't bear to think OF #. The best boat III
the Sound. too; cgrr."1 more freight, burn,d lcs'
| coal and went dong faster when We asked her 10,
| than any Of them, and then TO end here; and on
what was to have been her last tIip OF thr season
! my first accident tool can't bear to look around
| ON Ter. Well, ! suppose it had TO como my turn
some time. bnt if the ship IS gone Pve lost no lives
! with her. Every man. woman and child went
! ashore with scarcely wet foot. There's great
satisfaction i'm that The passengers gave Us credit
| for good behavior while they were here. don't
! know how they will give 1t to the papers III the
! morning.