Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-07-30
sinking Of o Pleasure Yacht on the
Detroit River Several Lives Lost.

DErHoIT July g8
Yesterday morning Father Bleyen-
bergh, pastor the Roman Catholic Church OF
! the Holy Trinity, Of this city, started out 10
give his altar boys their regular excursion.
! They went on board the steam yacht Mamie,
and were taken to Monroe, Mich, On their
| return, while coming up the Detroit River,
| At about ten o'clock last night, at point just
below Grassy Island Lighthouse, the yacht
! was met by the steamer Garland, Of Detroit,
having on board the Moders Union and
| large party OF friends, and a collision took
place, the Garland literally running the steam
yacht down and almost running over her
There were twenty-four persons on board
the Mamie or these but eight we're saved,
the Others going down Ia the deep, swift
water with no hope OF finding The bodies yet
/ for days.
was near the wheel-house with the wheele-
man at the time and, on being interviewed
! by an bgcnbtg Neios reporter to-day refused
! TO talk
light, which he took 10 be an anchor-light,
and no red or green lights. When about
| fifty feet from the light he heard q whistle
| from the Mamie, answered It, aud backed the
| engines He called to Captain Horn TO help
on the wheel. He thinks the Mamie must
| have tried to cross his bow Boats we're low
| cred Immediately and life-preservers thrown
/ overheard. There was a great lack OF nerve
| and system in the matter OF rescuing, so far
]
An officer OF the Garland, or one appearing
! to be In authority, cursed those VINO were
| throwing over life-preseryers and made them
! stop It, but negro employe OF the boat
/ seemed to have more nerve than any one else
/ belonging to the boat and set the work OF
! putting over me-preservers agoing again.
| James Murtagh, an attache Of the Evening
| Nelos, and levelheaded, courageous young
| man, says he was on the Garland, sitting at
the bow, when the accident occurred He
/ says the Garland was running straight down
| the river on her course. The boats would
/ have passed, but the yacht suddenly, when
/ but a few feet from the Garland, put her
| wheel over and shot across the bow Of the
| Garland, was struck, and went down. There
/ was but moment to act, as the awful trag-
| edy was over In a moment of time, almost
! There were several instances Of individual
heroism Of those on board Of the Garland,
| conspicuous among them being that OF John
| Quirk, young moldeT, who dove from the
| boat and picked up two drowning boys.
The accident is the first Of the kind here
| In many years, and thrills the city with
| horror.
OF those on board the Mamie the following
were drowned; Mrs Fred. Martin, wife OF
engineer; Miss Mary Hahn, domestic Of the
| parochial school, Trinity Church; Miss Lizzie
Murphy, houeekeeper for Father Bleyenbergh;
| Thomas Kelly, sexton of the church; Jim
Kelly, organ-blower; Andrew Doran, boy
| who was invited 20 accompany the excursion;
| Thomas McLogan, another boy, missing,
doubtless lost; Frank Solan, John Howe, David
Barry John Donovan, Willie Cuddy, David
Cuddy, John Cosgrove, James Toomey Joseph
Monaghan, altar boys-ranging from eleven
TO fourteen years Of age.
Captain Hoffman, Engineer Martin, Father
Bleyenbergh, Miss Lizzie Dusseau, of Monroe,
and four others, were saved.
In an interview Father Bleyenbergh states
that just prior TO the collision most of the
boys we're in the cabin. He was sitting with
the older members of the party, and they
noticed the steamer coming down the river.
The Garland and the Fortune (another
steamer) seemed TO him not very far apart,
and coming very rapidly. 81 do not KNOW
he said, hardly dare assert It, and vet it
seemed to me'-and the father made a sig
ni6eant pause, as though he thought they were
racing. He went on to say that he did not
dream of the collision, In fact had just said
to Miss Dusseau, who was sitting beside him,
that It was picturesque and eXhilerat
ing sight to see the steamer pillow
through the water on such a bright moon
light night, when he saw the Garland sudden
ly loom up larger, and instantly divined with
horror that collision was imminent. The
Mamie whistled, and soon after the Garland
replied, but bore down directly on the fragile
yacht, crushing It as II It had been an egg
shell, fairly cutting 1t I'm two amidship At
the moment he had OWNED a collision was
unavoidable he had shouted to his friends and
children, "Come to the frontln "Come to the
frontp Some Of them did so. Miss Dusseau
followed him, and at the same time he felt the
x
a rope on the Garland. The young lady did
the same. somebody on board the steamer
pulled her aboard and he climbed the rope
he had hold Of unaided The four boys who
were saved crawled out OF the cabin windows
and threw themselves into the water. They
were picked up by the life-boat of the Gar
land, which was Immediately lowered: but
some who might have been saved were, he
fears, drowned by the swell or run down by
the Fortune, which plowed along very soon
after. This was not the fault of the Fortune,
as they seemed to suppose that the Garland
people, who hailed them In alarm and anxiety,
were cheering them. The father did not
know how the accident could have occurred
at all, as It was such brilliant moonlight that
the smallest object could be dscerned at ia
great distance.
Persons on the Garland claim that the
right-of-way belonged to her, as she was
going down stream and was larger boat. The
Mamie, they say, went straight toward the
Garland, signaling that che would pass to the
left by blast Of the whistle, TO which the Gar.
land responded. Neither apparently changed
its course until the Mamie was almost under
the bow of the Garland, when the pilot of
the Mamie threw his wheel over, and she
swung herself across the stream and pre-
sented a bFoadside to the Garland. In this
position the latter struck her squarely just
aft the pilot-house, crushing IN her side and
submerging her whole forward part. Be
fore they struck the Garland stopped her
engine, but did not reverse She was appar-
emily going at nearly her full rate Of speed at
the moment of the collision. When the two
vessels struck they lung together for a mo
ment or two and the pilot Of the Mamie and
one or two Of the passengers clambered on
board the Garland with assistance. The Gar
land then began to back, and the two vessels
separated. The Mamie drifted down the
stream, her forward part submerged or en-
tirely carried away, but her stern out of wa
ter She sank entirely out Of sight in about
ten minutes.
In addition to the names OF the lost already
sent, II is ascertained another boy named
John Grensel was also drowned.