The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1880-06-16
An Appalling Accident.
FATAL STEAMBOAT COLLISION IN
LONG ISLAND SOUND.

FATAL STEAMBOAT COLLISION IN
LONG ISLAND SOUND.
The Work of Water and Flamcs-Tht
Steamer Narragansett Sunk and
Many Lives LOst-A Scene Of COnfl'
sion and Horror.
New York, Tune l2.-Thc steamer .Ndrrd.
gunscU, whic! left New York lnst evening iol
StoningStun, and the &Oninyi0n. which l4lt
S%t0ningtun tor New York, collidrd OF the Con-
~necticut River about Ills last night. Tho
.Nol9ugunScH took fire and sunk shortly alter
wards.
June l2.-Thc S;1ningfOi ar
rived here about $50 this morning with about
fifty of the survivors OF the .NdrT"DdnScU
The bow of the former struck the -lnITdDuh-
set three feet aft OF the stern, cutting, hcr
down nearly TO the water line. Inc shock
burst the gas tank, and in fifteen minutes the
~.NarvdgonScU was on fire. She sank IN lnur
| ftthunnS OF water. The steamers CHy N NctO
York and Providence came to her assistance,
and all the boats and life RATS OF the lnilr
steamers were lowered and put III service.
Two hours elapsed before the l;sl passenger
was picked up. most of whom were trans.
TERED to TIC city Of .NcC York. On the arriFa!
at Stonin@tOn the village was aroused, anu
men and women FASTENED with clothing ana
assistance. Twenty-Five women were on
board in their night clothes, once of whom
! died before reaching here from the shock.
One man. the Rev. +. b. Lockwood, OF thehssl
street Methodist Church, New York, also dled.
He WAS on his first trip east. No estimate can
be made of the loss of life; one account says
surviving passengers from the Ill lalcd N4'T".
UduSCX all agree that out of Il passenger llSt Oh
more than three hundred, II large number
must have been lost, as the water around me
burning steamer was alive win struggling
people c~linging 10 the RATS ana every con-
ccivahlc thing. 1t is feared most OF INC pas
s~.., Chat I.nrn n, tln hnpthS hollow Inc
main dcci; did not have time 20 save them
selves.
incidents Of the Accident--An Allan
Ia Lady Saved but her Two Chill
dren Lost-.A Grand Picture of Pa
rental Lovc-.A Grandnothcr's Sac
rifice.
NEW York, June l2-P. M.-Mr. and Mrs.
Frederick Stiison, CT Atlanta, Ga. were on
their way East with their " little children.
1t appears they took passage ON inc ili.n.ted
the children. who were LOCKED up in the state
room, were for the moment forgotten, ana IL
Is supposed thut both babies were burned be-
fore any assistance could be obtained, ana the
poor mother. when she realized her loss, was
i'm a paruXySm Of grief. AN Old lady, MarSil-
ret Muir, of Brooklyn, about sixty years OF
age, WAS picked Up while floating III the water,
holding high above her heriniant gr;tndchild,
fifteen months Old. \ boy named Charlie
Case. about - years old, residing In Jersey
City, who with his father was on the way, TO
f;oStOn on the -Na'Tdgunsc1. was placed by ms
father on Il lifc-raft. with the assurance that
the lad would be taken care OF by him. .Aiter
q lons and severe struggle the father disap-
pearcd under the water. soon after the boy,
entirely destitute OF clothing. was hrouSnl on
board the city, Of New York. Several boys
from the United States steamer Tennessee,
who were passengers on the Nu'TdgunSeH.
were very active in organizing TIE crew or
49,, un.l IN din 4 ~ "a mo
panic. Nmong the saved are Mrs. Fred still
son. of Atlanta, W. l.. Dresser and J. Smith,
Of Tennessee: 1t is stated that none of lhe
Her captain estimates the lumber OF pasScn-
gers leaving New York at 800.
Ono OF the SadlcSt events connected with
the horrible calamity Is the case OF Mrs. A. 7.
Dix, of Brooklyn, wife of \. i. Din. broker, OF
the firm Of Dix &Phyfc. Mrs. Dix was on the
Nuyyu1unScn with her three children and
nurse. All were lost but Mrs. Dix herself.
They were all helped into n life boat after the
collision but the boat was capsiZed. Mrs. Dix.
her nurse, baby, little boy and girl chung to
the boat, but it was turned over in some way
three times and Mrs. Dix saw her baby, her
nurse, and her little boy and girl washed
away. She aud another lady were the only
ones left In tho boat.
a Survivors, Story of the Accidcnt--
The Estimated Number Of tho Lost.
HuSroS. June l2.-According to the story Of
Cornelius Henry, of this city, there must
have been n great many lives lost. He says
that at the time the Nd1TaQrnScH, In which he
took passage rom New York, left that city
there were Drtwccn 800 and i01 passengers on
board that at that time all the bcrthS ana
Stat.rooins were engaged. ii was very iogGy,
aud most of the pass myers had retired. Il
think that with the RECEPTION OF the officers
| was the only one Oh the .NaITuyunScH thai
WAS NJ and saw the StOnit0fOn when she
struck us. We were running at II pretty fair
rate OF speed at tic time, MS WAS also the Ston-
s--t,, ia, - .l..l. nc Il IliflSIlIE INV mo S1lr-
board side, and raked us clear TO the wheel.
The force of the collision caused the -Sura-
UrnStH to list heavily to port, and in less than
five minutes she went down :s far as the main
deck and grounded. Shortly after that l raw
Il sheet Of flame shoot up out cl the engine
room, and in less time than | can describe II
the entire ship was on fire. IN II nlon!cnt
SAW what had happened. / rushed for the
hurricane ucck and tried to cast loose a life
raft which was there, but was unsuccessful.
| then slid down to the saloon deck and tried
to loose another life raft but was again uli.
successful. Hy this time the fire had gained
such roadway I hardly knew what to do. |
saw Il life raft i;ualins on the water short
distance from the steamer anu jumped over
board and began ~addi!nG i"r ~, wnci u siIori
distance from the rait / became pretty we'll
exhausted, and had ii not been for Il line
which had becu left towing behind l would
have most ussurcdly hccn rownea.
The Arrival Of the Suryivors.-Heurt-
rendlng Scenes on the Pier and on
S%hlpboard.
NEW YORK, June l2.-1hc CtN 1f Nc'c 1Ori,
brought to her pie: in this city about lIl sur
yivorS. \ great crowd OF ANXIOUS friends aud
relatives OF the passengers had assembled on
the wharf. In the cabin, in the saloon, on
) the decks of the C!t.y q N"'O lO.k ald Oh The
o steamboat PIERS the scenes were OF thr most
heart rcnding character. Woi.irn who lihd
/ lost children and husbands were weeping biz
,rrly, and spine OF The Harm who had been In
the water for liUI;lS lad scarcely enough
strength 10 sit up. Little girls and little boys
were crying and looking fOr their parents.
scarcely asurvivor WAS clad in u complete
suit OF clothes; men Md women, young ana
| old. were wrapped In Blankets or had single
articles of apparel which their kind fellow
uas.clIgcrS on board The city Of -NcW York had
, loaned them. Now Il husband who had learn
ed that his vile Or sister had arrived on the
CVy NJ NcW York and had been saved, would
arrive and the two Sorrnwful persons would
be united. Then II woman would rush out OF
tie statcrOoln, and closely scrulinizins a
young boy who happened 10 he crossing the
deck, would say: "Ah. that looked like my
boy" Many Of the passengers left the boat
soon after its arrival and Went. clad III blank
cts with no shoes and no hats, TO buy cloth.
Ing.
THE CONTEMPT OF COURT.