Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-06-25
TERRIBLE CALAMITY.

aOund---A scene Of the wildcat Con
Hundred Passengers Lost,
The New York Tines gives tho following par
ticulara Of the terrible dianster which occurred
,n Long Island Sound on the night Of the ilthi
| on with her sister ship Naragansett, Of the
3toninRtOn Line, between ii 8l and IL o'clock on
| Friday might, on Long. Island Sound, near, by
| Oonheld Light, which is about one hundred
milea distant from this city The Narraqansett
began 70 sink, but caught fire almost immedi-
stely and was burned 70 the waters edge. The
damage 10 the Stonington il not very great,
| There were about 800 or 800 passengers on board
pf the Narragansett. OF these di2 are positively
| known to have been saved, leaving troD thirty
| 10 eighty TO be accounted for.
In explanation of the uncertainty as to the
number Of lives lost IL may be said that no oom-
| pete list Is kept of the passengers on board one
| of this class of vessels, An imperfect list is
usually made out containing the names Of those
| who have hired state-roOms and euoh a list was
made out of those on board the Inflated Maria
gansett. According to the statement of the Pur-
ser, however, this list went, down with the ship,
and there was kind of helpless, hopeless igno-
| rance shown bylthe steamship cUmpany's officers
| yesterday which forbade and frustrated inquiry
a. 70 exact data. II seems the collision occurred
| while thick heavy fog oyerhung the Sound, but
| the testimony seems to be overwhelming that
| the governmental regulations for blowing fog
whistles were violated and to this violation the
/ disaster is attributed. An official inquiry is
| however to be made.
The steamer Narragansett of the Providence
and Stonington Steamship Line, sailed from her
pier, It the foot Of jay Street, North River FRI
| day afternoon at 49, o'clock. having on board,
b Cp YoSSas who ooi Ss
| out on this occasion for the first time. IL was
pleasant evening, and everything gave promise
] of prosperous voyage 70 Stuningtgn, where the
passengers were to be transferred TO cars for
Providence and Boston. Upon entering the
| Sound a gentle swell was encountered, but
there was NO sign Of rough weather, and the
! passengera thrOnged the saloon, and Chatted to-
! gether, full Of life and animation. Darkness
| settled down upon the waters and most Cf the
passengers retired to their state-roOms or berths
! to enjoy good nights rest. About fifty, who
had neither stateroSms nor berths, settled them
/ selves TO sleep as best they could on the sofas
! and easy chairs which were strewn about the
| riChly-furniBhed saloon, and very few fingered
at about 10 o'clock and there was no moon.
| There was not a soul on board the fRted steam
| er that was troubled with any presentment of
| the terrible calamity which was drawing near.
! The fOg-whistle was blown at intervals the
| Narragansett plunged ON her way through the
water, and this with the splashing of the wheels
| and the grOaning of the massive engine, was the
| only noise which disturbed the stiffness. The
| whistle was not blown as often as it should have
been, or the sudden breakng-up of this pleasant
ly-begun voyage would never have occurred
! Suddenly, just before midnight, when the
| steamer was of COrnheld Light, opposite Clinton
and Madison, Conn.,, and GreenpOrt, Long Island,
within seventeen miles, or two hours sail, OF
BtOningtOn, and one hundred miles from New
York, there was crash, the lights of the saloon
/ suddenly went out, and the air was filed with
the screams of frightened men and women. In
| a moment vast volumes of scalding steam passed
VnTOugn Lue CABIN. ana Ltle pace IeaOuuueu with
the, cries OF officers and men giving orders and
| calling for aid. For brief season nobody knew
what had happened. but those on deck saw dim
| ly huge hulk locked fast to the NarTugansett,
and the cry went out that there had been a cOlli-
sion. The StOningtOn, of the same line, bound
from Stonington to New York, had crushed
through the Narragansett, her bow sticking in
the port side, just forward of the wheel-hOuse.
Several of the Narragansetts passengers were
struck by the Stonington, and three state-rOoms
were carried completely away in the collision.
The Stonington backed out as soon as possible,
having lost her bowsprit and about three feet of
her stem.
The panic which followed this rude awakening
of the passengers on the NarTagRnsett was terri
BILE. Men, women and children jumped from
their beds and rushed shrielSing from their state
rooms and berths, some in their night-clothes
and none completely dressed. They filled the
darkensd saloon and pushed and iostled each
other in their frantic efforts to get upon the
deck. The officers seem to have lost their heads
completely, and with the exception of the Purs-
er, John Herman, not one of them, from the ac-
counts of the passengers, seems TO have done
anything to stop the panic. Kiernan reasoned
with the frantic men and women who surround
ed him, but he might as well have talked to the
winds. Lights were finally procured, and then
the passengers fought for chairs, mattresses.
life-preseTvers and every article which could
possibly aid to toat them. There were heroic
men in that struggling mass of terrified human
beings, and there were, too cowardly creatures
who took advantage of the weakness of women
and children to save their own worthless lives.
In the confusion and terror of the moment hus-
bands were separated from wives and children
TO grasp the life which was fitting from them.
Some weaker than the others tainted away, some
prayed and some rallied, while all shrieked wildly
In the midst of the tumult the Narragansett
was discovered TO be on fire. The bow of the
Stonington had penetrated the boiler of the
other boat the burning Goals of the furnace had
been scattered on the oiled woodwork of the
steamer and now TO the fear of death by drown
ing was added horrors of a death by burning.
This increased the panic and rush was made
for the boats But there were no officers at their
posts to ship them and the passengers cut them
adrift and piled into them like sheep. The first
to reach the water was Overcrowded and swamped
but the Others were put adri # with their pre-
cious cargo. The steamer was settling, the heat
from the fire was growing too severe to be borne,
and men, women and children plunged into the
dark waters with chairs, mattresses, plarks and
whatever else they could lay their hands on. One
mother had left her babies in her stateroOfn and
the fire and smoke fought her back she at
tempted 70 rescue them, so that she was Obliged
to leave them TO perish in the flames. Another
jumped with her babe into the water already
filled with struggling men and women and the
lttie one was wrenched from her grasp and
sucked beneath the waters. The incidents of
that terrible night are full of suffering and
agony to scores of human beings.
While these terrible scenes were being enact
ed on the Narragausett, the officers of the Ston-
ington seemed to have lost their heads COM
plletely. The passengers after being assured of
their own safety, the fear of which for time
filled them with terror, urged the officers to
send boata to rescue the drowning passengers of
the Narragagsett; After long delay, the boats
were lowered and then it was found that there
were no plugs 70 stop the water-holes. To sup
ply these created another delay, and all the time
: the cries for help from the burning steamer and
from the black water were ringing in the night
air. The boats were finally rugged and manned,
but the men knew nothing of handling the oars,
: and the result was confusion and much loss of
invaluable time. Once at work. however, the
boats of the StOningtOn did well and rescued
many of the drowning men and women. The
men worked with a will, which made up in some
degree for their lack of discipline.
, But other and more effective aid was at hand
Captain Lamphear. of the City of New York
bound from New London to this city. sighted
, the burning steamer, and, like true sailor
, altered his course and bore down upon the
disabled vessel. The boats of the City of New
York were soon in the water, Otiicered and
manned by sailors who understood their work
and did it brayely. For an hour and hall
| the boats hOated around among the drowning
passengers, whose struggles in the water were
made visible, by, the light Of the burning
not given up so long as a head was to be seen ol
. a cry for help to be heard. Women were pulled
into the boats by the hair of their heads when
and d men Who Thought themseivss ss0 SSS STon1
: fell down apparently hfeless on the decks oi
J the Stouingten and City of New Yo-k after being
, rescued. Several persons who were taken on
board the StnningtOn died from sheer exhaus-
tion and fright, after having been in the watei
for nearly two hours The women exhibited in
I most cases heroigm and a calmness which il
Z not looked for in their SEX while the cowardiet
and the selhshness were reserved for the men tc
, practice Several instances of oowardly brutal
ity the part of men are given in che stories OF
the survivors of this night Of peril but ali agree
in the statement that the women proved them
selves veritable herOines.
, The steamer NarTagansett was burned 10 the
waters edge, and then the hull, with her entire
cargo sank in eight fAthoms of water. No aocu.
rate list OF her passengers was kept, and many
who sailed in her are not now known. IL is
therefore impossible TO estimate the exact loss
of life ocoasioned by this collision. OF the esti
mated number of passengers, about 800 the Citl
of New York brought to this city some $50
while the Stonington carried several to Stoning
! ton. y is hoped that not more than twenty-five