New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-02-04
NOT A STEAMSHIP DISASTER.
MUCH ALARM ABOUT THE CATALONIA.

kinsviIle S. l., about 2 p. m. yesterday:
The pIlot-boat Charles II. Marshall, which arrived
about $3.50 a. M she saw large three masted steamer
snpposed be NAH steamer on fire on the East Bank
sistancc but could render them none. the boat being
! fast In an ice foe
The report naturally caused good deal of excite
ment at the office. In response for further partcu-
| lars, the following dspatch was received:
The pilot boat Marshall here and reports that
large mail steamer blew off Couey Island Point about
4 a. IN. At the time 10 was very thick, ana the Ooa,
being stuck foe, could render no assstance al
though they could hear the peoples loud cries for nep
Pilot says they could just see the outline OF the steamer
as fla gared Shortly after they passed the
tughoat Talaman going TO assistance P1lOtbOat boys
they think the steamer must have 9owh mp ana tnen
| took fire. They say the story Is reliable
w. o. Lewis the Superintendent Of the Ship
News Department of the Associated Press, although
giving little credence to the report, at once made
careful inquiries all directions. lie telegraphed
| TO Quarantine to Sandy Hook and TO all
available points, but could find nothing to suDstan-
| tiate the story. Vessels had been coming and
going through the Narrows since the time Of the
reported disaster and Mr. Lewis concluded that the
Story was a hoax.
1t was learned that the revenue cutter William E
Chandler, which moors at the Barge Office, had
hauled the Marshall out OF the ice in the morning.
| Captain Bradley, the pilot Of the cutter said
to TRIBUNE reporter: We were alongside
the MARSHALL half an hour and took her
men on the cutter Neither tho ship-keeper nor
any of the said anything about such disaster.
| II they saw anything of the kind 1t was probably
the dirt scows, whose lights often blaze up and
look like ship on fire. Then, too. the Italians OH
board were making an unearthly IabOer, which was
mistaken for cries of help"
About 3 p. m. another telegram came from Tomp-
kinsville stating that the pilot of the bark Fair
! h,, i,ct hna nrpd AT he
can Docks reported that he outside the Hook
the wreck OF IA steamer, the first letter of whose
name was G., and that il thought TO
he the CATALONIA, Of the Cuuard Line. At
9 p. IN. thei operator at the American Docks,
John Hegarty, came 10 this city anu corToboratrd
his telegram. lie said thtt the special police
officer at rompLnsville Peter G. Deylln, had been
his informant AMI that the latter hai got his news
from the ship-kccper OF the Marshall Hcgarty and
Drvln had gone board the pilot boat, and there
the ship-kc,per had restated his story, asserting
that the Ialisman hal gone to the stca ners aid.
Two other men OF the pilot-boat corrohorated the
account. Hcgarty said that he know all these men
and that they evidently believed heir story.
III. pilot of the tugboat Talisman which was
moorcd at the Atlantic Docks Brooklyn, sand that
be had gone to the assistance Of steamer AMI he
| conld not imagine what the men on the Marshall
| mraut.
The CATALONIA has been duo since Thursday, but
! at the Curari office no news of any disaster had
been received. The Sandy Hook telegraph opera or
| lnl sent wor 10 the ship News Office at a m that
! n steamer bearing hrhs Ike the Catalonia had
passed tho point. Im, subsequently proved to Do
| the Fr.ia. rom Copenhagen. .
! ~ Last River, on board tho strcct-ccaumg Scow
Brown No. g. John HaskiO he captain of In" craft.
| Ia-ko told the following story Of his duties AS
cGw6Gaga and when ce. %'y head 8c0G Gg the S' po
boat men reached our stak'-boat
! last night at l. O'Clock, wirn tow OF thirteen
! -eows loaded with street dirt. The sakr-bOai lies
jnsf inside Of Concy land Point, between that
place aud Fort Hamilton, and about one mile from
! he East Bank. Thr .cows lay m cluster about
the sakr-oGat. 4 itle after o'clock this morning
! tn steamer which was to tow out 10 arrived
! with 100 aliaus on board We dld not sec at that
fiu, nor attctw I'D, any large ste amer the East
! Bank. II a steamer hnd been on IRE thrr We would
unduub ediy nave seen IT, although th IT, was con-
| sid, rabc fog co., the water. By $50 the lalans
wer, on hoarI the scowS, ten or fifteen If them TO
! each era T. ard had lighted bIg bOnhrrs on the top
oi zach d,rt-pilc "A, they arr accustomed To do TO
| keep themselves warm tlIl they begin To dump the
-coWs. hey gather around tho fires and sing
dance and yell SO that they can be Aearl Tor miles
| o a sill night. This they did ~ usual last night.
The fires could have been seen ami III Crts heard
| far out beyond Conry Island Point. We l'tt the
stak--bOpt 10 dump the scows m sea about o'clock
| A TRIBUNE reporter last night chlnhercd over the
! slippery decks OF ave pIl0t-D0ats thtt were ail-
| chor-d together at the American Docks, aud after
descending steep gangway found hlm-
self m the narrow carln OF pl ot
! boat No g. the NlldIlcr II. M'INuAlls y ulu<b
tern shed feeble glare over m cooking stoS @,
coils Of tarrrd rope, BITS Of sall blocks and tackle
and other furniture OF II like nature that usually
| completes The Outht OF pllOt-DOat As he
was cautiously picking his way through
| the stun that Uttered the floor q
small man with Il dark monstache and IN hiS {
sleeves emerged from a CTevlCe somewhere ana de-
manLcd the reporters business. lho Nlsit0r soon
| explained hls eirlnd - .
| "Oh, yes" said the man. am Edward Pat-
ridge the ship-keepcr, and gave MI Deylln
| The report. hey don't seem inclined % believe
it around here, but suppose know steamer when
! see IT." ~,
The man filed his pipe, iii 1t and between the
puis oi smoke told the story OF what he had seen.
"Ii wus just alter4 o clock thI- morning and our
! boat lay hard and fast in an cc-toe 'out u mile
! from No toms Point on the west bank of COney
Island. | was deck with John Brothcrton,one Of
the crew. first saw light on the port s1ei 10 10
the southeast, and distant about mile. What
made me look III that direction was the continual
! blowing of tug. The weather at the tlno was
| as thick mush. BrOtherion and looked AT
the light we made out the hull OF large vessel.
| The lgst first broke out nmidshIps then
It showed up in her bow then in hersern and after
| that there were three lights amdshlpS at once We
| made up our mind It was a steamer on fire. We
c0uid she bad three maSts ami We Thought IL
was a mail steamer. We could hear people cunning
Sopt' Kept sou sounding ding its whistle. We could
not go to the steamers assistance because
tine ice held us hard aud fast. Tho tide gradually
earned ms up INTO h Narrows. Tn last we saw of
! the big steamer she wrapped In cloud "i
smoke. the tug 0y bor side was stu whlstllhg lnu
| big tug, which made out to be the lahsman was
! bearing down through the log To her assistance,
! line steamer Farlday ran agrouni on NJ
day on the western edge OF the S0nth-
west Spit. At the time the loi-boatnen
assert thcy the mysterious steamer al.e, ,Wo
Tugs were STRIVING 10 pull he faraday INTO deep
waer. She sent up many signal llghIs ana the Tugs
kept up a constant wui,tlhg. Older b"atmen than
| Pdlridge cay that he had Just walked from deep
sleep, had lost hls reckoning" and sighting the
Faraday, got hls ideas completely demorahzrd'
PuiliD Winters, bJat-ke,per Ol pl0t-Ooat NO.
20, tile edward Cooper said last night
! that he was about two miles astern
! OF the Marshall night before last. lie saw
none OF tho hres referred TO- but nc h1u seen tho
! du,nrin1 ,cows with bonires burning upon them.
lie had heard no cries of any kind and had seen no
! signals and he believed that tho wnoe story mad
! grown out of the dumping fires aud the shouts OF