The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1883-11-21
GRAPHING IN THE RIVER,
A FEW MEMS PECULIAR ooCUPA-
TIoN IN NEW YORK.
Searching for Articles that Have
sunk Hene th the Waters Marine
midnight Spectcrs.

Searching for Articles that Have
Sunk Rene tin the Waters Marine
mtdnight spectcrs.
Standing on the Battery sea-wall at
night person frequently sees dancing
on the water far out, perhaps off Bedloes
island, mysterious light. 1t seems like
will-o'-the-wisp fitting from place to
place, and still moving in a circle. To a
stranger its movements are a mystery
but 1hould he ask one of the Battery
boatmen what it is the boatman would
half contemptuously reply; "Why,
that's n grappler." Should the boat
with the mysterious light be boarded it
would be found that its stern is fitted
with q windlass and roller, block and
fall, a chain, graphing irons and rope
Two men generally work together They
are the wreckers of the river.
The life of these men is peculiar and
by no means pleasant one. The very
nature of their business almost compels
them to work at night, when the river is
clear from tugs, steamers and sailing
craft, and they are exposed continually
to the extremes of weather. To-day
they strike it rich and tomorrow they are
penniless. Some of them are of q saving
disposition, but almost all of them are
utterly improvident. Their life, strange
as it may seem, is more intimately CON
nected with romance than that of any
other class of men whose avocation is
connected with the harbor. The Battery
boatmen have their freight of interesting
story, but they never carry such freight
as the ghastly burden which the grapper
fishes up from the silent water in the
dead of night, or the family secret he
raises from the concealing river to the
broad light of day.
The instinct of these men is something
wonderful. They know the strength of
every current, the exact formation and
character of every shoal, and, more than
all, they know the exact location Of every
pocket" or hole, into which sub
merged object will float and settle
The best grappler on the river front is
Robert Peach, better known as "Peach-
es." He keeps an oyster stand in Coen-
ties slip to occupy his time when not
upon the river. His touch, or rather his
sense of feeling, is marvellous. 1t can
only be compared to the mysterious affin-
ity by which an expert telegraph operator
can know who is at the other end of the
line without asking his name. Young
DIR. Janeway, after his return from
Europe, dropped two rings off his hand
while leaning over the side of the revenue
cutter at the Barge office. He valued
them highly, as they were presents, and
engaged Peach. Peach said: "Don't be
uneasy. l know Just where they are. y
AT the first trial he drew up one of the
rings, and said: doctor, if can't get
the other one this time you might as well
consider it lost" He found the second
ring at the second trial, and DR.. Janeway
made him handsome present.
Peach himself rarely speaks about his
exploits, but once in while, when his
memory is stirred up, he loses his reserve
and talks freely. In conversation with
the Ne,eS reporter he said:
"About fifteen years ago a young lady
ran away from her home in Cincinnati.
1t was said that it was n case of step
mother, but l don't think so, for the
fathers wife felt real bad, and don't you
make any mistake about that. The
father and wife traced her to this city,
and all the detective force was searching
the hotels and lodging houses. The sec
ond night after l was off Governors
Island dragging just where you see that
spile in Buttermilk channel / struck
something and knew l had a find.
hauled in, and when she came up above
the water was hit so hard that l let her
fall in again before took her in the boat.
God had been merciful to her, and the
eels and rock crabs had not fastened on
her face. Her parents took her home to
bury her and got hundred dollars"
But the great majority of the wreckers
or grapplers are No by any means so
honest. A sea captain loses a five-hun-
dred-dollar anchor or "A chain cable. One
of these men demands 500 to find it, If
the captain refuses, but says he will pay
$40 per day until the anchor is found,
the wrecker accepts. He first locates the
anchor, and then goes down to the spot
at night and hauls it to a place half a
mile away, where he lets it drop. At the
end of month he goes to the captain,
tells him he has found it, brings it
ashore, and collects $500. But leaving
their dishonesty in some respects out of
consideration the wreckers are an extraor-
dinary set of men. .-NeD York Ne,cS.