The Sunday tatler and Jersey City express. (Jersey City, N.J.) 1883-1886, 1886-08-22
HURLED FROM AGANGW AY
Il SINGULAR FAYAL ACCIDENT TO
a E.ERRY BOAT

Sudden jolt HurIs Three Horses and a
Man from the Gangway Of the New
Brunswick Into the Riyer-The Man
and the Three Horses DrowHed.
The accident that occurred to the Pc
sylvania Rail Road ferry boat New Bru
wick yesterday morning was ons OF
most remarkable of river catastrophss.
The boat had left the slip, foot of Ex-
change Place, in this city, for Desbrosses
street at Tbs o'clock. She sailed across
the river without incident, and Pilot Long
street pointed her straight for the middle
of her slip on the New York side.
The gangwsy was reasonably full of
teams-an Adams Express wagon and
the baggage crate horsej in the van. AS the
boat bumped against the the bulkheads on
Patrick McNulty, the two gate hands, took
their positions at the torw ard gate Mad
den went on the outside so as to be ready
to spring to the bridge and fasten the boat
when sac touched. McNulty stood inside,
prepsre,l to slide the gates back when the
boat had been moored, to allow the pas
sengers TO pass off. A number OF men,
with their usual wont, were hurrying to
the front of the wagon gangway to be the
first off: but all, save one or two, drew
back when they observed that the boat
abated none of her speed as she approached
the bridge. The next instsnt the vessel
was brought to violent stand
still. She had struck plumb into the
place for which she was steering
but she Immediately rccoiled twenty feet
or more out into the river again. Every
horsei in the gangway was pitched suddenly
forward. The baggage crate rode up
against the heels of the grey horse in front
of it, and the heavy Adams Express wagon
was driven up against the handsome team
of bays that drew it. Wagons, teams and
all were hurled against the chain, stretched
from post to post across the gangway, and
both posts were snapped like pipe-stems.
The horses were forced right through the
Jared gate at the front of the boat, and
hung over the water at the edge of the
deck. The wagon had become entangled
in the gates, and the trappings of the horses
alone prevented them from falling into the
water The obstruction offered by the
gates was only temporary. They gave way,
and horses and wagon tumbled head-long
into the river. AS they flew out of the
kAuRWAy buFOuSn tAc SSAbcb bA0 uDlbE6
struck McNulty and knocked him over
board, and when they were dropped into
the river they fell upon him and carried
him to the bottom. Madden saved him.
self from going overheard by clinging to
the gates, but when they were swept away
he was thrown 10 the deck, and got badly
mixed up with the debris. He was consid-
erably cut and bruised, hut escaped serious
injury. An effort was made to fish Nc
Nulty out of the water; but he had prob
ably been stunned by the horses. and u TX,
unconscious, out Of view. His body was
not recovered. No tackle was at hand to
save the three horses--the grey freight
horse had gone over with the express
horses--and they were drowned. The
parcels IN the express wagon httered the
surface of the water. Some of them were
saved, and the wagon itself was afterwards
raised to the shore. The shriekiDg pas
sengers were tossed = all directions One
lady had her nose brok@1, and another sus-
tanned dangerous skull injury The boat
was subsequently made fast. and the
unhurt passengers, with the teams still on
board were landed. The damage done to
the boat was not serious, nor was the ferry
slip injured to any considerable extent.
John Madden, the deck hand, who was
thrown to the deck by the giving away of
the gates, was able to walk to his home, on
York St, Just above Van Worst. One of the
TATTLERs visited him yesterday afternoon.
He said he was standing at the gate when
the boat struck and recoiled. He was
pitched headlong to the deck, and a big.
fat fellow fell fiat ON him, Each picked
himself up and went his way. He was
little cut and somewhat strained, bat in
no danger.
VIM. d. Longstreet, the pilot of the
boat, lives in handsome brown stone res
idence on York street, opposite Van Worst
Park. He said that he gave the proper
signal to Engineer Relyea, bat that Relyea.
instead of backing water, drove the boat
forward.
81 have known the boat to make sud-
dener stops than that boat made this morn
ing over and over again, he added, sbut
NO accident happened, and was surprised
at the results of this mornings bump. |
think that il the posts to which the gang
way chains were fastened had been of
stout locust they would not have yielded
to thescrush of the wagons upon them, and
no accident would have occurred. But
they were only cast iron contrivances, and
broke the moment they were struck."
Pilot Longstreet has been for thirty
years in tie service of the company. He
says that he never had an accident of any
kind on his boat before.
McNulty, the drowned man, was about
80 years of age, single, and boarded with
Mrs Stiles, at 2S5 Bay street.
Captain Bloomsbury. the Superintendent
of the fesry, said to the TArTLER later g
the day that careful enquiry had been
made into the circumstances surrounding
the accident. ssThe statements we have
all tend to the conviction" said tbs Cap
tain" that, although he will not aimit It,
pilot Longstreet gave the wrong signal to
the engineer when he entered the slip.
He discovered his error at once, aud rang
the right bell, but it WAS too late then.
The accident was inevitable. We shall no.
discipline the pilot. It was an accident
that Is liable to hapocn TO any man. The
rumors of loss of other lives is not true
McNulty was the only man who suffered