Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-11-29
SUNK BY THE GALE.
Fearful Experience of Fifteen Barges on
Stormy Night.

Fearful experience OF Fifteen BargeS on q
Stormy Night
NEW YORK, Nov. 26.-One of the most
disastrous accidents which has ever oo
Cured to a towe of barges in the vicinity
of New York happened yesterday during
heavy gale in the lower bay. Out of
feet of fifteen barges twelve we're cap
sized and went to to the bottom with
their heavy cargoes, which consisted Of
coal. On nearly every barge there were
women and children. and although as yet
it is not known that any were lost it is
little short of miraculous that anybody
on board the lost boats escaped.
Capt. Vedder, of the A. @. Hannegan,
told the reporter thrilling story of the
disaster which befell them. 'We had
not been out twenty minutes" he said
"before I wished we hadn't come. Sew
eral of the captains of barges didn't
want to go, but Capt. Fagin, of the tug
Bordentown, insisted. The wind was
from the northwest, nearly north.
was on the front end of my barge, which
was in the second tier and right
behind the Florence Moore. I could
see the big seas sweeping over the barges
in front of me every minute. We seem
ed to jump six or eight feet out of water
at every bound, and every foot we ad-
vanced things got worse. All the women
and children were down in the cabin
asleep, and not dreaming that we were in
any danger.
"By about l O'Clock yesterday morn
ing we all saw chat ualess something was
done every boat would go down. Then
we commenced swinging lights and
shouting at the top of our voices for the
Bordentown to turn out and run back to
Bergen Point. After long
time she responded and things became
easier. If she had continued her course
and gone back to Bergen Point not a
boat would have been lost. Bnt just as
We were beginning to think we were ali
right again the Bordentown suddenly
swung her head back to the old course
and made straight for New York.
"In less than no time the Tillie Hughes
in front of me had ton after ton of water
dumped on her from the heavy sea.
Finally she plunged her nose right
down into the waves and dove straight
to the bottom. I knew then that
it was scramble for life.
rushed down into my cabin. My wife
was asleep and go was my 9year-old boy.
/ had them Oat in a moment and hurried
them on deck. All my wife was able to
put on over her night clothes was an old
wrapper. The boy had nothing on but
his night clothes.
"The first thing I saw when I got on
deck with them was the light of tug
weicn was heading straight for US. 1t
was very dark and the wind ripped and
tore about us so we had to cling with
our eyeiashes TO keep from bein g
drowned. Every minute or SO we got a
housing from the seas which were wash,
ing over US. The tug was soon alongside.
How 1 got my wife and child on board
her | hardly know. She was pitching
and jumping eight or ten feet out of the
water and the barge was not much stead
Ter. 1 stayed behind to try to save the
barge. I was afraid of the boats ahead
of me diving under and putting
me down with them SO I got an Ak
and was scrambling forward to cut the
lsshiDgs to the Florence Moore. At
that moment her stern shot ny in the air
and then disappeared beneath the waves,
As she went down the lashings to my
barge snapped or she would certainly
have dragged me down with her. The
captain and people on the Hughes, which
was the first to 60 down, had escaped to
the Moore and when the Moore was
.swaTnped they and the Moore's people
got to the Ocean sQueen.
"While this was going on the tug which
hadrescued my wife and child had been
been going from barge to barge taking
the people off. The women and children
all over the fleet we're now awake and on
deck and their shrieks and cries seemed
all around YOU as though hundreds of
people were STRUGGLING in the water in
every direction. The tug was soon
crowded with half dressed women and
children. This tug proved to be the
Willie, which had helped TO tow the
fleet from South Amboy to Bergen Point.
Her people had become uneasy at the
violence of the gale after we left the
Point and put out after Us. About the
time the first barge went down the Bor-
deHtown whistled for assistance and her
signals we're heard on board the Willie.
Had it not been for her the loss of life
would have been frightful."