Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-11-23
THE LOSS OF THE MANHATTAN.
Twenty Of Her Crew Probably Found a
Watery Grave.


1t was the three-masted schooner Van
Name that picked up Capt. Jennings and
fourteen of the crew of the Manhattan. The
Van Name took them to New London, where
the revenue cutter Dexter met the schooner
and took off the shipwrecked men. The fol-
lowing are the names of the crew who were
rescued by the Van Name: Captain n. Fl. Jen-
nings, First Officer Charles Davis, Second
Officer Orlof Nelson, Steward Joseph Garcia,
Qnartermaster Fred Olson, Oiler Henry Volt
lander, Seamen Andrew Anderson. John
Nelson, Henry walling and Thomas Pritchard,
Officers Messmate James Bamm, VIM. Sharp, a
waiter, and V. Gorris. cook. Chief Engineer
Hayden died on the Van Name from injuries
received in the collision. The Manhattan had
on board cargo of merchandise. The vessels
crew numbered thirty-two. She also carried
three steerage passengers. The names of only
a few of the crew are known by the Old
Dominion people. The manager of the COM
pany said that the vessels on his line exchange
crews at the end of each trip, and 1t was I'M
possible to state which of the employees of the
company were on board the Manhattan
The Manhattan was valued at $4,000 and
there was no insurance on her.
CAPT. JENNINGS STORY.
Capt. Jennings speaks very strongly about
the action of the officers of the schooner which
collided with the Manhattan in abandoning
them. According to the story told by Capt
Jennings the Manhattan was bound from New
York for West Point. Va. Wednesday morning
at o'clock, when off Fenwick Island light, on
the coast of Maryland, she was run into by an
unknown four masted schooner. The Manhat-
tan began to fill rapidly and the captain gave
orders to have the boats lowered. Four had
been manned when the steamer sank. Those
who remained of the crew managed to cling to
life raft but were separated from the small
boats during the night. They have not yet
been heard from and are thought to be lost.
The sea was very rough Thursday, and it was
only by the hardest work that the boats were
kept together. In the morning the Van Name
hove III sight and the men in the boats raised a
great shout. Capt Jennings says that when
the Manhattan and the unknown schooner
came together man jumped from the latter
on to the steamer, but Immediately after dis
appeared without saying word to any one
He may be with the rest of the crew on the life
raft.
WHAT THE CAPTAIN OF THE SCHOONER SAYS
The schooner Agnes Manning, Capt Birdsall,
is supposed to have been'the vessel with which
the Manhattan was in collision. She arrived at
Philadelphia Thursday in tow of a tug boat
with her bowsprit and jib-boom smashed and
her stern started. She was leaking badly and
reported a seaman, known only as Ham. as
missing. Captain Birdsall reported that he was
run INTO early Wednesday morning by an I'M
known steamer. which went about without ell
deavoring to ascertain the extent of the schoon-
er's injuries.
The morning was a little hazy, but bright
enough to see some distance ahead, and the
collision Captain Birdsall claims, was due to
negligence of those or board the steamer.
Captain Birdsall had all the customary lights
burning. and showed light forward when he
saw the steamer approaching. She paid no at
tention to the shouts of Captain Birdsalls men,
but ran into the schooner nearly at full speed
Then she went on without stopping. At first it
was thought the schooner was going to SINK
but the constant use of the pumps kept her free
until the tug Ivanhoe got her in tow and brought
her into fresh water. She will have to discharge
her cargo for repairs.
The Manhattan was built by John Roach &
Sons, at Chester, for the Old Dominion steam
ship company and was launched i'll the fall of
1879 She was at once placed on the line be-
tween New York, Norfolk and Richmond, Va,
i'll which service she has been continued with
out interruption for the past ten years. She
was schooner-rigged iron propeller of /, l55
tons aud had an average speed Of twelve knots
an hour. She was 243 ieet long over all, thirty
five feet three inches in breadth of beam and
twenty feet in depth of hold. She was pro-
PEELED by pair of compound engines, which
took steam from two boilers at eighty-nine-
pounds pressure to the square inch.
Inc Mannattan lett new 1ork at $50 p. m. on
Wednesday last for West Point with three pas
sengers-Wm. Walker, Jas. G. Tobin, VIM.
Vaughn-and a crew OF thirty-two in all. She
carried a miscellaneous cargo, the value of
which is not known and which is small The
Manhattan is valued at S125,000 and was partly
insured. The officers of the Manhattan were
N. H. Jenney, captain; j. p. NJ Davis, first Off
Ger; Peter Nelson, second officer; c. F. Hayden
chief engineer; G. Charlton, first assistant en-
gineer ID. +. Slocum, second assistant engi-
neer; c. W. Cose, purser; j. Garcia, steward;
Mrs A Gray. SteMardeaS.