The Sunday morning news., 1891-09-27
SOUTH JERSEY CITIES
A Bunch Of Cottages and
Sign Posts Make a
Municipality
There.
! STEAMBOAT MANS MIsHAP.
Rapid and Luxurious Travelling
Over the Sands Of Atlantic
and Cape May.
Special to TIE Jerssn citu VEINS.


cities which dot the New Jersey
coast from Sandy Hook to Poiut Pleas
ant, the seaside resorts OF the Son uthern
strip Of the shore from Atlantic City to
Cape May seem commonplace and ordi-
nary. Barnegat Inlet seems to be a divid-
ing line Of people as we'll as coast ALI
north Of this New York predominates
The people have the air, the restless en-
ergy and cosmopolitan polish of the
great Metropolis, while all south of the
inlet reflects the sleepy provincialism Of
the Quaker City. Atlantic City, although
one Of the largest places along the entIr 9
coast, is small when compared with Long
Branch or Ocean Grove and Asbury Park
True it has boardwalk which sur
passes the Asbury ParK walk, and It has
more merry -go-rounds. more stores aud
fakirs along the beach, but it has gem
eraI air OF disreputable slouchiness which
attains even in its most aristocratic uar-
ter. It's streets end at the beach in sand
heaps. No apparent effort is made to
keep them tidy and they have the gem
eral appearance OF an attempt TO put
decent clothes upon street arab.
l started the other day TO go from At
Iantic City to Sea Isle City, a distance as
the crow flies OF eighteen miles. In an
nour Of guilelessness listened to ma
tive who sang to me Of the beauties of
the trip along the coast via the Camden
and Atlantic Railroad, and made up my
mind TO 20 that way. went to the sta
tion to take the half past nine trail
which in my North jersey simplicity
reasoned would get me TO
Sea Isle City at least about
half past ten. Ny fa.tn m the south
Jersey mans idea of the beauties Of travel
experienced a powerful wrench when
instead of the luxuriant Pennsylvania
coaches had expected to see. as the
Camden and Atlantic is under the con-
troll of that road, a wheezg little dummy
attached to three stuffy little cars backed
up and was told that that was the train
for Sea Isle City.
AN AcCoMMoDATINGLY SLOW TRAIN.
got aboard the train and or It started
at about the same rate President Bonn's
cable cars climb tine hill from the Ho-
boken ferry. The road ran very close TO
the beach and for some distance the pas
sengers have an interrupted view OF the
ocean. Then comes . row Of sand hills
and the dummy train stops with much
creaking and shaking, and the breakman
informs you In a stage whisper that you
have arrived at South Atlantlc City. All
that you can see OF South Atlantic City
from the cars Is a small hotel and large
building containing merry Go-round- q
bar and several tables. A south Jersey
man told me that there was more of
South Atlantic City benind the sand hills
but have to be skeptical of what South
Jerseyuaan says
From South Atlantic the dummy strug-
gled through few miles OF sand bills
and scrub oak and then arrived at Long
port where the conductor informed the
passengers going beyond that they would
have to take the boat to Ocean City.
When | left the car locked carefully
which lay before me, for the boat
There was no wind stirring and the sur
face of the bay was as smooth as the con
ventionaI glass. Several schooners and
pleasure crafts lay idly about with all
sails set waiting for a breeze. The only
boat that was moving was a fussy little
tug which was steaming up to the pier
II there was any buildings in Longport
beside the sned which covered the COM
bined steamboat landing and depot,
refreshment booth and couple of bath
ing houses, did not see them.
THERE 1T IS"
Seeing no boat. | asked the station
master when 1t would leave. He pointed
at the little tug and said, There 1t is; it
will leave right away"
| went aboard the tug. 1t was clean,
but not commodious. There were plenty
OIL ScalS AOUaEQ ZOE kl6 OIuilaEy IE4Ncit
was told, but as the travel that morning
was extraordinarily heavy, eight or ten
of the thirty passengers aboard had to
stand up or sit as | did, on a box.
The most picturesque thing about the
tug was a sad-eyed young man in spec-
tacles, who was composite deck hand,
mate and purser. He wore blue uni
form with brass buttons and naval cap
with wide bands of tarnisbed gilt
lace. Notwithstanding all this warlike
array the young man looked more like
Methodist exhorter than an old salt.
The remainder OF the crew consisted of
a captain, who steered the boat and
looked every inch an old salt, and an en-
gineer, who sat cross-legged like tailor
in small corner of the cramped space
allotted to his engine, and made fancy
racks out of cigar boxes when he was not
handling the valves.
As the tug steamed across Great Egg
Harbor for Somers Points it passed q
schooner and asked for a tow. The
schooner threw line to the tug, which
WAS caught by the sad-eyed young man.
who proceeded to make 1t fast to the
stanchion at the stern of the tug. While
he was thus engaged the Captain started
the tug. which had been lying still while
these proceedings were going on. The
hawser stiffened out like an iron bar.
There was short tearing sound and the
line glidcd from the stanchion. and. slap
ping the young man directly in the
mouth, slipped into the water.
THE TUG WENT RIGHT ON.
The tug went right on. The sad-eyed
young man began to expectorate blood
and broken teeth, while the men on the
schooner swore in lively fashion. The
sad-eyed young man came forward aud
began to growl at the captain. The old
salt paid no attention to him until he de-
clared that for two pins he'd make some
one pay for "them broken teeth," when
the captain disdainfully ordered him to
shut up. with the remark
EFF yer knew ez much abeout steam
boatin' ez yer do about digg'u u CLAIMS. yer
wonIdn't er got hurted.
This qnieted the sad eyed young man,
and adjusting his spectacles, he started
In to collect the tickets. This he did
with a peculiar accompaniment He
would take up three or four tickets and
then retire TO the pilot house, which was
arranged for few passengers. and
there ring up the number of
the tickets he had collected on an old
fashioned dial. The tug ran down along
the narrow strip of sand which divides
the ocean from the harbor. Soon the iu-
let from the ocem was seen with its chan
mel between twd nigh walls of tumbling
surf that made you shudder at the
thought of having to sail through it.
From that point tho tug changed its
courss and ran 5ver to Somers' Point,
where il laid up t. wait for d train. The