The evening herald. [volume] (Shenandoah, Pa.) 1891-1966, 1892-01-28
GIVEN UP FOR LOST
No Tidings of the Men Blown
Out to Sea.
HOPE OF RESCUE ABANDONED.
4 Possibility that Four of the Men May
Fave Been Saved.


New York street Cleaning Department
Were Carried Out to Sea- Widespread
Interest and sympathy Awakened by
the Disaster--Heroic Rescue of Fifty-two
NEW YoRK, Jan 2S-Only the vaguest
news of the 19 men aboard the tug
Webster and the four dumping scows
which drifted out to sea in the terrible
gale Tuesday morning has been received
up to this morning.
Their fate is still in doubt, although
it ispossible that two of the scows have
been rescued and will arrive in port to-
day. This, however, would account for
but four Of the missing 1S men
The steamship Stranton, Capt. Morri-
son, which arrived yesterday, brought
the first news of the missing boats The
Stranton left West Hartlepool on Jan 8,
and arrived at the bar at 6 p. m. Tues
day She remained outside, however,
until yesterday.
Capt Morrison reports that at $3.50 p.
m. Tuesday, four miles south of Long
Beach Hotel hef passed two patent
dumping scows and three miles further
south he saw tugboat apparently an
chored or unmanageable. He was una
BILE to extend assistance on account of
the storm.
AT . p. m. yesterday dispatch from
Rockaway Beach stated that a large tug
was visible off Rockaway, towing two
of the missing scows. They were covered
with ice, but apparently undamaged, 1t
is the general belief that the two scows
and tug are the ones seen by the Stranton
on the previous afternoon
On the other hand the Deassori, one of
the tugs sent out in search of the missing
boats, came back last night. Her cap
tain reported that he had been off Rock
away during the afternoon and had seen
nothing of the tug and scows. He was
sure he would have seen them had they
been there, and believed that the tug re-
ferred to in the Rockaway Beach dispatch
was his own. That theory however,
would not account for the statement that
the tug sighted had two scows in tow.
The most widespread interest and
sympathy were awakened yesterday by
the news of the disaster. People forgot
the cutting wind as they walked to their
places of business in thinking about the
poor fellows either dead or freezing and
starving on an angry sea-
The boats swept out to sea were the
tugboat Webster and Dumping scows 3,
o, 16 and II of the Barney dumping Com
pany. On these boats were eighteen men
employed in towing and working the
dumping scows in which the street clean
ing department carries the city refuse to
the open sea for dumping Ten of the
men were on the tugboat, and two were
on each of the four seows
The tug Webster has sufficient provis-
ion and water on board to last week,
but the men on the dumping boats had
not more than days supplies on board.
The tugs Edwin Webster and the H. S.
Nichols left the STRENGTHENING docks
early Tuesday morning, each with two
scows in tow. The Webster had boat
No 5, having on board two men
The Nichols towed boat No. 3, two
men, and boat No. 16, two men.
A quick run was made to the dumping
ground beyond Rockaway, and the self
bumpers were quickly unloaded, but
when the tugs started to return to this
city, the gale was so strong that slow
progress was made.
OFF Rockaway, about 9 a. M, the
Webster suddenly stopped, and in a mo-
with the ensign hoisted Union down as a
| signal of distress
The hawser had parted between the tug
and the dumping boats, and the tugs
propeller had apparently become en-
tangled with the hawser's end, which
the waves washed under her stern.
The Niehols's captain put in as near
| the Rockaway Beach as possible, and,
anchoring her scows inside the shoals,
| put out to the assistance of the Webster.
The high sea and wind, however, made
| it impossible for her to hold on to the
| hawser, which was gotten ON board the
| Webster and, getting short of water,
the Nichols put back to the city.
Meantime the Webster and boats and
| II had drifted out to sea.
The story of Captain Day, of the tug
| Runyan, which rescued the hfty-twO TIA
lians on the tugs of the Street Cleaning
Department aground in Gravesend Bay,
is as follows;
''When we got there we found the foui
scows aground, with ell the Italians
standing on dirt heaps Watching us
They waved their arms when they saw u.
coming We found we couldn't get near
them on account of the high seas, so W,
put out to schooner that had anchored
further down and borrowed a yawl Five
men We're put in the yawl and they roweC
out to the scows. We made thirteeT
trips, taking four of them every time
and some of them were so stiff that WI
had to lift them onto the tug. Our mel
got pretty stiff after rowing for half al
hour, and it was awful work. The Who'll,
job took us three hours. Some of th'
Italians said they had been out on tn,
refuse all night long. They looked it
You ought to have seen the way the!
fell too when we passed around some