Daily Kennebec journal., 1894-11-29
MARINE DISASTERS.
Boothbay Schooner Sunk at
Boston--Six Lives Lost.
Cut Down by Steamer Reading She
Sinks in Two Minutes.
Other Vessels Ashore and Disabled Along the
Bleak Atlantic Coast.

Boston, Nov. 2S.-A colllSiOn Occurfeu 1
early Wednesday morning, at the entrance
TO Boston harbor, by which the fishing
schooner Oracle H. Benson was sunk and
six of her crew drowned.
The Benson arrived at Boston, Tuesday,
with a full fare of fish, and after dispos-
ing of this she left here about midnight,
Tuesday, for Provincetown. She was
proceeding out of the channel with fair
wind and when about midway between
Boston light and Bug light, the Philadel-
phia 4 Reading steamer Reading, with
barge Suffolk in tow from Philadelphia,
loomed up before her. and i'll endcavoring
to tack across the steamers bow to avoid
a collision, the steamer struck her on the
port side, just abaft the main rigging, and
she filled and sank in about two minutes.
The Reading Immediately stopped, lowered
a boat and went to the assistance OF the
crew of the sunken vessel. She succeeded
in picing up seven of them who were cling
ing to the wreckage from the vessel The
tugboat Wesley A. Cove, Capt Tom Par
ker. was following in the wake of the
Reading with the large four-masted
schooner Catherine ID. Perry in tow.
Captain Parker anchored the schooner
hurried to the assistance of the crew of the
ing to one of the mastheads We're taken
aboard, and they informed Captain Par
ker that one of the crew had drifted off on
the booby hatch and another on "A trawl
buoy. The Cove went in search Of them,
and quite distance outside of Boston
light rescued the man from the booby
hatch Soon after the trawl buoy was
found but the man had become exhausted
and sunk.
-Four of the crew We're asleep in their
hunks AT the time of the collision and
went down with the vessel. Another
member of the crew was knocked over
board by the force of the collision and
drowned.
Capt. John Harvender of the Benson
saws that the steamer showed no inclina
ton to slow down before the collision oc
Cured, and it was in an effort to get out
of the way that his schooner was struck.
Capt Beed of the Reading says that he
was coming up at moderate rate of speed
and claims that the collision was unavoid-
able. The Benson was of 80 tons and be
longed in Provincetown, Mass. She was
built in Boothbay, Me.
The names of the men who We're drowned
are: Edward Harvcnder, 10 years, a
"a, native of Dgby, n. s; John Rink,
aged 40, single; William Newcomb, aged
%. single; Fred Bonner aged 20, single.
a native of St Peters, n. =. and August,
Gast name unknown), a Portuguese, single,
aged %, all of whom have resided i'll
Provincetown for several years.
The names of those who We're saved are
Capt. John p. Harvcndcr Elijah Rogers.
nf hn tni N
George Forest, Manuel .Jacia and Antoine
Alexander. Portuguese, Joe Mcdds, Loot
II. small Harry Denclly, Manuel Rink,
a brother of John Rink who was drowned,
Joe Butler and Charles Foss.
Foss jumped upon the steamers deck
and rendered great assistance to the crew
of the steamer, launching their boat and
rescung the schooncr's crew. The man
rescued from the booby hatch which was
floating out to sea was Butler. The Ben
son was valued at about $1,000; the insur-
ance amounts to but $50
They We're nearly all Portuguese. The
sunken schooner was left in the middle of
the channel between Boston light and
Bug light, heading eastward, with her
topmast out of the water.
Schooner Ben H ur of Bath, Lewis, from
to port, this afternoon, with the loss of
bowsprit and jibboom. She was picked
up by tug William H. Gallison in Broad
sound this morning, where she was an
chored with her colors in the rigging for
assistance Capt. Lewis states that dur
ing the northwesterly gale, this morning,
the vessel had tusslc with the sea in
Massachusetts bay. The bobstay parted
and shortly after the bowsprit snapped OFF,
carrying away the jibboom and hcadgear.
The four masted schooner Maria O'Becl,
Newport News. Va, for this port, with
cargo of coal, is the vessel stranded, yes
terdy, on Handkerchief shoals. She was
pulled off by tug. She sustained no scri-
GUS damage, though she is leaking some.
A collision occurred, this morning,
between the Boston Tow Boat Co 5 tug
William Sprague and the government
tug Resolute. Both vessels were beached
to prevent sinking The cause of the
collision is unknown. No one was hurt.