Evening star., 1895-08-20
Sad Drowning Of Miss Bursley
WhilA ep an Excursion.
DELAY IN LaFERING TEE LIFE BOAT
Lack Of System Alleged by Wit
nessesrof the Affair.
BODY NOT RECOv ERED

BGrsley, the daughter of Lemuel b. Burs-
ley Of the pension office. fell overheard and
was drowned. The parents and brother
and sister of the unfortunate girl were on
the boat. All had enjoyed themselves dur
ing the ride and Miss Bursley was in hap
py spirits all day.
On the way up the two young ladies and
! several of their friends had seats on the
starboard side of the second deck, near the
rail, in front Of the wheel. The other MEM
bers of the family were seated some dis
tance away.
The stories Of the accident conflict. One
| is that Miss Bursley sat part of the time
on the rail, and that she vas requested by
her friends not to be SO careless. Two Ia
dies noticing her sitting on the rail told
her she was courting danger and warned
moment later she seemed to grow dizzy
and reel. She let her handkerchief fall,
and second later, with faint cry, fell
over the rail into the rushing waters below
Some said the young lady was sick from
the motion of the boat and was obliged to
lean over the rail. Her sister shrieked in
alarm and the passengers rushed to the
spot. Capt. Blake was found and ordered
the boat to stop. The lifeboat was slow in
getting into the water, and passengers
state that probably twenty minutes elapsed
between the accident and the lowering of
believed the young lady was struck by a
paddle wheel and sank at once.
The Leary came up and threw its search
light over the waters, but nothing was
seen. The two steamers waited half an
hour, searching all around the place where
Miss Bursley fell overheard, but in vain.
Mr.. and Mrs Burslay were overcome by
the shock. and Capt. Blake took them and
the weeping brother and sister to his
stateroom. where they stayed until the
steamer reached Washington.
The story started that 1t was a case of
suicide, but of that there was absolutely
no sign or proof, and the father of the
young lady said he could not believe 1t was
anything but an accident.
Some of the passengers were emphatic in
their belief that the life boat had not been
| lowered as quickly as it should have been.
and a good deal of censure was visited
upon the management of the steamer.
Capt Blake heard the statements and
| called the post office clerks who had given
the excursion into the cabin, and explained
to them that the engines could not have
been stopped sooner than they We're. and
could be. The captain, who has been a
seaman all his life. was quite overcome by
the accident. He said that he had done all
that he could do to rescue the unfortunate
girl.
Mr.. Croxgon's Version of the Accident
Mr.. ]. G. Croggon Of the city post office
was an eyewitness of the accident. To a
Star reporter today he related the affair as
follows:
Il was sitting with the ladies of my fam
lily near the young lady who fell overheard.
on the starboard side of the boat In front
of the paddleboS, l had noticed her for
several moments, before she disappeared
over the side of the boat. She was sitting
| on the rail. a little girl being on the seat
below her. Miss Bursley seemed to be
restless. and once she got down from the
rail and sat beside her sister. Then she
resumed her former position on the rail.
She had handkerchief in her hand. which
fluttered overheard. In another second she
| went backward off the rail. 1 did not hear
her make cry as she disappeared. The
little girl who had been with her fled to
another part of the boat, and the ladies
who saw the accident gave the alarm by
screaming. The place where Miss Bursley
sat was directly in front Of the paddle
wheel, and 1t was sheer drop to the water
below. She just seemed to topple over, and
probably did not have time to utter a word.
When she first sat on the rail she was lean
ing her back against post. It has been
suggested that when she got on the rail a
second time she leaned back for the post
| and missed it,
Delay in Lowering the Life B0at.
The accounts of a number Of people make
| it four or five minutes from the time the
alarm was given until the steamer was
stopped and a still longer time until a
young lady. AS the steamer was running
at rapid rate, they say probably a mile
was covered before the boats headway
was checked.
Mr.. F. l.. White of 600 Florida avenue
witnessed the operation Of lowering the
small boat, and he criticises the steamboat
management very severely for the lack Of
discipline and system observed in this op-
Grafton. Mr.. White Is a sailor. and for
eighteen years has followed the sea, in
both ho nd he ms
chant service.
Il think it was fully fifteen or eighteen
minutes from the time the alarm was
given until the boat was lowered" he said
to to Star reporter today. ''The boats are
carried on the hurricane deck and are
swung into the water by davits. These
boats, however, were lashed over with tar
paulin to keep out the rain and were tied
! securely to the deck OF course it took
time to unlash one of them and lower it
away, even after crew had been sum
moned for it. AS tie boat was lowered /
was standing on the saloon deck, aft Of the
wheel, and as the boat came down l saw
that one of the chocks was attached to its
| bottom. You know, the beat rests on two
| heavy blocks of wood with V-shaped
| slot cut in them. and one Of these had
been moved since 1t was painted. I un-
| loosened the chock and that took at least
another minute, the boat hanging by the
davitS meantime.
."Then, when the boat reached the water,
| it was found that the plug in the bottom
was out and the boat was taking water
| through the hole. Another minute of valu-
able time was lost In hunting around for
| the plug Two colored men and a white
| man were sent away with the small boat.
'"The river boats when they leave the
| wharf with a crowd Of excursionists should
swing q Afeboat cover the side, with the
| boat falls cleared away ready for lower
Ing. There are mpdern appliances for low
erirg lifehoats. 80 that they can get into
| the water within one minute, the steamers
headway Makingi no difference A portion
of the crew should be stationed near one
| of these boats to man it when called upon.
Last night one of the colored walters who
hand around lemonade was put to work
helping get out that boat"
The Lazy i'm the Case.
Under the laws Of the United States, river
steamers are required to discipline the
crew to act promptly in cases Of disaster.
Section 44D5 Of The Revised Statutes. re-
lating to the steamboat inspection service,
provides as, follows:
upon ravigablef rivers the captains Of all
passenger steamers of thirty net tons and
over shall be required to maintain a strict
discipline, and to organize the officers and
permanent crew SO as to act with prompt
ress in case of fire or other disaster; and
the captain shall cause to be prepared at
least two station bills assigning the officers