Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1895-03-08
A TOTAL WRECK.
FurneSS Liner on Ledge
in Boston Harbor.
Cracked Open Amidships from
Deck to Keel.
Vessel Abandoned to the und erwIite:s
Cattle Saved.

in halves, with yawning gaps IN her sides, on
Slate Ledge, near buoy 3, in the Lower
Middle ground. Boston harbor, where she
ran ashore in a snow squull. The live stock
on board, consisting Of S3s sheep and Gas
cattle, have all been saved, with the eXcep-
ton Of twenty-five steers, scaldedto death
when the steam pipe burst The rest Of the
cargo, consisting OF 10000 bushels OF wheat,
20, 900 bags of flour and oatmeal, 5000 quar-
tiers of dressed beef, $50 tons OF provisions
and miscellaneous cargo, the whole OF
which is valued probably at 10000 has been
abandoned with the ship to the underwriters.
The catastrophe is attributed by Pilot Law
Ter To the displacement Of buoy 5. which he
claims was some 200 feet out Of position,
being dislodged by the heavy ice in the
harbor The Venetian lett her dock as
usual bound for London. She was COM
manded by Capt. r. &. harrington and Pilot
Lawler was in charge. At this time it
was showing hard, and the channel buoys
were picked up with difficulty. She was
working down the harbor at moderate speed
and buoy was at last sighting. when
Pilot Lawler came to look for buoy 3 he
thought it was bit out Of its place, but the
weather was 50 thick it was not possible to
gauge anything by the shore. 1t is supposed
to be safe to 60 close to buoy, but he gave it
80 feet.
4 fishing schooner hove in sight at q most
unfortunate moment and while he was hold
ing up the steamer struck. The shock was so
great that men Oh the deck were thrown face
down. The main steam pipe burst and two
of the frcmen Isaac DOwell and George
Hodges, We're severely scaded. The air was
filled with steam and cinders but above all
the confusion could be heard the distressed
bellowings of some % head of cattle that
were amidships and which were sealded to
dputh a. they stood In their DpnS,
1t was believed that she could be pulled OIL
all right If lightened. The idea of her pre-
carious position did not seem to strike those
in charge and the bare possibility Of her
breaking her back or "hogging' as she after
wards did was never thought OF. The tide
was already on the ebb and it was imposst-
bic to see at first just how much water she
was making. A second catastrophe came
The salormen were down below trying to
get bIt to eat and the deck for time was
deserted. 1t did not come suddenly. First
there was an ominOus crack throughout
the ship and then an almost mOmomentary
wait Those below came bounding
up halt thinking, half doubling, half
fearing she was slipping from the
rocky tooth that gripped her And while
they were on deck she began to open up.
There was ripping, tearing screeching
sound. Plates were torn from plates, while
Dolls anu DuMhthS sun tlIcti llpli lil'il iluA'o
with the strain. BOoms and stays parted in
mid air the great red smokestack heaved up.
and ali the time the frightened cattle were
believing, the forward and after parts OF the
ship were passing away.
1t all did not last longer than two or three
minutes. but when il was over the ship was
broken apart as fairly as If it had been done
with chiscl ana saw. She had broken just
for'ard OF the smOkestack and the deck was
opened straight across with crack that
varied from four to eight inches in width.
The sides of the ship were broken along the
lines of her plates ina nearly dovetailed man
ner. and the gap there was foot or more in
width, When the ship was easy again. her
deck line rescmbled an inverted bow With
the breaking of the ship, the water gained
full control There were few cOmpart-
ments that had been free from water. but
the great straining had warped them into
uselessness and the food spread in a djrec-
tions The men realized that the break sig
niiled that the Venetian had made her last
VOYAGE, and the steamer had become a mere
scrap heap to all intents and purposes. There
was, too, the fear that the breaking was only
the beginning of the end, and that the ship
itself might careen at any moment
The question naturally on everybody lips
was How did the accident happen? Pilot
Lawler was in charge and naturally the
blame falls on him. There were many
who expressed genuine words OF sor-
row at the unfortunate end OF his take out
the first to which any trouble had ever come
during his 81 years as pilot. He says him
self in explanation "Buoy s was out OF posi-
ton. I should say it was 200 feet, out of its
proper place. or to the n. E., driven there
suppose by the ice pack. To that fact
alone do | attribute the grounding. The
weather WAS very thick when we came down,
but picked up the other buoys all right, and
then No 8. | worked down towards it, and II
it had been in its proper place | would have
been in the channel. but, instead of that, the
channel must have been loot or so south OF
us. That is the whole story" Mr.. Lawler is
one of the hest known men along the water
front. and captain and part owner of the
pilot boat Hesper. He is about 45 years OF
age. He neither drinks nor smokes so moth
ing on the former score can be laid against
him. He will doubtless be suspended pend
ing hearing before the pilot commissioners,
who are empowered to act in this matter.
Capt. Harrington refused to have anything
to say about the wreck, though he feels very
blue on the loss of his ship. According to
American maritime law, the captain Is free
from all responsibility while the pilot is in
charge; but in England and on British ships
il is different the captain being subject to
censure, if nothing worse, in similar case.
The captain has made IA round voyages in
command of this steamer, and is himself one
of the ablest and most careful navigators in
the Furness service. The Venetian was built
in 1882 for the Leyland line and especially
for the trade between Boston and Liverpool
and afterwards was chartered by the Furness
line.
The Venetian is an iron vessel, fitted with
4 masts, has decks, and registers 4,055 tons
gross. 1872 net. She was built by Palmers
Company of Newcastle, Eng, in 1892, fol
Frederick Leyland q Co. Limited) and halls
from Liverpool. Herdimensions are: Length
| 423 feet, inches; Al feet breadth of beam
and 80 feet depth of hold. She originally cost
about $300 900, but allowing for depreciation
in vessel property the vessel today was wortt
about 100000. She is insured for two-third'
of her value in one of the English steamship
insurance clubs. The cargo was worth about
S250 600