Bridgeton pioneer. (Bridgeton, N.J.) 1884-1919, 1896-04-02
SAILORS DROWNED.
Fairton all Excitement---After the Bodies
Friday Morning. The Wind Came
Upon the Schooner Suddenly
and the Boat Overturned.

Upon the Schooner Suddenly
and the Boat Overturned.
Thursday afternoon, at twenty minutes
of six O'Clock, squall struck the
schooner, "Mattie L. Ford,r as the vessel
was coming up the Cohansey and cap
sized the boat in the reach known as But
ter Cove, drowning two oystermen,
Newell Dutch and Frank Moore, of
Fairton.
The 'Mattie Ford" was in command of
Capt. Henry Wallen and was coming
from the oyster grounds in Maurice
River Cove to her moorings at Fairton,
to prepare for the planting season, which
opens on April 1st.
A PIONEER reporter went to Fairton
Friday morning and learned the following
particulars of thes sad accident from Capt.
Henry Wallen, who said:
1--WE were sailing along the Cohansey
and when we reached what is known as
Butter Cove, heavy squall struck us.
The vessel was sailing before the wind
and the squall came on SO sudden we had
no time to reef our sails.
"The vessel upset and Immediately
sank. The crew, consisting of myself
Frank Whitaker, George Wesley, New
ell Dutch and Frank Moore, were all on
deck. We were all thrown into the
water. All the men but myself luckily
came on top the sails and rigging. Twas
the only one under the sails, and my first
thought was well, they are all saved and
1 shall drown. By some superhuman
effort, I released myself, and climbed
on top.
"While 1 was under the sails, one of
the men, who was drowned, called out,
Where is our Captain?' I thought how
fortunate it was for them that
they should come on top. 1t looked
then as if we were all going to be saved,
but quicker than it takes to tell the story,
Dutch and Moore released their hold of
rigging and sank beneath the seething
waters of the Cohansey, and were seen
no more. They never rose from what
prved to be otheir watery grave.
The other two men and myself clung
to the rigging; half dead from exposure
and cold, when Captain Dayton Dare who
saw us upset, came to our assistance and
took us off, on his boat just about the
time we were almost gone. We were
given dry shirts and not being injured in
anyway we walked to our homes in
Fairton, about mile from where the ac-
cident occurred.
"We all stayed around the unfortunate
vessel until there was no hope of finding
the bodies of the men, and had to give up
the search.''
The saved men came to Fairion and
spread the news which cast gloom over
the quiet little village, and expressions OF
sympathy went out for the men and their
families
Newell Dutch was forty-four years old
and had been waterman all his life, go
ing coasting in his early period and for
the last three years oystering with
Captain Wallen. He leaves wife and
six children. Dutch had often said he
expected that he would be drowned in a
mill pond. He could not swim stroke.
Frank Moore was married and leaves a
wife and one child. He was thirty-two
years old and had been with Capt. Wal
len for five years. He was an excellent
swimmer, but this did not save his life.
On Friday groups of men and wo-
men were seen standing around the vii
liage talking over the sad event of Thurs
day.
Captain Wallen soon got together a
squad of oystermen and boarded the
"Richard Vaux" and set sail for the place
where the "Ford" was upset. The men
who willingly volunteered their services
for the sad mission were VIM. Bennett.
: Alpheus Camm, John Harris, E. Taylor,
J George Ross, Leonard Camm, Abram
Brown. VIM. Hustled, Samuel Westcott,
Ephraim Mulford, VIM. Allen, Thomas
Broadway, Frank Terrell, Robert Shep-
pard, Daniel Carman, NJ. Hustled, Leon
ard Swing, Capt. Henry Wallen.
The PIONEER reporter started with this
crew, but such slow headway was made
he left the boat before it reached the Co
hansey.
Another boat load of men was organ
lied and started out on the s'Hannah
milford" among them were Albert
Davis, Eli Davis, Mahlon Mulford, VIM.
Taylor, Richard Robinson and others.
The wind on Friday was blowing q
gale from the northwest and it was with
great difficulty that the boats were gotten
out the small creek which runs from the
Cohansey to Fairton. 1t was pull and tug
on the lines. The men worked like
beavers and their hands were encased in
ice from the water freezing on them of
the lines. It was nextto impossible for
the men to even stand on the decks OF
the boats, so great gale was then blow
ing.
1t is the intention of the men to first
grapple for the bodies of the men after
which an attempt will be made to raise
the boat.
1t is indeed an awful errand the men
are on, and it is scarcely probable that
:. they will find the men. 1t is thought that