The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-01-25
ST. PAUL ASHORE.
The Great American Line
Steamer Fast in the Sand
off Long Branch.
WENT AsTRAY IN THE FOG
Passengers in no Danger But
the Vessel Very Diff
cult to Float.
HEAVY SEA RUNNING
Mishap Occurred at High Water
Tugs to the Rescue May
Lighter the Cargo.
HEAVY SEA RUNNING

NEW YORK. jan 25. 1S96-The Ameri-
can line steamship St. Paul ran ashore
in the fog off Long Branch shortly after
midnight. Signals sent up from the YES
sci attracted the attention of the life
saving patrol of the Long Branch life
saving station.
The patrol at once gave the alarm, and
the entire force of life savers at the sta
tion hurried down to the beach. The great
hull of the vessel could be seen looming
up indistinctly on the outer bar, just off
the Hotel Brighton.
A heavy sea was running, and the long
ground swell rolling UP all along the Jer-
sey coast was so powerful that the life
savers decided that it would be impracti-
cable to launch their big lifeboat until the
sea went down to some extent.
Preparations were at once begun for
opening direct communication with, the
vessel. however. The life line apparatus
was hauled down to the edge of the water
and a shot with light line attached was
fired out into the fog. where the dim out
line of the vessel could be barely dis
tinguished.
The first shot from the little howitzer
went directly across the decks of the big
ship. The men on board hauled in the
line hand over hand until they had dragged
the end of hauser to the line by the
life savers. on board the ship.
The hawser was made fact at a consid-
cradle height above the water and upon
the signal from the ship that all was made
fast. the life savers sent out the breeches
buoy to the vessel
The big fog whistles of the St Paul had
been kept going ar intervals during the
night. Shortly before she went ashore
the fog was so dense that the whistles
were kept going almost continually.
The noise naturally had the effect of
keeping the passengers awake. and many
OF them were on deck when the vessel
styurk ti15 bar. She had been kept go-
ing at low rate of speed and the shock
when she grounded was a comparatively
gentle one.
Immediately after she struck the passen-
gers were all summoned to the deck.w
they were notified of the accident and were
told ihat the vessel was in no danger. The
rigging of the breeches buoy was carried
on in the forward part of the vessel. out
of the sight of the passengers, who were
not Informed of the work of the life savers
until the hawser was made fast and the
breeches buoy was ready to carry pas
sengers.
All those On board were then informed
that they might go ashore if they chose.
but the fact that they would be in no dan
ger by remaining on board was again
emphasized
All of the passengers decided to remain
on board in preference to taking chances
with the breeches buoy
AS quickly as possible after the apparatus
was in working order. a message was sent
ashore from the ship, to be telegraphed to
the agents of the American line in New
York. notifying them of the accident
Another message was sent to the Mer-
Iitt and Chapman wrecking companies.
asking that powerful tugs be despatched
at once to the assistance of the steamship.
Owing to the light shock with which She
had struck. her officers thought that with
slight assistance she might be pulled off
in case the tugs reached the spot before
the big hull of the vessel had time to work
its way down into the sand of the bar.
The st. Pauls own engines mad, of
course. been reversed as soon as the yes
sci ran on the bar. but their efforts to
drag the ship back were unavailing.
The life savers had sent messages up
and down the Jersey coast to the neigh
boring life-saving stations as soon as
they had established the identity of the
big steamship
The crews at Seabright and Monmouth
Beach were the first to arrive to assist the
Long Branch life savers.
At daylight this morning the news that
Q big steamship was ashore had spread
for miles along the coast, and the beach
was lined with crowds of curious lockers
At that time the wind was light,
blowing from southwesterly direction.
The wind was blowing off shore, and
consequently was not calculated to in
crease the size of the big rollers that
came in from the sea and broke with ter
rifle force on the bar.
The life savers were still afraid to ven
ture out into the surf with their life
boats at that hour, but they had their
boats down at the waters edge and dress
ed in cork jackets and oilskins, stood in
readiness to launch a surf boat as soon
as the sea should so down little.
The point at which the St. Paul struck
is opposite the point known as East End,
which lies between Long Branch proper
and New Long Branch. This point is
almost directly opposite the Brighton
Hotel
Messages passed constantly between
the vessel and the shore during the early
morning hours From these it was lsarn-
ed that the officer on duty on the steam
ship was unaware of the proximity of
the coast until after she struck.
The vessel was rolling heavily when
sha struck. The life savers said that at
the hour when she went aground the fog
was one Of the densest ever known on
the Jersey coast, and was SO thick that
it appeared to drown all sound at dis
I'M. g.
salts said. probably accounted for the
fact that the men on the lookout on board
had failed to hear the sound of the
breakers.
the Cunard liner Campania, was seen at
anchor at daylight this morning mile
below Long Branch. The LIE savers
said that. Judging from the position IN
which ske W<fs Anchored she must have