New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1897-02-02

Yard, where she will be locked for repairs. On
account Of the river current at the yard. bar
has formed where the receiving ship Richmond Is
anchored This bar Is too shallow to let the
Brooklyn into the dock in her present condition,
but a dredge will be Immediately pu, to work to
open channel. The ice boats owned by the city
Of Philadelphia will be utilized to make a pas
sage through the ice, and effort will be spared
to get the Brooklyn into dock Tomorrow. II alb
solutely necessary, her heavy guns will be taken
off. 1t is estimated that the vessel can be made
ready for again in about two weeks. In the
mean time, court of inquiry will be held at the
League Island Navy Yard. meeting in few
days
CAPTAIN COOKS REPORT.
Secretary Herbert has received the following
official report from Captain Cook:
L. S; S: Brooklyn Marcus Hook. Delaware County.
81 feIn, January 80, 1891
was dangerously beset by ice: / had been quite
were getting heavier and heay!eT Tponn T reeevins
the throttle valve chamber board yesterday noon,
pcsen Sef to the 's e s apo
consultation with tapIain sarsent Of Cramps.
yard. aeciced at once 70 recommend to Commo.
and by tugs should G so to cra%p s soea
possible. Commodore Howell approved of my
and p of h Tsd s e to w R ns
through The ice to Cramps yard anc moor me there
No. to break the &c around the ship and in the
Three tugs arrived near the ship between and 10
a; m. The fourth tug was wedged in the ice az the
s The
e Sod f the MINT n 6ore hsas o%
stream weighed anchor and with our own en- en-
Zee tried in vain to turn the ship Finding could
not do So my best resources seemed to pe 70 make
e e e and apparently intelligent man said
hs s o W acs oe s and he the e eI p
and thus be rsnSy to 60 on ,b s tide y dS Sssa
course . determined to CO. having previously called
second pilot from one OF me tugboats 70 Keep
iaf sasi' MA co ed BENG ZIP
'sss sson 1s h ss ns %
h The ps Of % es and sss wa:
suranse such from the pilot The nayIgating ON;
Ger. Lieutenant McCrea, and myself also keeping
e al Of Ike sse
II was soon reported to me that the double bottom
we apE FUN Of aakng through the
manhoe plates and ryets IN some places y into bss ss
readily pumped OUT and kept rss and one tia.
o ons l' r,erested in the ship her welfare and her
From al that ss st astsn, sR from
neglect Of precaptoa or Judgment on my part rs.
insists he had G! got the 1 hest ss
Recent bissting al this ledge which understand
h h BEFORE Ses1 sGnf the or" chnnSe the time
this ledge The tide had DROPPED not more man one
marks on the stone ice-piers. where we are now
mSpred Marcus nny Hook ., Tern =. soon as the river
ss Of rs and 4s permit Sg r ito the hsa doe" o''
request court Of inquiry TO investigate ana
repI%r' COOK Csptai.i L. ~. Commanding.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT OF THE ACCIDENT
Chester. Penn. Feb. 1.-The cruiser Brooklyn
Is still lying n. Marcus Hook. tied fore ana
aft to the ice piers. and will not be moved until
there is absolutely danger from the huge
cakes Of ice which fill the Delaware River from
shore TO shore There is plenty Of water under
the ships bottom where she lies. and she Is
about $50 feet from shore. To-day one OF the
boats was rugged with runners. and attached
10 a rope and tackle. and was used IN trans
ferring the crew u and from the shore over the
ice No visitors were allowed on board
When the cruiser struck Schooner Ledge she
was running about eight knots hour. and
her machinery wa working perfectly. she was
in charge Of Captain Wall, OF the tug Church.
man. and Captain Bennett OF the tug Juno.
The customary course vas observed, and the
spar buoys which mark the ledge were plainly
visible through the pack ice. A city iceboat
preceded
two tugs At 1:45 o'clock there was tre-
mendous shock which was felt from stem to
stern Of the ship. The shock was so severe
that one of the men in the engine room who
was in STOPPING position was thrown down;
the ship raised at least foot, but did not stop.
The rock which she struck ground along her
bottom half her length. She struck well for.
ward near the pilot-house. There was mo.
mentary confusion but three minutes afterwlrd
everything was In order. and there was no indi-
ca ton OF an accident except in a slight settling
OF the bows OF the ship In three minutes water
spurted from the sounding holes left open. but
Immediately after the shock the valves con-
Meeting with the water compartments in the
double bottom went up: indicating that the
water was rushing into the double bottom COM
partments The caps On the open sounding
holes were screwed into place. the bilge water
was pumped out. and the cruiser proceeded TO
Marcus Hook at the same speed as before the
accident. and safely came 10 an anchorage
While II Is not known definitely how many
holes she has in her bot: Dm i'll thought that
there are at least three and probably she Ia
ripped half her length, as there is water IN
nearly all the water-tight compartments. The
false bottom is about four feet deep, the Sec
tions running crosswise CT the cruiser. and vary.
ing in width There IS no doubt that but for
the double bottom the BROOKLYN might have
partially filled, at least. She is perfectly safe.
however. the inner she'll not having been punct-
ured by the rock
will be the subject Of an Investigation by the
Naval Board. II IL ia found that the cruiser
struck one OF the powders lying the ledge that
were lodged there during the blasting OF the rock
at the lower end. this would clear the pilots Of
all blame The cruiser draws about ri feet ana
the upper end OF the ledge at flood tide Is from
q to % feet under water Schooner Ledge is
short dlstence below Chester and Is about 700
feet long and 300 feet wide. The upper end II
dark granite and the lower end is OF Illinois
rock Since 1850 several contracts have been
awarded To blast the rock. and feet have been
taken off the upper end. Operations are now 60
ing on to blast the lower end. 1t is thought that
either the powders have been rolled upon the
ledge by the suction Of passing vessels or thrown
up by the blasting. The ledge has proved treach-
erous to number of steam and sailing vessels
the American Line steamer Illinois, among