The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-19
TWOSPOUTSAT ROCKAWAY
nj TEARS UP BROAD CHANNEL,
THE OTHER ALONG THE COAST.

THE OIHBh ALUM THE COAS1.
She First Upsets . Boat and browns n Fisher
man, Just Misses y Hotel, and Breaks on
tho Railroad Trestio-A Train Racks Out
OF DanEer-scoond Spout Not 60 Fierce.
RocKAwAY BEAcH, Aug. 1s.-About noon to-
day the sky became darkly overcast and a short
but heavy rainstorm onsued. The wind was
then coming from tho southeast, but lightly.
Tho temperature fell several degrees after the
raiustorm.
About 3 o'clock q dead calm fell over the bay.
Tho sky became black, and, although early In
the afternoon, 1t appeared like twilight. Mr..
James Wainwright Of the Seaside Hotel and q
number Of guests on the porch, who were
watching tho gathering storm, saw .
watcrspout OF Seaside travelling from
tho west. 1t was then small in size, but
Increasing in volume. Directly above II, hang
Ing low in the sky, was q big black elliptioal
sucking up the water.
As It passed Seaside the spout assumed i'm.
mcnse proportions and tho roar Of its onward
rush sounded like the continuous roll Of thun-
der. II took what 10 known as tho Broad
Channel" which winds in O tortuous
course In n northeasterly direction across
the bay. Half a mile from Seaside ts Hollands.
The channel carried the spout. still accompanied
by the inky black cloud, some distance OF shore.
AS it proceeded it took on speed, and won't rip
ping through tho waters at q fearful rate ON
toward Hammels.
At Hammel dock q crowd was watching its
course. 1t had grown now to q height Of seventy
five feet or more, and rose In o white column of
even width. As the spout proceeded the
column rose and the usually placid
waters Of tho bay became like those
OF tho ocean. choppy with white-capped
waves. A fisherman was out in the marshes of
Hammcl's dock. He was not within an eighth
OF y milo Of tho rushing spout, but the water
about him rolled and rocked and capsized his
fiat. bottomed boat. The boat was recovered
a%fterward, but the mans body was not found.
Luck was with all boatmen and pleasure seek
ers excepting him. The storm of the morning
had driven all the small sloops, catboats, and
rowboats that usually crowd the bay to anchor.
so that only one thing stood in the way Of the
vast body OF water. That was the trestle of tho
Long Island Railroad.
1t is four miles long. and stretches over the
bay from Hammel's, Rockaway Beach. to q point
Of land near Aqueduct and a few miles from
Woodhaven Junction. A milo out along the
trcstle from Hammel's. built on spiles, is Charles
Fuller's Broad Channel Hotel. A half mile
nearer Hammel's is J. G. Albert's Beach Chan
mel House, also built on tho spiles along the
trestle.
The waterspout seemed at first to be travel
ling straight at Fuller's. People at Albert's
looked TO sec the place completely wrecked. The
roar.of the rushing water was deafening. Within
ffty feet Of Fuller's the spout turned Off, and
the next instant crashed into the railroad
trestle. missing the Broad Channel House by
only fifty yards.
The spout struck the trestle with a cracking
report and q vast cloud of spray and mist OBJ
scured everything for some seconds. Then the
spout resumed again fits compact form and sped
onward toward the northeastern shores Of the
bay. but 1t lessened In volume and speed as it
neared the marshy meadows near Springfield
and gradually faded completely away. It had
travelled in all about three miles.
The sturdy trestle stood the shock with out
springing a bolt or splitting a beam. The
water about the trestle hotels rose to o
height never attained during the highest
TIDES. and for an hour after the passing OF the
Spout the waters OF the bay were remarkably
rough. AS the spout passed Fuller's it picked
mp a number of rowboats and catboats tied to a
noat and twirled them in a jumbo. Several
small lighthouses near the Springfield meadows
were also wrecked,
Long Island Railroad passenger train, bound
Tor Brooklyn with a heavy load, had Just left
hlninc D Wnen the engineer saw
the big column Of water rushing diagonally for
the trcstle. Had the train proceeded It would
Just about have boon struck. To have been hit
certainly meant the derailing of tho cars and
probably they wouid have been toppled into
the bay. Tho conductor saw the spout and
pulled the bell rope. but the engineer had hardly
waited for the signal. The train came to a
stop, then 1t was backed to the Edrawbridge, and
there waited until the spout had passed over
the trestle.
Soon after the first spout passed q second one
started at the extreme western end of Rock
away Beach. This one travelled along tho
ocean. about q quarter OF a mile of shore, for
the distance OF about a mile. The lie savers
at Seaside saw 1t coming and drove oil
The bathers to shore. This spout took a
eorkscrew shape and went whirling along at
about twenty miles an hour. As 1t neared Hol-
lands 1t died down. and then twisted in toward
more. 1t was not more than i've feet high as 1t
struck the beach, but 1t carried a big piece of q
plank walk away. and throw q lot of sand and
spray in all directions.
This happened in front of the Oriental bath
Ing pavilion at Hollands. Capt. Wage Of the life
savers and two others were thrown fiat on their
faces by the shock. The atmospheric conditions
accompanying the ocean spout were similar to
those OF the one on the bay. but there was no
Dig cloud that followed it. although the whole
hky was low and heavy with moisture.
mn m