The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-02-23
SHIP ASIA PROBABLY LOST.
VRECKAaE OF THE VESSEL FOUND
NEAR WOODS HOLL, MASS.

Dead Bodies OF = psnn and n Little Girl Picked
10 ana Fart OF . Long Heat nnd . ship's
vince, Marked Asln-she was from Manila
-Probnbiy Twenty Lives In All Were Lost.
Uoop's HoII, Mass, Feb. 22.-There is every
,rdication that the good ship Asia, Capt. George
n Dakin, went down with all on board Off Nam
tuckst Island during the northwest gale that
Nos inst blown itself out. 1t 10 the most terri.
ble tragedy on the New England coast since tho
Jason, in the tempest Of January. 1894. drove
head on on the sands Of Cape Cod almost under
Highland Light, and not q soul Of her company
of thirty men lived to tell tho tale.
Scattered wreckage, spars, sails, pieces Of
boats. and bales of hemp speak the story Of the
disaster. All tho south shore OF the cape Is
Uttered with debris. Part OF n ships long boat,
discovered on tho sands OF Monon,oy by the
lfe.saving patrol, bears the name Asia. Tho
vessels wheel, similarly lettered, was picked up
afoat by n coaster.
The Asia sailed from Manila in the Philip
mines. bound for Boston, with a cargo Of IL 200
bales of hemp consigned to Henry w. Peabody
of salem, Mass. She was somewhat overdue
and the consignee and the owners, who arc the
TAYLOR Bros. of st. John, n. B.. were awaiting
anxiously some news Of her. for she had not
been reported since she left Manila. The first
news that they heard was Of her probable de-
struction.
The Asia was q full rugged ship. and was
valued at S25, 900. Her loss is partly covered
by insurance.; SO Is that of the cargo. TIL indi.
cations of the wreck were found this morning
by the crew Of tho tug E. " cCauley. Asa Hall.
skipper. The McCauley put out early this
morning for Handkerchief Shoal to examine
the wreck of the Reading barge Excelsior,
lost there two days ago. Presently she encoun-
tered q quantity of wreckage aioat. There were
yards with the sails closely furled upon them.
There wore shattered planks and pieces of bro
ken spars. There was q honcoop with drowned
fowls within, and doors which seemed to have
been wrenohed from some vessels companion
way.
The crew OF the McCauley kept a sharp look.
out for bodies. The lookout was not in vain.
About Eve miles to the northwest of the Hand
kerchief Shoal lightship q larger spar was en-
countered. tossing on the big rollers. 1t was
apparently the mizzen mast OF q big ship. TIL
top was intact, and In the shrouds. dashed to
the mast. were two bodies. which. when the tug
steamed closer. were seen to be those Of q man
and a little girl. The man held tho little ono
tightly In his arms; her hands were clasped so
closely about his neck that the men on the tug
were scarcely able to undo their embrace when
they had cut the iasnlnRS ana E1teQ them
on board. The body of the man was that of a
man OF 40 or whereabouts. with q short beard,
inclined to badness. His clothes betokened him
to be an officer. and the second mates certificate
found in the pocket of his REFER coat had the
name of John Cook. Tho child was a girl of 10
years, fair haired and pretty. From the resem-
blanoe easily traced in their features 1t is u.s.
sumed that they were father and daughter.
Both had evidently been dead many hours.
The McCauley cruised about for several hours
and found many more indications that a marine
disaster had taken place. but found nothing
more of value and no more bodies. Finally tho
Captain put about and steamed back to this
place. The bodies Of tho man and the child were
taken ashore to a local un~dertaker's shop, await
ing the action Of the local authorities and any
other information or orders that might be re-
ceivcd.
Before long reports of wreckage coming
ashore were received. From Chatham came
the information that the fragment of the Asia's
boat seemed to give a clue to the lost ships
identity. Another tugboat skipper reported
passing through floating fragments. and said
that the master of a sloop had picked up the
ships wheel in Nantucket Sound. No news has
been received from Nantucket itself. 1t is
understood that the crew of the Asia numbered
at least twenty men.
The Asia measured 1898 tons, 1872 feet long,
80 feet wide. and "a feet deep. She was a single
decker and was built at Courtney Bay, New
Brunswick, In 1861. She was overhauled in
1894. and since then had been repaired several
times. She sailed from Manila on Sept. 4.