Marietta daily leader. (Marietta, Ohio) 1895-1906, 1898-06-27
l. A. BeVan, John Gerken and
Malcolm Nye
Lose Their Lives In a River Accident
Saturday Afternoon.
Steamer William Duffy Narrowly Escapes
Total Destruction, With One
Hundred and Fifty People
On Board.

J Saturday dawned bright and propit
| iously for the United Commercial
Travellers picnic at Buckeye Park
and many looked forward with pleas
ure to delightful outing, but thu
| hand of stern and inexplicable fat,
| interposed and the day closed II
gloom and sadness. At the bottom o.
the yellow waters of the Ohio lay the
bodies of three prominent young men
their lives were taken in twinkle of ar
eye. The weight of terribel disaster
overspread the city like gigantic
pail and few were the voices unsub.
dued and hearts not burdened by the
calamity. With pale and saddened
countenances the pleasure seekers
who had departed in enthusiastic gai-
ETY. returned to their homes, stamped
indelibly unpon their memories q
scene of fright and horror never to be
effaced. Into homes where love and
pride, peace and contentment had
reigned unquestioned the grim mes
senger of Death stepped without
warning and with a ruthless hand
wrought .dire destruction. Three
names were stricken from the rolls of
the city's young manhood and grief
held sway were joy had been the king.
ShortlG after one o'clock, when the
little steamer William Duffy pulled
out from the landing with $50 souls
aboard the wind was blowing fercely
up the Ohio, but there was little
thought Of accident. The boat was
loaded to her full carrying capacity
with jolly crowd of the most promi-
nent young people in the city, all
bound fer Buckeye Park to enjoy the
annual picnic being given by the Ma
rietta Council, U. c. T. Several hund
red had peviously gone up on the Duff
fly and the fatal trip was the last one
advertised. When the boat cleared
from the landing and gathered head
way she was we'll over toward the is
land and headed straight up the chan
mel. Opposite the foot of Fourth
street the wind increased in violence
until it became a genuine hurricane.
On the island the big hundred foot
derrick supporting the wires of the
Long Distance Telephone Company
and also the pole of the Buckeye Pipe
Line Company went down with a ter
rifle crash and the wires sagged al
most to the water. The pilot of the
Duffy, fearing that the boat would be-
come entangled, turned her prov to
the south and headed for the island.
AS the boat swerved many of the pas
sengers rushed to the upper side to
escape the driving rain. Exactly at
the moment when she began to car
cen with her own momentum and lop-
sided load she was struck broadside
by an unusually fierce blast Of wind
and keeled over at frightful angle.
The guards on the uper side went four
or five feet under water and men,
women and children, chairs, baskets
and all sorts of debris from the deck
were cast into tangled up mass
against the railing.
The scene to those on board, as we'll
as to a number Of watchers on shore,
was enough to appall the stoutest
heart and there were few who did not
believe that the boat was doomed to
certain destruction. Those who could
do so, scrambled hastily up the slop-
ing deck to the higher side and others
were helped out of the water by cooler
heads among the crowd. Many
clutched stanchions while the deck
settled down beneath their feet
The terrible situation was only of
few minutes duration, but it seemed
hours to the greater number of the
frightened passengers. Then the
deck stopped going down, the little
craft righted herself as if by a miracle
and having swung around crosswise
to the channel ran her nose into the
bank of the Island.
Hastily and with agonizing fears of
The worst, friends searched for friends
among the throng 1t was Immediate
" apparent that four men OF the Ma
'ietta crowd were missing-L A. Bev-
an, Malcolm Nye, John w. Gerken
and Lawrence Buell.. Mr.. Buell. had
gone over the guard rail OF The boat.
passing under the hull and coming to
The surface with two chairs which he
had clutched as he was thrown into
he water. He saved himcelf by swim
ming.
Several persons on shore and on the
boat claim to have caught a fieeting
glimps OF four men in the water a few
seconds after the accident, but with
the exception of Mr.. Buell. none CT
them were seen again. - TFs i1. /
With trembling lips and bla1Iched
cheeks the friends OF the unfortunate
men told each other of the calamity
and then the frightened and saddenedt
and lWater-eoalred mart W m. -. - i. . AZ -. A