The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-12-02

earfu Results Of the Storm-MOre
Than Seventy Lives Loss-The Mum.
Der May Reach Dine Hundred and
Forty

EoIt
Boston, Mass, November 2s.-It is
known definitely tonight that
than seventy lives have been lost in
the wrecks of tugs, schooners and
coal barges during the storm of Sat
| urday night and Sunday morning and
if the steamer Portland has also gone
down, as now seems possible, the list
Of casualties will rise to lao, with over
100 vessels of all descriptions ashore.
| There is scarcely a bay, harbor or
inlet from the Penobscot, Maine, TO
New London, Conn, that has not on
craft, while along Massachusetts bay
and especially Boston harbor, the
beaches are piled high with the wreck
age of schooners and coal barges. The
record, although hourly len%gthening,
! is still incomplete, for the ocean grave
yard of Cape Cod is yet to be heard
from and as it has never failed to give
up some grim ale at such a time, will
not be found lacking on such occasion
as this.
The islands of Boston harbor are,
without exception, strewn with wrecks
and w%reckage. No less than twenty
nine vessels are ashore at Gloucester.
Over twenty in the supposed safe har-
Dor of Vineyard Haven parted their
anchor chains yesterday and are high
and dry on the beach.
EHyyorr 1ifo couinr cror nnrfnpnno1
deeds of heroism in rescuing crews of
seamen from stranded vessels, and
tugboat captains risked life and prop
erty in their endeavor to save life.
Among the tugs which started down
the harbor as oon as daylight came
was the police boat Guardian, which
last night was caught in the thick
weather off Deer island, while endeav-
oring to ascertain the meaning of dis
tress signals flying from the light
house. She made for the tiny beacon
which marks the inner harbor channel
again this morning and with a tossing
sea and strong incoming tide, tried to
answer signals. Finally it was learn
ed that the light house had no fresh
water, for the heavy seas had broken
in the %bulkheads and spoiled the water
strored there. There were five men in
the light house. The twO boats which
usually hang from the davits had been
splintered by the forces of the waves
and the sea was dashing over the light
house with such force that there vas
little hope of reaching there.
| Beyond Deer island lies the big Will
son Leader, Ohio, and the steamer G.
A. White, of Taunton, on Spectacle is
land. 1t is a matter of surprise to
harbOr pilots how the Ohio reached her
present berth. She stands up boldly
without the semblance of a list, on a
hard gravel bottom, in water which at
flood tide this morning hardly came to
the level of the propeller shaft. Ac-
cording to some of the wrecking mas
ters, the only way to save the liner is
by digging a channel from the Ohio
to deep water, but even this must be
done quickly, as another gale would
do i~ncalculable damage.
The White evidently lies on rocks,
and, while n could be pulled into
deep water, with her heavy arg she
would scarcely keep afoat.
The schooner P. R. Woodside from
Norfolk, for Boston, with a cargo OF
piling is ashore off Hull.
The managers of the Boston and
Portland Steamship Company say to-
night that there are grave doubts as
to the safety of the steamer Portland,
which sailed from here Saturday night.
Every harbor between her and Port
land on the north shore has been heard
from and one on the south and in no
case has the steamer been seen. The
| 0n1v opnoipin~ borhnr which che
could have reached is Princetown on
Cape Cod, and news from this port is
anXiously awaited as it is still impos-
| sible to reach that port by wire. She
carried sixty-ive passengers and a
: crew of fifteen men.
Vineyard Haven, Mass, November
2S.-Sunday was the most ~eventful
day that Vineyard Haven has known
for forty years. From early morning
until late at night the water was
strewn with wreckage and vessels were
constantly driven ashore, many of
them to be dashed to pieces. A large
fleet of coasting schooners from ST.
John and other ports in the provinces
and Maine were battered to fragments.
Most of the vessels driven ashore
were obliged to part their cables ow-
ing to the great danger from collision
with other vessels which had broker
adrift.
The driving snow storm prevented
the life savers from keeping a good
lookout for distress signals. OF the
fleet of two score of vessels hat came
to anchor before the storm, hardly one
escaped damage.
The b~arkentine Nellie NJ. Slade. OF
Boston, Captain Montgomery. from
Charleston, S. c., for Portland. with
a cargo of clay, parted both chains and
fouled the British schooner Delta. The
Slade had all her head gear and royal
masts destroyed. Her crew was un-
able to hold her and she was driven
ashore on the west side of the harbor.
It is thought she viii be fioated.
The beaches in this vicinity are COW
cred with debris. 1t is feared tina a.
least half a dozen lives have beer los.
in his section.
D@- n -