The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-11-29
NEW ENGLAND WRECKS.
The Coast Strewn With the Bones
of Coasting Vessels. ~~r
All APPALLING LOSS OF LIFE.
IT rs Dcfulrely Known That Seventy
JIn~o Hecn Drowned, and 1t Is l.Ikniy
That the List VIII 30 Increased to at
Least Il Hundred and Forty.

beeu lost in the wrecks of tugs, schoon-
crs and coal barges during the storm
Of Saturday night and Sunday morn
ing. and if The steamer Portland has
also gone down, as now seems probable,
the list of casualties will rise to lao,
with over 100 vessels of all descriptions
ashore, two score of. them total wrecks
and an unknown number probably be-
| meath the waves of Massachusetts hay.
There is scarcely bay, harbor or inlet
from the Penohscot to New London
that has not on its shores the bones Of
some staunch craft, while along Mass
achusetts bay, and especially Boston
harbor. the beaches are piled high with
the wreckagc OF schooners and coal
barges. The record, although hourly
lengthening, is still incomplete, for that
ocean graveyard of Cape Cod is still
to be heard from, and as it has nover
| yet failed to give up some grim tale at
such II time it probably will not be
| found lacking on such an occasion.
The annoyance and inconvenience Of
| the railroads and street car embargo,
| covering the whole Of southern New
England, sunk into insignifcance be-
fore the story of destruction wrought
by wind and wave, yet it will be many
a day before the full import Of the dis
astef Is known or even realized.
The islands of Boston harbOr- are
without exception strewn with wrecks
and wreckaGc. no less than 20 vessels
being ashore at Gloucester, over 20 in
the supposed safe harbor of Vineyard
Haven parted their anchor chains and
are high and dry on the beach, Nantas-
ket Beach saw two schooners and a
coal barge dashed to pieces on its sands.
the rocks of COhasset claimed staunch
fisherman, Scituate, well known pilot
boat, Manchester, down east lumber
man, while one tug and three barges
known to have been between Cape Cod
and Boston are unaccounted for AMI
probably lost Even the upper harbors
of Boston, Plymouth, Salem. Ports
mouth. Portland and other places.
where vessels were supposed to be
comparatively safe, were the scenes of
numerous collisions between the ships
and the wharves.
Every life saving crew performed
deeds of heroism in rcsculng frozen
scarrcn from the stranded vessels, ami
erty in their endeavor to save life.
Among the tugs which started down
the harbor as soon as daylight came
yesterday was ;he police boat Guardian,
which made for the Lighthouse whicn
marks the inner harbor channel ard
tried to answer signals. Finally it was
learned that the lighthouse had no
fresh water. for the heavy seas had
,,, !, Il
the water stored there. There were
five men in the lighthouse. The two
boats which usually hang from the |
darits had Eeen spintered by the force |
of the waves, and the sea was dashing !
over the lighthouse with such force |
that there was little hope of reaching |
there.
Beyond Deer Island lies the big VII.
son liner Ohio and the steamer c. A. |
White, Of Taunton, on Spectacle ISL
and. 1t is a matter of surprise to |
harbor pilots how the Ohio reached her
present berth She stands in water !
which at hocd hardly came to the level
of the propeller shaft. The tide in
which she went ashore was IA feet
above the usual food tide. A canal
must be dug to deep water
A sorry sight is that presented by
the three masted schooner Calvin +.
Baker on Shag Rocks midway between
Boston Light and the Brewsters, where
the deep sea surges roll In and half
bury the craft. which is fast going to
pieces. The mainmast has been whip
ped out and hangs dangling over the
side, supported by the top hammer OF
the other masts. In this wreck the two
mates were taken off by Captain James
and his crew from across the bay at
Hull. When the wreck was reached
three bodies were seen lashed aloft. |
Two of them were secured and life was
found to be I'm them. but the other had
been frozen stiff to the lashings
1t was on little stretch of beach at
Hull. just behind the Hotel Pemberton,
that the tragedies occurred. In the
fury Of the storm Sunday two big new
ly built barges of the Consolida ted Coal |
company. Nos. / and 4. were dashed to
bits almost in an instant. On the shores
stood scores of men who were ready
to risk their lives to save those who
wcrc on many vessels in the of1ing driv-
ing to destruction. Captain James, Of
the life saving crew. was there with
his men and boat. but he said that the
wiad blew so fierccly that not men
enough could find room in the boat to
row against the wind.
Out of the driven snow came the dim
outlines of a barge with the forms Of
five men di5cernble on the deckhouse.
With q mighty crash barge No. l
struck the shore, only to crumble and
then melt into fragments, which the
waves in another minute cast up on
the shore. But in that instant five
men escaped the impending death. for
men on shoe, with lines about them.
rushed into the water and pulled out
the sailors. a moment later barge No.
4 came ashore and was ground up by
the waves, but nothing was seen of its
crew
Another terrible scene was that at
island, where the city's
reform school is situated. Against the
wharf were driven four down east ves-
sells each of which, at the time the ! ,
storm broke, was anchored miles away, I
and each q long way from the others. ;
An idea of the force of the wind is
shown in this instance, for drifting
across the bay one after another they .
brought up against the pier, one be- ,
ing driven entirely out of the water.
Tho craft are the Virginia, of which
barely a vestigc is left, the Waterman,
lhe Seraphine and the Fred M. Emer-
son. The last three are in one great
heap of timber and rigging, mixed with
debris from the Virginia. Two lives
were lost from the latter craft, but one
was saved. William b. Stanley, the
son. was washed ashore and
Other evidences of the storm are to
De found on every headland and in
nearly every cove, for numDerless and
wrecks. all snow and sleet
covered, are piled up there IT will be
omc time before all the vessels which
afcd i'll on Sunday can be accounted
or, and some perhaps never will be,
% thoroughly have the wind and waves
lone their work.
Fleet of Vessels Wiped Out.
Vineyard Haven. Mass, Nov. 29-The
crce northeast storm struck this port
"a ~ rln ,,ipbt oil Il