New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-03-24
CAPSLZED IN THE BAY.
A BARK TAKES A TUGBOAT WITH HER
TO THE BOTTOM.
TwENTY-oNE PERSONS AND DOG RESCUED
LAST OF SERIES OF MrsFoRTUNEs-AN IN
USUAL SIGHT FOR STATEN ISLAND
FERRY PASSENGERS.

Comnaratiyely few persons ever get a chance
| 10 witness a genuine shipwreck: yet passengers
| on two Staten Island ferryboats yesterday saw
! n big steel bark capsize in the Bay and drag
with her a tugboat to the bottom. This un-
= usual spectccle was accompanied by the rescue
Of twenty-one persons from drowning. includ-
ing one woman and child. Not human life
was lost
La Escocesa is the name Of the sunken bark
and her record is full OF hard luck OF which
| her adventure yesterday seems to be the Gilman
She was sunk once before by collision IN the
! Mersey River. has twice been ravaged ny hre'
! was stripped Of most Of her rigging III 'he ere"'
! hurricane Of last November. and had just come
out Of drydoclx yesterday morning where she
had been fitted with new masts. yards ana TOP
! hamper generally in time to get to the pouo'n
| OF the Bay before sunset
The wind was blowing brskly when the tusS
| William j. McCaldin and McCaldfn bro'nerS
| started to tow La Escocesa from the drydocK at
! Erie Basin to Constable Hook. n. j. Where siie
| was to be loaded with oil for Honolulu ohe
! had no ballast in her. and both her captain and
| the tugboat now say that they pio'e''e
AGAINST taking her out in that condition In such
a fresh wind. Her owners, hoWeVer-Daiioui'
Williamson & Co.. Of No. 81 William-st-
| thought that with the alu ol pdaSN iOo'' 49,
ened alongside. there would be no danger. The
use OF ballast logs, by the way Is rather an IN
novation They are big sticks of timber fastened
at either end by cables to the vessel. at whose
sides they float in the water. II the vessel ca
reens much these logs are dragged out of the
water. and their weight tends to right the vessel
| The ballast logs used by La Escocesa weighed
fifty tons 1t is said they should have weighed
| 10 of a
The tugs had towed the bark to a point about
tbree hundred feet north of Robbins Reef
Lighthouse when stronger gust of wind than
| usual suddenly struck her broadsde, towering
high out OF the water with such force that she
careened heavily to port. On that side lay the
| tug McCadin Brothers, and so suddenly did the
| bark topple over her. like the wall Of a burning
building upon a too-near fire engine, that the
tugboat men had time to cut the capies OF
| do ANYTHING except scramble for their lives out
of the way of the rapidly descending bulwarks'
HUNG TO THE sTARBOARD RAIL.
Ia Escocesa at once began TO fill. Those on
hoard her. consisting OF Captain Evans, his wife'
his little son. the first mate, second mate
watchman, two cooks four riggers ana dos'
started TO scramble up the rapidly lnclihihs
deck until they reached the starboard rail- anu
there they clung, while La Escocesa settled OH
the bottom on her port side.
The water is about fifteen feet deep there, ana
only about half Of the bark is submerged
While this was going on. the tusboat was
beng dragged down, bow first. by the weight
! of the bark's masts, which lay across her. her
crew consisted Of Captain Cutler, eisht mon
and another dog Captain Cutler was In the
| pilot-house. He cambered out or the Wlhuo"'
prasned one Of the bark's dangling ropes, and
| harr III
his way to where the barks crew were strad-
ding her starboard rail. Two Of the deck
hands Jumped overheard: one of the fremen cut
loose the small boat jumped into 1t. and showed
| off without waiting for his fellows, and the
| other four crawled up on the tugs stern, whlch
hal not yet gone down. but was slowly dlsap-
pearing.
Fortunately for all, the two Staten Island
ferryboats the Castleton and the Robert Gar
rett, were passing close by the spot where the
! disaster occurred. Two Of the Castletons = men
manned her lifeboat in quick time. and picked
the two struggling deckhands out OF the water
They also took on board the fireman, who mad
been in such a hurry to push off in the tug
ONLY small boat that he had not thought 10 take
any oars, and was drifting helplessly on the
waves Those men who had sought preca1-
ous refuge on the stern of the sinking tug were
| rescued by the crew or the o'hei 'u9' '"
William J. McCaldin. which had been towing
| ahead and had been able 10 cast loose hei N""'0
wnen the bark capsized.
In the mean time the Robert Garrett ap-
proaching La EscOcesa gingerly, ran her nose
| right against the bark's poop deck, as IL stoou
straight out OF the water like the side or Darn,
| The wrecked crew. clinging 10 the starpoaru
rail then crawled ungracefully across the deck
onto the bow Of the ferryboat 1t was NOT TO,
mantic-and the ferryboat passengers laugheu
at them-but it was rescue from a serious pre-
dicament and they thanked the CARROTS cap
| tain heartily.
WENT BACK AFTER THE DOG.
Captain Evans's little son, as soon as he saw
that he and his mother safe, began TO look
ahout for his dog Dom Pedro. His pet was still
on the wreck. and the Garrett had backed away.
Save nv doggie Save my dogge" he screamed,
tears rolling down his face. His cries were
heard by the rescue crew in the Castleton me-
boat and they took Dom Pedro on greatly 10
the lads delight and amld the cheerS OF 'he
| ferryboat passengers.
When the excitement was all over and the tug
boat had settled on the bottom beside the bark;
with only the tops Of her smokestack and signal
staff sticking out Of the water. II was dscov-
cred that the dog on board her had stuck to his
post and gone down with her ooo r.. , . ,
La Escocesa Of 946 tons, wv feet long, 81
feet beam and u feet depth Of hold. She was
| built in Dundee, Scotland. IN lSoS. Botn she
and the tug can be raised.
The DaTKS laSr voyage, winch enueu tii'
port on December 6. from Iquique, Peru.
! She had 70 be towed in. for she was almost a
wreck She had two thousand tons Of nitrate or
soda on board, and had been struck by the great
| November hurricane. The steamship Marston-
moor across her drifting In helpless
condition, and towed her into the Delaware
Breakwater Her mainmast had been snapped
off close to the deck, the mizzentopmast was
also carried away her feboat was gone and
her pumps had been smashed. She was vrtu-
ally a derelict. and her crew was badly FROST
bitten. Tugs brought her from the Breakwater
TO this port.
on that same voyage the man who had COM
manded her since she was launched died. and
| was buried al sea September -. Her pres
ent captain who was first mate then, Is the old
| captains SON. The veteran commander used TO
say that he wanted to die on board his ship and
| his wish was granted.