The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-04-30
MAIL WAGON IN THE RIVER
Investigation Is On Foot to
Fix the Blame for the
Accident.

The Pennsylvania ferry authorities and
the mail contractor are busily engaged in
an attempt to figure out just how the big
two horse van came to get into the ferry
slip at West Twenty third street on Sat
urday night instead of upon the ferryboat
St. Louis. The result of the investigation
has not yet been announced. Driver Red
mond was at work again none the worse
for having gone headlong into the slip
along with his wagon and team, but he
said he was too ratified at the time to be
able to remember just how he came to
drive into the slip.
The matter seems to be between the
gateman, the deckhands who loose the
moorings of the boat and the pilot, with
a chance that none of these were really
to blame, but that signal from the
Erie ferry at the next slip may have been
mistaken for signal for the ST. Louis
to start, and have caused all the trouble
The driver of the van would have no
responsibility in the matter under ordinary
circumstances. He would drive to the
gates and If he found these open that
would indicate a clear way to the boat
and that the boat was waiting, moored to
the bridge. In the ordinary course of
events the gateman would await a signal
from the office before closing his gates
and when he had closed them he would
signal to the deckhands on the bridge
These men would then close the bridge
gates, east off the mooring hooks and
pull up the rudderpin. When all was
clear they would give the signal to the
pilot and he in turn to the engineer.
From what was learned yesterday, it
appears that the pilot must have either
got a premature signal or have thought
he had got a signal or have mistaken an
Erie signal for his own. He had signalled
to the engineer and the latter had his en-
gines going before the last of the moor
ing cables was cast loose and the boat
was straining at this cable when Red
mond drove on the bridge These cables
are wound on few turns on the axles of
the mooring winches, and then secured
with a few turns only of tarred marline.
This is done on purpose that the lashings
may give way in case of any extra strain.
such as might come if some one neglected
to unmoor the boat at the proper time,
and it was this lashing that gave way
with a snap just before Redmond's team
got to the boat.
The boat was already tugging away at
the mooring, and when it gave way she
shot forward and opened up gap wide
enough for horses and wagon to drive
into before Redmond had time to do
anything to prevent it.
Except for the loss of the horses and
the front wheels and pole of the wagon,
not much damage was cansed. The wag
ON contained no letter mail but only
sacks of newspapers bound for the South
west. A float with a derrick boom was
sent over from Jersey City soon after
the accident occurred and the mail wag-
on was fshed out. The kingbolt of the
wagon had broken however, and the
front wheels -aRd- team had disappeared.
Soundings were made in the slip yester-
day, but no trace of the team, or of the
front part of the running gear was dis
covered. tits supposed that the horses
were sucked out into the North River
in the wake of the st. Louis. The rem
nants of the van were brought to Jersey
City, where the mail was removed and
sent to the General Post Office in the
Borough of Manhattan. There it was
spread out to dry in the engine room
and all of it that has not lost it's address
will be forwarded as soon as it is dry.