The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-12-15
pTRATESN NEW YORK WATERS
STATEN ISLAND KILLS THEIR
RICH CRUISING GROUND.
They Ply Their Outiawed Calling Only At
Night and the Great Coal Tews Bound
for This city Are the Objects OF
Their Plumber -Ho They operate
and Where They tho BOOTY.

.,,,sida the Staten Island Kills except
oone % n Manhattan bank two or three
,ir,os A week TO deposit. That's the opin-
~. ~ nil the dealers in hard coal, whose
snnr,v ia brought every morning In the
,ons tows through the Kills from the ter
~.iaa,s Of the coal roads at South Amboy,
por,h Amboy and Port Reading. These deal
- altogether lose at least $4,000 worth OF
saoI II is stolen from the barges by husky
o,.,en Island and Jersey boatmen, who are
.vs,ermen by day and coal pirates by night.
Thov neglect the oyster business because IL
aossn'tp ly so well and is only a blind, any
-av For the thirty or forty coal thieves
hose skifs maybe readilyto fromthe craft
~ the honest oystermen by the thick coat
,ns ~ black dust in the bottoms. there Is
an average weekly income OF about $50
rom their piracy. And they don't need any
c.nital TO speak Of to do business.
The entire outfit Of a coal pirate con-
sis,s of an oyster skin that will carry about
four tons Of coal, two pairs OF oars, w big
-ooden scoops for shovelling the maxi
mum amount Of coal with the minimum
amount Of noise, a tide table and a lot
Of old rags. The rags are essential. They
are used for mufiing the oars. IT pirates
Of the Kills are up to all the little nicetles
Of their profession that were invented
bv the old timers, who used low rakish
craft and guns instead of skifs and shovels.
The tide tables are necessary 30 mat the
rirates may know every night to a dot at
lust what hour the three big tows will start
from the coal terminals.
The Pennsylvania tow starts from South
Amboy, the Lehigh Valley from Perth
Amboy and the Reading from Port Reading.
They all leave at dead low water so as TO
Get the help Of the incoming tide on the
long, hard pull of twenty miles or more
through the Kills. From leaving time at
low water until the tows get opposite
Eizabethport, where the raiding begins,
the pirates allow about three hours. For
two or three days each month the tide Is
wrong for the thieves because the tows can't
get up to the raiding point before day.
The thieves generally utilize these few
DAYS OF late low tides to repair the bottoms
Of their boats and to drum up the market
for coal vet to be stolen. Most all OF them
take orders in advance. Some OF them
20 after oysters on the of day. for they
do need oysters sometimes in their coal
business. A bushel of oysters will fire.
quently induce an overzealous coal barge
captain TO go to sleep while a ton or two
Of his cargo Is being skinned on the top
That's the weak point in the defence OF the
coal dealers and railroads against the pirates
The owners can't trust all OF ther own
employees.
Much of the stealing is done almost
openly and with the knowledge OF the
men in charge of the barges who are brbed
when necessary by money or oysters.
When an honest bargeman refuses the broe
- 49, IN his Innd 10 10 moro "a
likely that ne will he knocked down and
locked up in his cabin. -,
The third and most ordinary method
is for the pirates to sneak alongside IN their
skins and steal "A load without anybody
being the wiser for il until the barge gets
10 its destination and the cargo is weighed
and measured. h IL possible on a dark
night and with n long tow to operate also.
There are anywhere from sixteen 10 twenty
coal haTges in each tow. The average
capacity Is about 600 tons 20 each barge.
These barges are generally lashed together
four or five abreast, according TO size,
for the pull through the Kills. In each
tier Of four or five boats there is, as a rule,
only one boat with a cabin and the man
I'm that boat--he usually has his family
living aboard-is supposed TO look alter
the other boats in the tier There Is no
rule requiring him TO stay awake and on
watch all night.
After all, the piracy in the Kills isn't a
PARTICULARLY nAZIIflOuN fI1tt III - ailA AiA'
thieves have but few risks and hardships
In proportion 10 their profits. One OF them
was shot a year ago In one OF the rights 10
capture the skifs. n one OF them was
frozen 10 death In his coal-laden SKIN
That's the total list q nown fatalities Tor
q good many years, .
No continued and systematic attempt
has been made 10 stop the coal stealing
The victims declare that II IL practically
impossible to catch the pirates with the
goods on EN-" Au arrest In occasionally
made. but aruuitta because Of lack OF eNl-
dauoe j. the ordinary result. Rather than
BE- caught with a load 81 stolen coal The
tiief will stand on the gun Ale OF hlr SKIN
aud dump hir load into the water. That
has teen done more than once The plra'"s
can AL swim A. a matter OF onur-e
once lu "a great while a tugnoa'-load
- dct.Cuycs will prccedc or follow the
lows through me Kills with orders Ia catch
NO iht'Nu=. lut on those nightH the thieves
t''Y aNav from the tuws The KNOW leigr
Thai rNm'thinR unusual u IN The VIVA Il
very APP fD 81 tU me OF more Ot ~" dl--
U.ia-l i|ufgruru They manage" 10y
.gNi- ur rumr other signal, 4" warn on ihe
rHI ~ -kiHs. Aui the Detectives have an
a..nsht vatch iur nOthiuy
lI" fllr,'r AZ az crahy Ia disponlis
81 Usl. booty a. tlpy ~ A. stealing
ln,, SONS ~ Il tlr crcks 30 loard the
laIE'- aH4 tllry IuS bach into ia" "r'eks
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