Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-02-04
SEVERE OCEAN GAL[
Many Ships Are in Distress Off
the Coast Of New
Jersey.
Reports of Loss OF Life Are Con-
fined to Eastern Long
Island.
The American Merchant Ship
Schepp Ashore on Long
Island Beach.

New York, Feb. "a gale which has
been sweeping the coasts of Long
Island and New Jersey for more than
twenty-four hours and is continuing,
tho with abated force, has brought
death and disaster to sailors and their
craft. Reports of loss of life are con-
| fined to the eastern end of Long
! Island. whence comes news that sew
eral bodies have been washed ashore.
1t was not known up to 10 o'clock last
night what vessels the men who lost
their lives were from. They might
| have been on other barges towed by
the tug Richmond, reported as passing
bound from New York for Newport r.
L, or the tug Cuba. which passed Block
| Island two hours later, which left New
! London, Conn, yesterday for Newport
News, and was returning without tow.
When leaving port the Richmond had
three barges and the Cuba two.
| One barge was thrashing about yes
! terday afternoon near Forge river sta
| ton. The finding of two other bodies
was reported later from the same point
| The largest piece of wreckage is the
after portion and a portion of the stern
of barge. On this last were the let
tiers 80 p. e. The crew of the Amer
lean merchantmen Schepp, full
rugged ship which went ashore on
Long Beach, l.. l., shoals early yester-
| day We're in peril yesterday. Late re-
ports last night say they are still on
the stranded vessel. tho the danger of
death has been lessoned owing TO the
slight abatement of the storm.
A westerly gale was blowing at the
rate of seventy miles an hour when the
Schepp struck, at $3.50 o'clock in the
morning. 1t was bright moonlight at
the time and from Captain Andrew
Rhodes life saving station, mile to
the east, the life savers had no diff
Guilty in locating the vessel.
The men trudged along the beach
| facing a severe gale and dragging their
mortar to the scene of the wreck. They
reached the Schepp about daybreak
and found the seas breaking over her
bow and stern. She was about 1000
feet from the shore and tossing heavily
with every thrust of the powerful
breakers. Her main top gallant and
royal mizzen topsail. with the foretop
gallant studding sail. had been carried
away and nearly every spar in her was
twisted or broken.
Several of the crew could be seen
running to and fro in apparent efforts
to keep from freezing to death. The
e,t, ti,,,
and those of the Long Beach station
under Captain Van Wycklen. made
several attempts to shoot the life lines
over the Schepp, but the afternoons
efforts were not successful. They then
tried to launch the life boat, but this
too, proved impossible owing to the
high seas.
The crews of the sea-going tugs John
Eberwind and e. S. Atwood had
very narrow escape from going to the
bottom with their crafts Sunday af-
ternon. Nothing was known of their
plight until the arrival yesterday of the
German steamer Barcelona, the crew of
which rescued the tug men. The tugs
had been delivering provisions to the
stranded steamer Cavaour, ashore at
Long Beach, l.. l., and were proceeding
back to this point. When the gale
struck them, not only sweeping off ev-
erything movable, but flooding their
holds and getting into the fire boxes.
The seven men on each tug were in i'm
minent danger of death for over two
hours. The tugs were absolutely help
less and gradually sinking when the
Barcelona hove in sight and took the
half frozen crews aboard. Within an
hour on hou.. after this the two tugs
went to the bottom.