The Western news., 1903-08-05
STEAMERGRAVEYAR
New Jersey Town Where Many Old
Eastern Vessels Lie.
wsll-Known River Craft That Have
Become Worn Out Find Q Rest.
ing Place ON the Raratan's
Banks.

! 1t appears to have been left for the
residents of the little town of Perth
Amboy to prove that the Hindoo belief
in the transmigration of souls is re-
ality. at least. as far as boats are con-
! cerned, says the St. Lous Republic.
Steam craft which in years gone by
/ made great records in the local wat ers
, and later were dragged out of the
busy swirl tired of the struggle, are
to-day SO much part of the Raritan
! river town that their names are house
hold words there.
The graveyard of old vesAels has had
day of resurrection.
|. The valiant spirit of each has left
cold boiler. and paralyzed engine to
take up its abode in dwellings, decora-
tions and the hundred and one things
into which its dismembered but resur-
rected body has been transformed.
During the last few years many we'll
known boats have been brought to-
gether on the shelving banks of the
Raritan river, where the junkman de-
cides their destiny.
The giantess Of them all is the
famous old Albany boat Drew.
Close beside her are the fire-ravaged
hulls of the ferryboats Elizabeth and
! Plainfeld.
The worn-out ferryboat Central and
the ill-fated Mortified are rubbing
their noses in friendly way with the
rise and fall Of the tide against the
Drew's port quarter.
The half-burned Thomas McManus
keeps well under water on the river
side of the fleet.
The side-wheel steamer Colonia, of
Philadelphia, which was condemned as
unseaworthy after the last internation-
al yacht races, and the famous old
ferryboat Chancellor, the only craft to
cross the bay during the blizzard of
1888, have both settled high up in the
sands.
These boats represent more than
81 M.O0O,0O in original cost, and are in
all stages Of dismantlement.
Probably one of the greatest boons
that ever came to Perth Amboy US
the steamer Drew.
She was towed to her present berth
little more than year ago.
From the outside she appeared to
be a great unwieldy hulk of little
value, but within she has proved to be
veritable treasure ship.
Houses have been built from the
well-seasoned planking of her super
structure.
al III n rioh irwin r,f
her 400 and more staterooms have been
used for interior decorations, and the
staterooms themselves for store
houses.
There is one stateroom which has
been left just where it was when the
old river boat made her last trip.
Money cannot buy it from the junk
man.
The pleasant memories of his hon
eymoon still linger with it.
From one end of the craft to the 9TH
er it is the only spot which will not feel
the sharp edge of the wreckers' tools.
With the exception of that part Of
the Drew which has been used - the
iunkman himself in the construction
of living quarters for his men and a
combination Office and storehouse, in
the heart of the town, all the material
has been sold at good price.
An elderly widow is the proud owner
of a comfortable home made entirely
from the Drew.
Her dog and chickens are also snugly
housed within portion OF the resur-
rected craft.
So extravagant were the builders of
the boat in the selection Of materials
used for her construction that carpen-
ters and decorators of the town have
purchased almost the entire super
structure, although it is as yet not
more than half dismantled.
In the building trade there is de-
mand for "Drew timber" and among
decorators a call for "Drew trim
. mings."
The foregoing is the spirit of the
Drew made manifest in Perth Amboy.
1t is not confined there alone, how>
ever. for all over the county there is
demand for some part Of her con-
! struction.
The giant parts Of her engines have
already gone to the steel works Of
| Pennsylvania and Connecticut to be
fashinoed into car wheels, axles and
! building material.
|