Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-03-20
Steamer Plymouth Run Down
 By a Freighter.
600 PASSENGERS IN PERIL

The Collision Occurred Near New Lon- don Early This Morning-Several of the Crew Lost Their Lives and a Number Were .Injured-Several of the State Rooms Being Completely Demolished.
 New London, March 20.-The mag 1 nificent steamer Plymouth, her entire 1 forward side demolished and her hold l filled with water, from which diver 1 Is bringing up bodies of dead members of the crew, lies at the Fishers Island I Navigation Co.'S pier.
 | Bronzed and gray-bearded, with his face set and drawn, aged Captain E. l k. Davis stands at the forward com panionway, on the upper deck, survey ing the ruin wrought by the effects of the collision between his vessel and the freighter City of Taunton of the same line.
 I The staterooms from No POO in the bow as far back as No POT were com pletely demolished, and 1t is not yet known whether or not a number of people were not swept from these places of rest to swift death in the surging waters of the race.
 ! The big steamer was crowded with between $50 and 600 passengers, be- sides the small army which comprises the crew of the palatial floating hotel. The strains of the orchestra had hardly ceased and the more belated passen, l gers were about to seek their berths when the crash came.
 | As soon as the officers of the steam l ers-both captains were in the pilot l houses--realiZed the close proximity of the vessels. they tangled the engine bell for full speed astern; but big, | heavily laden vessel Is not easily checked in the headway engendered by powerful engines. Nothing could keep them apart. The bow of the freighter crashed into the passenger boats side like a great knife, literally slicing off ] the forward starboard portion of the great steel vessel.
 The compartments of both vessels were quickly closed anu thus they were prevented from sinking, and their cap tafns urged all haste to this port, where the. passengers were speedily transferred to a special train.
 " Il. Iack, n prominent Taunton clothier. was asleep in the lower berth with his wife. The cabin was completely de- molished but strange to say, neither Iack or his wife sustained serious injuries. They lost all their personal effects, including q sum of money and some valuable diamond jewelry Tn the next cabin to the Zacks. Jonathan ". Thompson was asleep in his berth, and though the cabin was not so badly torn up as that of the Zacks' he was instantly killed. Zack was compelled 1 to don the trousers of the dead man, and 1t was through this that Thomp- sons identity was established.
 When seen this morning Mr and Mrs l Aack presented q peculiarly pathetic appearance. The wife was reclining on steamer chair utterly prostrated | from shock, while her husban was ap- plying restoratives to her.
 Speaking of his experience, Mir Zack said
 T We had a busy day yesterday in New York purchasing stock and were very tired, so we retired early. We were wrapped in deep slumber when the impact of the vessels awoke us and the cabin was crushed like an epg shell. We were thrown to the floor violently and the wreckage piled upon us, but by q superhuman effort I I pushed upward with my head and suc ceeded in freeing myself. Then I went 10 the aid of my wife. She was In n half falnting condition when I tore the twisted and splintered wreckage from or her, but l succeeded in getting her l to the main saloon, where the steward ess aided in calming her, at least to
 II have nothing but the best to say or the manner in which the officers of the vessel acted. If there ever was bravery shown at trying time, this was the occasion. Of course there was considerable excitement among the I immense crowd of passengers: but the officers flew about with encouraging words, and one of the stewardess's as- sistants did much to allay the excite ment by telling the ladies aboard that as long as the hull was sound there was no danger, and that the vessel was not injured below the water line. | consider myself fortunate, indeed. to come off with only severe bruises: but I fear the injuries to my wife will re- suit seriously" @
 In stateroom No POT the last one to- ward the starboard wheel to be in- l jured. and which is called the bridal chamber of the great floating hotel a 1 young married couple were placed. | They were MT and Mrs Robert Sin clair, from some portion of New .Jer- sey.
 The force of the collision so wrecked their stateroom that they were made prisoners, burt were rescued by lusty cabin boy with an axe with which he demolished one end of their apartment
 The aged watchman, John McCar- thy. was in the steerage and there the crash of the partition caught him. talk
 ing his head from his body like the stroke of a guillotine,
 On the lower deck. near the stern, lay an arm severed from the body of Patrick Daley, still encased Tn the sleeve of blue jumper.
 Standing in the forward main com panionway two stern visaged men are slowly turning the handles of an air pumn and closely watching the signal