The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-10-14
THRILLING
EXPERIENCE
Head IN Collision Be-
$Geen Steamers.
-.
e
PASSENGERS WERE PLUCKY
Only One Man Is Missing from
Two Boats.
In NarrOws of Radson Niver Near
Tivol. In Dense Fog The Yes.
sells Crash Into Each
PASSENGERS WERE PLUCKY

Albany, n. Y. Oct. 13-In what was
practically a nead-on collision on the
Hudson River at LEO o'clock this morn
irg between the steamer Adirondack,
OF the Peoples Line, and the Saratoga.
ct the Citizens Line. one man Is be-
l,eved to have lost his life. about 500
passengers had a thrilling experience,
and both steamers were damaged to
the extent of thousands Of dollars. the
Saratoga being practically put out Of
commission.
The missing man is George L. Hor-
ton OF Troy. freight clerk on the Adir-
ondack
The collision occurred near Tivoli.
about ninety-nire miles from NewYork
one Of the narrowest parts Of the river.
while both boats were feeling their
way through a dense fog which settled
en- the river just before one o'clock
last night.
The Saratoga, bound south from Troy
with about 200 passenger on board. and
q heavy consignment of freigh. crash
ed into the Adirondack. bound north
from New York. The collision tore
away about ssvsnty-five feet of the
lower deck on the port side. forward
of the wheel Of the Saratoga The ter
one side Of her lower deck almost shat
tered. to rebound. and she now lies at
anchor a few yards from where the
collision took place
Those of the passengers who were
not awakened by the shock were soon
reused from slumber by the cries OF
the crews on both boats. Fortunately
teora steamed alongside the Adiron-
dack a few minutes after the crash and
offered assistance. Captain Wilson of
the Adirondack told the Onteora to
stand by while he assured his passen-
gers that there was no immediate dan
ger.
He gave the passengers the alterna-
tive OF staying on board or OF being
transferred to shore on the propeller.
and 150 of them chose the latter
course. later coming to Albany by
train and leaving for Western points.
From the stories told by the passen-
gers and the captain or the Adirondack
there was comparatively little excite
ment considering tine seriousness Of
the accident.
The collision tore away about scven
.ty- 1--WE feet of the lower deck on the
port side forward of the wheel Of the
Adirondack In which were located the
rooms Of First Mate Dermitty and
Frank Flanagan Of New York and
George L. Horton Of Troy.
All three were precipitated into the
river. Dermitty and Flanagan floated
around on pieces of freight until they
were picked up. Horton has not been
found.
After the collision the Saratoga
s-ifted to shore. Captain Wilson on
the arrival Of the Adirondack at AL
bany Immediately got In telephone
communication with the officials of the
line in New York. Afterward he made
the following statement:
IT was in my room when the crash
came and l hurried to the pilot house
after ordering the crew to stand by
and man the boats. Finding every
thing all right at the wheel house,
went among the passengers and told
them to remain calm as there was no
immediate danger. I ascertaincd that
while the boat was badly smashed on
the port side, she had not taken water.
and / again assured the passengers.
There were 1.4O0 life preservcrs Access
sible to those who wanted them. About
1870 passengers were transferred to the
tug Onterora which offered us assis-
lance.
81 ordered a boat lowered and sent
some men to look for the three MEM
hers Of the crew who were In the
wrecked portion OF the boat. There
Ia no truth in the story that some col
ored help on the boat tried to keep
the life preservers away from the pas
sengcrs They had been instructed
frequently how to help the passengers
adjust the preservers In case OF an ac-
cident and their efforts in this direc-
ton during the small excitement may
have been misunderstood. We were
IN no danger at any time. There was
no panic and I never saw passengers
behave so we'll under the circumstan-