The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1907-02-20
MANY PERISH.
Over One Hundred People Drown
ed by the Sinking
OF ALARGE STEAMER.


Ii Is Doubtful if the New En.lan
Coast Has Ever Had a Nor
Dreadful Accident Tn n tue On
Which O:ertook The Steauls
L;srclinont Sunday Night, Feb
r,.aly 10th.
A marine disaster with an appall
Ing loss Of life and entailing suffer
ing almost beyond the limit o
human endurance came to ligh
Thursday when a lifeboat Of th<
JOY line steamer Larchmont. bound
frc&l Providence to New York
drifted into Block Island harbor.
In the boat were several bodies
Of men who had died from the es.
fects Of long hours of exposure to
a death dealing temperature. In
tie boat also were II men whose
sGfIerings We're so intense that they
seemed obliriouS 10 the fact that
death was<in their midst and that
they had escaped only by virtue of
their ability to Withstand the
risor OF zero weather il an open
boat al sea.
The boat brought a tale of dis
aster that has rarely been equalled
IN New England waters and it is
believed that when the final count
IS made it viii be found that not
less TIM 15Orlives were lost. Fol-
lowing closely in the wake of, the
solitary life boat cane bodies. cast
upon the beach by angry waves.
Then came life boats and RATS.
Each of them bore their burden of
grim death as we'll as load Of suf-
ferins humanity, and each brought
a tale OF horror.
Owing to the condition of the
survivors of the tragedy it was i'm
possible to get from them an esti-
mate of the loss of life Anywhere
from IS to $50 persons went to
their death. and at a late hour
Thursday night it was believed that
the latter fgue is nearer correct
than the former.
>For several hours after he was
rescued. Capt. McVey Of the Larch-
mont was not able to talk. When
he had partly recovered, he com
with his home and later
dictated the following statement of
the disaster to correspondent OF
the Associated Press:
I'VE lett Providence at I O'Clock
A brisk northwest wind was blow
ing and we were off Watch Hill
at about II O'Clock. I had gone
below TO look over the passengers
and freight, leaving a good pilo;
and Quartermaster in the pilo:
house. passing through there on my
way to my room. Everything was
o. 4 in the pilot house as stepped
into my room, and prepared to re
tire for the night. Suddenly
heard the pilot blowing danger anc
] hurried, into the pilot house. There
was a schooner or the port side anc
her crew seemeG to have lost con.
troll of her. Without warning she
luffed up and before we had oppor'
turity 70 do a thing headed for US
The Quarcernlaster and pilot pu!
the whee! hard aport, but the othei
boat was sailing along under heay2
breeze and in moment she hat
crashed into our port side, dlrectl:
opposite the smokestack. triec
to signal tot he engineer and mate
but the collision had broken The
main steam pipe, filing that par
of the boat with steam anc cuttsns
of communication with the pilot
house.
After cutting into our vessel, the
schooner fell away and disappear
ed to the leeward. Isent the quar-
ternaster below and in few min
ates he reported that the ship wa,
filing rapidly. The officers and
crew were summoned to their sta.
IONS and when I saw that the
Larchmcnt was settling. | ordered
all hanGs to prepare to leave the
ship. When 1 saw that every one
was .makinsr eady.to escape as fas;
as possible. I went to my boat
which was hanging on the daVlts.
and took into it six OF the Grew anc
-four passengers. When the steamer
had settled almost to the waters
edge, we cleared away after we hae
made SIRE that there were no pas
sen.ers on board who had not beel
taken careof. \ fter our boat hat
dropped into the water we renamed
N the immediate vicinity until Ios
steamer sank and then We pOlis;
av-av. The boat was a heavy one
and We found it impossible to ROY
to the windward, so We turned tf
the leward and started for olocl
Island. The cold was terrible We
struggled for hours and hours. am
the pain from our frostbltten hano:
and feet Was almost unbearable. Ont
of our inen. a Seamen. became crazet
and committed suicide in the boat
bv cutting his throat. No one n
the beat had streangth enough tc
preven; him from doing it. We
arrived here at $50 O'Clock in the
morning very much exhausted -anc
frozen.
The cause of the accident has
not been satisfactorily explained. Il
occurred just of Watch Hill, abou'
II O'clock Monday night, Feb. II
when the three masted schooner
Harry i[nowl;on. bound from SoutE
Anliloy for Boston, with a cargo o1
coal crushed into the steamers por'
SIDE :.'.niaships. Captain George
McVealv, OF the Larchmont, declare:
that th.. knowlton suddenly swervee
from her course. luffed up into tn
wind and crashed into his vessel
Captain Haley Of the knowtton. as
serts that the steamer did not CIV
his We sci sufficient sea room am
that the collision occurred before d
,fe mis- schooner out OF IN