The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1907-03-20
awful LOSS Of LIFE As
SOUND STEAMER SINKS
10y Liner Larchmont Goes Down
Off Watch Hill, R |.
DISASTER CAUSED BY COLLISION
Schooner Harry kno;ylton Punched
a Hole in the Steamship-Scores
Drowned or FroZen-Only 20
Out of 40 Saved.

Drowned or FroZen-Only 20
Out of 40 Saved.
Block Island, F. I.-Crashing to-
gether in the teeth of an icy gale,
which had dashed the sea to a fury,
the steamboat Larchmfont, of the Joy
Line, and the Harry Knowlton, a
three-masted schooner, coal laden,
sank soon after midnight off Watch
Hill, fifteen miles from this place.
The latest estimates place the num-
Der dead at 181.
OF an approximate total of $50
passengers on the Joy liner all but
nine plunged to their death beneath
the icy waters or died from exposure
in a desperate struggle to row ashore.
Of the crew of fifty, ten, including
Captain George McVey, reached
shore in a long boat after n of the
most thrilling battles against zero
cold and a raging sea ever told along
the Eastern coast.
Captain Frank T. Haley, of the
schooner, with his crew of six men,
left his ship at a point three miles
from here and rowed in safety to the
life-saving station at Weekapaug.
Several had frozen feet and hands
and three were unconscious when the
small boat was cast far upon the
shore by a huge roller.
Scenes and suffering of an indie
scribable character marked the COLI
sion and the attempts at rescue. Men
and women, driven frantic by the
bitter winds, which, spray laden,
swept over the frail boats, gave
up the struggle and leaped into
the sea. Men had to give up the oars
because of the cold, and dozens fell
PROSTATE in the bottom Of the little
craft and lay there until swept into
the towering seas or the boats were
washed ashore.
Of the nine boats and RATS which
left the Larchmont, each laden to its
capacity with frantic passengers. and
crew members, only two had men at
the oars. The others had drifted
hopelessly in the racing waves and,
ice coated and awash, piled up on
the beach, where men awaited them.
Some contained a dozen bodies. 9th
ers contained men, women and chill
dren, with legs, hands and faces fro
zen.
One of the boats which was rowed
ashore reached Block Island at 6
o'clock. 1t contained Captain Nc
! Vey. Five men lay unconscious IN
the bottom of the craft. One had cut
| his throat on the way ashore. He
| stood up in his delirium and laughed
as he drew a razor across his throat.
No one in the boat had the strength
to restrain him.
Two versions of the cause of the
| collision which resulted in the sink
ing of the steamer and also of the
schooner are given by the masters OF
the two vessels. Captain McVey, OF
the Larchmont, says th2t it was due
to the schooner suddenly luffing and
that she appeared to be unmanage-
able. Those on the schooner say that
the Larchmont tried to cross the
bows of their ship, which had the
right of way, and that 1T was clearly
an error of judgment on the part OF
the men at the Larchmont's wheel.
The pounding sea soon separated
the i~nterlocked vessels, and as they
backed away, the water rushed into
the gaping hole in the steamers side
with a velocity that could only mean
her doom.
There were no water-tight COM
partments to be closed, and therefore
the inrushing food could not be con-
fined to the damaged section. 1t
poured in owe the cargo and down
into the hole. AS the water struck
the boiler room, great clouds OF
steam arose, and the ranic-stricken
passengers, many of whom had been
thrown from their hunks and berths
when the collision occurred, thought
at first that the vessel was on fire.
Unfortunately, the point of col
iision vas in that part of the steamer
where was located the signalling ap-
paratus connecting the engine room
with the pilot house. Captain NC
Vey, standing in the pilot house,
could not communicate with his
subordinate officers below decks, and
therefore was unable to determine
the extent of the damage. The quar-
termaster was hurried below to make
an investigation.
The passengers meanwhile thronged
onto the decks. Few of them had
waited to clothe themselves. Their
fear was so great that the first pene-
trating blast of the zero tempera-
ture was disregarded, but their suf-
fering soon became intense. Those
who had not stopped to dress now
found it impossible to return below
and do so. Their rooms were flooded
soon after they had been deserted,
and the wounded steamer, founder
ing around in the gale and strong
ebb tide, was fast sinking. The hearts
Of the officers and crew were filled
with terror, but they were prompt
in answer to Captain McVey's call to
quarters.
While some of the anne forced
back the frantic, freezing passengers,
others were preparing to lower the
| lifeboats and RATS.
Men and women cried in terror,
| while the children, of whom there
were a few, were the calmest. Many
of the elders fell on their knees in