Perth Amboy evening news., 1907-02-14
APTAIN OF LARCHMONT
is ACCUSED.
Continued from page ID

A statement made by Fred Hierge-
sell, an eighteen-year-old New York
boy. contained the first direct charges
against Captain Mcyey and his crew.
Hiergesell asserts that Captain Nc
vey's boat was the first one which left
the sinking steamer.
He said that he saw many women.
on the hurricane deck rushing about
helplessly and begging for life pre-
servers. Many Of these women plead
ed with the panic stricken passengers
and crew to direct them to the life
boats, bur their prayers were unheed-
ed.
The survivors number only two wo-
men, Mrs. Harris Fcldman of New
York and Miss Sadie Gallup of Boston.
The passengers. awakened from their
slnmbers in comfortably heated rooms,
were at the mercy of the storm. Many,
it is believed. went down with the
ship. Others. thankful mt first that
they had escaped drowning, prayed
that they might be relieved of the ter
rible pain caused by their frozen
bodies, and one man, a passenger
whose name could not be learned, cut
his throat. As
The few who survived were in pit
iful condition. In almost every case
their arms and legs hung helpless as
they were lifted out of the boats in
which they reached shore. Their con-
dition is still wretched. but two physi-
clans who are attending the sufferers
express confidence that none of the
rescued are likely to succumb.
That portion of Block Island sound
where the collision occurred is a ia
miliar one to coastwise shippers. The
commanders of the two vessels Cap
tain George W. McVey of the Larch
mont and Captain John +. Haley of
the Knowlton, had navigated the wa
ters for many years. The night was
cold and windy, but clear. The Larch-
mont rounded Point Judith and headed
straight TO the westward up the sound
In the direction of New York. The
Knowlton, well laden with COAL came
through the other entrance of the
sound before Il strong but favorable
breeze The vessels approached each
other rapidly, and six miss southeast
of Watch Hill they were nearly togeth-
er. The officers of both boats declare
that their lights were burning, while
those of the schooner were particularly
emphatic in their statements that they
saw the Larchmont considerable dis
tance away.
Although with plenty of sea room.
the vessels headed almost directly at
each other. When they were abreast
the Knowlton for some reason luffed
up and plunged into the port side of
the Larc;imont, striking the steamer
little forward of the paddle box. The
result to the Knowton can be soon
told. She sheered off Immediately aft
er the accident and then, hauling up
into the wind, went aground on the
Rhode Island shore, four or five miles
away. There the entire crew was talk
en- off in safety by the life savers.
The Larchmonts experience, howev-
er, was entirely different. The blow
from the schooner was delivered in her
most vital part. 1t smashed big hole
on the water line and at the same time
broke the main steam pipe, which at
once rendered the steamer absolutely
helpless. Captain McVey said that
greater portion of the boat was filled
with escaping steam and that it was
his belief that many of those on board
were suffocated or scalded to death be-
fore the steamer went down.
Such survivors of the wreck of the
Larchmont as could talk had terrible
tales of privation to tell.
Oliver Janivier. twenty-one years old,
of 343 Montgomery avenue. Provi-
dence, came ashore with nine dead men
in a small boat. He was more dead
than alive when he landed waist deep
in the surf near the Sandy Point light
He managed to reach the life saving
station on the shore. 3.
Il was going to New York. said he,
ito get job. On the boat | met an
Indian named Henry Rock, who is a
member of Pawnee Bill's Wild West
show. We engaged stateroom and
went to bed rather late, | can't tell
what time it was.
Rock was going to Jersey City to
see his wife. He had fallen asleep
when / heard Il crash. ! got up and
put all my clothes on. When | got
into the saloon deck I found that it
was filled with steam, and men and
women were rushing about, shouting
and screaming and lighting each other
an IN