New-York tribune., 1908-02-08
ICE SEALS TIP RIVERS.
BOATS CR4WL ACROSS.
Traffic Badly Congested Until Ebb
Tide Comes to Rescue.

The entire harbor from He'll Gate, in the East
River, and from Grants Tomb, in the North
River. to the Lower Bay was filled with ice
yesterday and traffic was greatly congested.
An ebb tide helped loosen up and carry
ward in the afternoon some of the small ice
foes. and ferryboats and tugs operating below
the Battery had fairly clear, though narrow,
channel.
Nearly every winter the harbor is filed with
more or less ice, but not in many years has the
pack frozen hard enough to trap and stall
ferrybo as ii did yesterday. The ferryboats
Montauk and Brooklyn left their slips at
South Ferry at 8 a. m and crunched their way
Slowly through the ice TO their slips in Brook
lyn- Each boat had about twenty-eight pas
sengers and several heavy laden teams. When
they were we'll over to the Brooklyn shore the ice
pack became SO stiff that several tugs had to
be called, and even then the ferryboats he'd TO
wait until the tide turned and the ice broke
up.
The nlarooned passengers fretted and furned
and many tried to get of the ferryboats and
walk ashore the ice. The deckhands the
Montauk and Brooklyn prevented all attempts
to leave the boats. and had much difficulty in
convincing passengers that while the ice
thick enough 10 block the boats, it was
too thin TO bear with safety the weight OF a
person.
A northwesterly wind drove the great bulk
Of the ice in the North River close up against
the east bank. and the ferryboats Of the Lacka-
wanna. Pennsylvania. West Shore and Erie
railroads had much difficulty in getting into
the Manhattan slips. The wind and the ebb
tide in the afternoon kept a fairly clear pas
sage way along the west side of the North
River and the boats had trouble reaching
their slips The pack the east side and
the clear channel on the west side caused much
Of the traffic TO hug close to the New Jersey
shore
Ice fields covered the Upper and Lower bay
and the Narrows, ard the revenue cutter
Calumet had to pick her way cautiously
going to and from Quarantine to meet the in
coming steamers
The little launch Owlet tried conclusions with
t1,e ic on her way to meet at Quarantine the in
coming Kaiserin Auguste Victoria, but she got
no further than Bedlows Island, when she lost
her propeller and became wedged in the ice She
hauled in her house flag and displayed the Arneri-
can fag union down and q Lackawanna tug
went 10 her assistance The Calumet got
alongside first. however. and pulled her from the
ice pack She wae towed 10 the Battery and
showed into her slip.
The ice thwarted the efforts of the Merritt
chairman wrecking Company in Its efforts yes
1erdav to raise the tug Edgar T. Luckenoach'
sunk off Governors Island last week by the
IL
,,-era r,,yyed to the place where the Luckenbachs
r7aets protruded above water, but the ice forced
them from their position and they hao 10
abandon the attempt 10 raise her
Traffic was badly congested in the East RIVER
esneciaIIv at Long Island City and Astoria
Nearly ell ferryboats were running fully forty
minutes behind schedule. Tugs were useo :
throughout the forenoon TO break up the ice In
she sltrs The fishing boat Angler was caught
near the Brooklyn Bridge, and In trying to force
herself from the ice pack damaged her paddle |
wheels
Ioatrol1nan James Dillon, Of the Central PARK
noIice station. who was found lying on walk /!
near the Block House in Central Park on Sun /
dav died at the Harlem Hospital yesterday from !
q fractured skull
a big army Of men was busy all day clearing |
rl,e cftv's streets Of snow. Good progress was /
made In the downtown districts Considerable
difficulty was experienced because the mass OF
snow and slush was frozen solid The Co1nnis-
sjoner hopes to have the worst Of the work over |
by tonight.