New-York tribune., 1908-02-11
SHIPS BATTLE WITH ICE
RREAK WAY INTO HARBOR.
Passengers at Sandy Hook WalS
Orer Froeen Path to Pier.

With sides and superstructures covered Win
frozen spray, and appearing more like icebergs
than ships several ocean liners and coastwlse
steamships had hard time yesterday morning
getting flto the harbor on account or the ICE
Conditions in the North and East rivers were
slightly better than in the last few days nut
even then few ferryboats in the morning ana
afternoon rush hours were able to run on scheo-
ule time.
The worst place for shipping was at the lower
end of the bay and out at Sandy Hook. F1fty
passengers. many of whom were women on tiie
government steamers General Joseph e. Johh-
ston and Ordnance which make regular trips
ont to Sandy Hook were forced to walk half
mile over the ice to reach the pier at the HOOK
1t was late in the day before the boats SUE
ceeded in breaking their way through the Ice
and reaching the pier. Meanwhile men peiohs-
ing to the garrison and civilian employees or the
ordnance and ouartermaster's departments, some
with their wives walked back and forth to the
steamers on the ice.
inside the Narrows at Quarantine conditions
were almost bad The coastwise steamship
Porto Rico from, Baltimore, which never stops
at Quarantine, stuck fast in the Ice there 1or
several hours While the Anchor liner Colum-
bia from Glasgow, at anchor off the quar-
antine station, the barge Hornet was swept
against her by the great foes of Ice. scraplng
her sides and disabling her anchor winches SO
that the liners anchor had to be raised by hand
Meanwhile the Health Officers boats were stuck
in the ice at their piers The Allen could not be
budged but the Governor Flower after an
hours work succeeded in breaking away
OF Stapleton. Staten Island. two heavily laden
barges fouled each other and then together pore
down on a. three-masted schooner anchored
there Held fast in the foes of thick packed
ice nothing could be done. The schooner. how
ever. escaped with only jibboom missing All
ferrvboats had a hard time making their slips,
but the Annex boats of the pennsylvania Ran
road had the hardest time at their Brooklyn
slip. A tug was kept there all day attempting
to keep the Ice broken up.
Just after daylight yesterday large canai-
boat the Helen B.. owned by Captain henry b.
Oelson of Greenpont. was ground down oy
tremendous ice pack. Only after diving se'efai
times in the freezing water did the captain SUI
ceed in saving mis- wife and four-year-old soh'
| who were asleep in the abn. Later In the Gay
| two tramp steamers, laden with freight at-
tempted to go up the Hudson to Yonkers AIter
! several hours work they were forced to turn
| hack and give I'D the trip. The Hamburg Amer
| ican liner Hamburg, from Naples arrived at
| Sandy Hook in good time in the afternoon, put
| did not attempt to come up to the harbor on ac-
! count of the ice.
The weather man predicted last night hlsher
tcmperature for to-day, with light snow or rain
Warmer weather will help some. and hght
| snow will not do much harm. With fresh east
erlv winds it was said there should be no trou-
b,e m traffic on the rivers and bay this morning
| from fog.