Omaha daily bee., 1909-07-19
SIXTEEN DROWN
NEAR NEW YORK
Ten Lives Are Lost When Schooner
Bearing Excursion Party is
Overturned.
FIVE " TINS ARE WOMEN
Party Of H. =, Two Was Returning
fiI>. Picnic.
w.
FIGHT
Drowning Persons Al Apt to Get
Possession of Beer Case.
TUG COMES TO THE RESCUE
Twelve of the ExcursiOnists and Part
of the Crew Are Picked Up
six Drown while Swim
ming.

NEW YORK, July 1s.-Sixteen persons,
five OF them women. met death by
drowning in the waters either surrounding
or In the vicinity of New York today. Ten
OF the victims perished after the capszng
OF the excursion sloop Roxanna, carrying
twenty-five passengers, which was struck
by sudden squall in lower New York
bay, midway between Coney Island and
Hoffman. late this afternoon.
MrSS c. X. hudson of Brooklyn is in such
a serious condition that she will probably
die. Her two daughters were drowned.
Six others by drownings were persons In
bathing.
The dead:
SELMA sAMEsoN, New York.
ELLA OLSEN, Flatbush, L. L. and the
follow ing from Brooklyn;
OLGA. AND SELMA hudson, sisters
JOHN CHRISTENSEN.
ABRA ABRAHAM Ham 5HMIsoN. HHns9SN
ALICE ENGLESoN.
PETER SPlELSON.
JOHN THOMPSON.
Captain samuelson of the Roxanna and
the twelve survivors were picked up under
sea by the tug Lamont
story OF Disaster.
The Roxanna was chartered at Ulmsr
Beach, Brooklyn. for a sail across the bay
to Midland Beach. Staten Island, and back.
The first leg of the voyage was made
without mishap and all hands piled ashore
to make merry. Some of the survivors
could give but haEy account of the acci-
dent.
All the afternoon there was a stiff breeze
from the southwest, which left a heavy
cross sea Toward 4 o'clock the Roxanna.
reeling homeward across the bay under
all the sail god judgment would permit
to be carried, slipped into a squall and
before the captain could slack away his
sheet the Roxana was bottom up and the
water was black with bobblng heads. In
another minute the Roxana had vanished
and one .hy one the, heads began to fol-
low It.
Fortunately the tug Lamont was keeping
sharp lookout. Captain Keeys saw the
sloop heel over in the gust and fail to come
back. Instantly he headed for the spot
where the Rexana had been, but before he
could reach It, ten OF the passengers had
gone down Life lines and buoys were
thrown to those still afloat and after a
few minutes of brisk and anxious work.
ali in sight were taken aboard the Lamont.
The survivors, thoroughly exhausted and
half dazed. were taken to a hospital on
Staten Island
Fight for Beer Case.
Miss Thora Hendrickson of Brooklyn, one
of the survivors, said: when the boat
sank we were left with nothing to keep us
up except some empty beer cases and some
boxes that floated to the surface. 1 was
lucky enough to grab the edge of a beer
case, which kept me up until l was res
cued Everybody that did not sink-both
men and women-were fighting and trying
to hold on the case Time after time men
and women piled on top OF me and we
sank, but l managed to keep my grip on
the case.
Captain Samuelson was a real hero. He
was about the only person aboard who
could swim and he did his best to save us
If there had been two or three other men
like him everybody would have been saved
At one time he held up two women al
once"
Peter Bergland, another survivor. said
that Samuelson was the man who gained
fame IN 1896 by sailing across the Atlantic
with his brother, Frank N, in a small
sloop. Bergland declined to discuss the
attitude OF the men towards the women
The two little girls who perished, he said
were in the cabin and had no chance to
escape. All the victims and most OF the
survivors were members of a Scandinavian
social club OF Brooklyn.