Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-10-30
Steamers Sinks
The PoWhatan.
Panic Follows Collision UT
ShoveItu| Lightshlp.
All Those on Sunken Craft Rescued,
Except the Engineer.

! vineyard haven, MdSS., Ocl. ID
| the sinking of the barge Shenendoah
off the Shovelful lightship on Nan
tucket shoals through d collision WIFI
the steamer Powhatan, bound from
| Boston to Baltimore with % passeh-
gers and freight, at 1890 A. Nj. today,
| the engineer of the barge was drowned
| and three others We're hauled on board
the PDwhatan with difficulty. The
| steamer reached here at A. NJ. with
an injured bow out not leaking. There
| was great excitement on the 'PoWhatan
after the collision and several women
passengers suffered from Mysteries
| The POwhatan will make temporary
| repairs here, and will proceed tonight
The scene Of the collision was in the
| narrow channel which winds over Nam
! tucket Shoals from the Handkerchief
iightShip to the open sea Oft Cape COO.
Hundreds of vessels have come togeth-
| er in this channel, the last noteworthy
| wreck being the sinking of the steamer
Horatio Hall, by the steamer H. f.,
DimOck, last March. The Shenandoah
was the stern barge in tow OF three,
which the tug International took out
of Philadelphia on Monday. The Shen-
andoah was bound to Portland with
400 tons of COAL while the other
barges, the Lincoln and Paxtang had
been ordered to Gloucester and Boston
! respectively. The tug and barges be-
longing to the Philadelphia and Read
ing Coal Co. The steamer POWhatan
is owned by the Merchants and Miners
Steamship Co. and left Boston yester-
day afternoon, Tor Norfolk with a.
heavy cargo and % passengers.
The night was clear with a bright
moon when the steamer from the
| nOrthWard and the tug and barges
from the southwark entered the mar
row and tOrtuous channel. The Inter-
national had swung her tow around the
Shovelful turn and was heading over
toward Pollock Rip, when the Pow
hatan came up from the eastward
There was a strong northwest wind
and the tow was swung round farther
to the southwark than was anticipated
and the lPoWhatan, after narrowly
clearing the Lincoln and Paxtang sud
denly found the Shenandoah right
ahead. The steamers wheel was put
hard over, but it did not prevent a col
liSion and the Shenandoah was struck
amidships on the starboard side and
sank in five minutes. Lines were
thrown on board the barge as she was
settling and her captain and two other
men hauled over the side of the steam
er before the Shenandoah disappeared
The big searchleht on board the
Powhatan was switched on to the
scene and revealed the engineer and
the only other member of the crew in
Of no ha IIn
several times that he was all right but
that did nto delay the launching of one
of the Powhatan's starboard lifeboats.
Before the craft reached the engineer
a big wave threw the little boat over,
and he disappeared. The lifeboats
searched the vicinity for nearly an
hour without finding any trace OF the
engineer, whose name could not be
| recalled by the captain and members
of the crew Of the Shenandoah
In the meantime there was q small
sized panic on board the POWhatan
Men and women We're nearly thrown
| from their hunks by the force of the
collision and with the recollection of
Experiences on board the Republic and
| the Horatio Hall vividly in their
| minds, they rushed out on deck many
of them clothed only in the blankets
which they had snatched from their
| berths.
1t was a bitterly cold night and the
| gale was sending the spray over the
rocking steamer. while the shouts of
the officers and the cries of those on
| the sinking barge did not allay the eX
element. 1t was a few minutes before
| 1T was aSccrtained that the Powhatan
had not suffered materially in the col
| liSiOn, but in those few minutes. the
steamers officers succeeded in calming
| the fears of the passengers, although
| several women became very hysterical
and one or two tainted. 1t was thrill
| ing 10 minutes on the deck of the Pow
hatan and the spectacle of the lone
man standing in his little boat, and
| then topping into the sea, which was
SO wildly shown by the searchlight,
will not soon be forgotten by those
who saw it.
| After the search for the missing en-
gineer had been given up, the Interna-
| tional came along side and asked if
| the Powhatan would wait until the tug
could anchor her barges under the lee
of Chatham and return to the scene.
| IL WIS nearly daylight. therefore, W.
fore the Powhatan resumed her course
to the westward and it was nearly
O'clock before she reached here.
| AS soon as she had anchored in the
hdrbor an examination was made of
her bow and disclosed two of her
starboard plates badly denied and sew
eral rivets driven in. about two feet
above the water line. but the vessel
was not leaking Captain Ryan of the
Powhatan stated today that the col
lision was almost unavoidable, as the
barge had taken long swing just be-
fore the steamer reached her