New-York tribune., 1918-12-16
Liner Aground, ,
Boats i'm Crash,
Due etoDeepFog
The Chicago, En- Route to
France, Forced on Bank
by Weather; Uninjured
Boat Strikes a Derelict
Freighter Runs Afoul Hid
den Obstruction; Sea-Co-
ing Traffic Held i'm Port

Fog which tied up the harbor yester-
day resulted in the grounding of the
French liner Chicago, the Bleaching of
Norwegian freighter after collision
with a dcrclict and a collision between
ferryboats
The Chicago groped her way down
the Hudson early in the afternoon,
hooting dismally for a ship that was
undertaking its first peaceful voyage
from this port in four and a half years.
The ticklish reaches of the river, with
their criss-crossing ferry lines and tugs
and motor boats that darted suddenly
under foot from nowhere, whooped hys-
terically and vanished in the mist, were
negotiated safely.
Shadowy tramps lying off Bedloe's
Island loomed vaguely and were left be-
hind. The bluffs and embrasures of
Fort Wadsworth on the one hand and
Fort Hamilton on the other slipped past
almost unseen, and the Chicago headed
triumphantly into the Lower Bay.
But on the very threshold of the
wider expanse of waters, midway be-
tween Norton's Point and Midland
Beach, the vessel shivered in all her
length and Slowed majestically about
to the urge Of her propellers, instead
of driving on for the open sea- Her
forefoot was planted firmly on the
Craven Shoals, bordering Swinburne
Island.
The engines were reversed, and the
Chicago tried to back out of her pre-
dicament, but the effort was useless.
She was hard and fast aground. The
wireless flashed news of the mishap
back to the French Line piers, and soon
Hotilla of tugs were churning a pre-
carious passage to her aid, shrieking
imperiously for right of way over all
river craft.
On board the Chicago were 225 pas
sengers, many of them construction
workers, pioneers in the rebuilding Of
France. They were marooned for three
hours in the gateway to the Lower Bay.
At the end of that time the tide was
high, and the pushing, hauling tugs had
nosed ,the liner og the shoal and sped
her on her way with a shrill chorus of
whistles.
Freighter Also Caught
The freighter that the fog caught
was the Nils, a Norwegian steamship.
1t had numbered even farther on it's
way than had the swift Chicago when
misfortune overlook it and was we'll
out in the Lower Bay when there came
a crash, grating and humping along
the rusty flanks Of the freighter and
the belated yells Of look-outs and Of
fcers.
The vessel had struck some sub
merged derelict apparently, not even
a glimpse of which was caught by any
of those on board. 1t was some weighty
obstruction to the sea lanes for the
freighter's plates were started and it
soon became evident that the Nils
could not hope to return to it's pier
and would be in luck to find friendly
mudbank before sinking in New York
harbor. The skipper turned the boats
prov Jerseyward and hunted for shall
low water at full speed, regardless of
the fog, finding it in the nick of time.
Ferryboats in Crash
1t was not yet daylight when the
ferryboats crashed in the fog. They
were the Scranton and the Maplewood
off the Hoboken slip. The Scranton,
outward bound for Barclay Street, ram
med the inbound Maplewood, which
was we'll filled with passengers, with
in about 200 yards of the pier line
Many Of the passengers were knocked
sprawling by the impact, and G.. Everett
Hill, of IS Arlington Avenue, East
Orange, N. j., was SO severely hurt that
as soon as the boats had reached the
Jersey shore he was taken to Christ
HOSpital HOboken