New-York tribune., 1918-01-16
Rescuers Dash
Into Hudson S
Ice All in Vain
Phantom Figures on F1oc
Lead to Fireboat 3 Effort;
Crowds Watch

A thousand pairs OF anxious eyes fol-
lowed tho freboat Cornelius W. Law
renco yesterday afternoon as she sl!th-
cred through tho ice cakes grinding un-
der the Spuyten Duyvil draw and gal
lantly buckod the heavier and solder
doo III the Hudson.
Up In the tower OF Mount ST. Vim
cont Academy. on the border line be
tween New York City and Yonkers,
Deputy Fire Chief Hayes lowered the
field glasses through which no had
been peering --ivelward for two straight
hours
THANK God, she's comeiD hs said
It's the Lawrence They'll break
'>h1'cllgh If 1t sinAls her
Figures Nov Motionlcss
Out in the middle Of the Hud son, far
south of vhero Chief Hayes stood and
get consi derably north Of Spuyten Duy-
vii, the fireman orderly to whom Hayes
passed the glasses could make out two
dark blotches on the ice A few hours
before they had been observed as they
danced il al ecstasy of terror, but they
were motionless now.
The captain Of the steamer Benja-
min FRANKLIN, putting in at Yonkers
at 1o:3o in the morning. had been the
irst to spread the alarm-
"Poor little shavers." he said. Like
~ they've been ont there last night
AN as close as I dared !. WAS pitiful
to hear 'cm yelling for help. I mega
phoncd back and l think I made 'cm
understand thcy's be taken ashore"
While message that went straight
to the heart OF every policeman and
fireman who was q father flashed over
departrn cStal wires, marshalling the
rescue. other alarms by the score came
into the telegraph bureau at Bronx
headquarters. Employees Of the New
York Central had seen the blotches and
made them out TO be boys. Residents
Of the wealthy colony at Riverside had
sprung to the teller phone with the news.
Hundreds OF them lined the shore at
noon when Chief Hayes took up his
vigil In the tower.
At the Mercy OF the Tides
For hours, while the crowds on the
shore grew larger with each minute.
the ice raft bobbed at the mercy OF
the tides. 1t kept the middle Of the
river with uncanny, persistence. Ef-
forts to launch small boats were futile
and from Yonkers, where excitement
ran as high as in upper New York, no
assistance could come because Of the
ice blockade.
1t was 2 o'clock in the afternoon
when the Lawrence finally crashed out
into the Hudson. by that time the
whole city was on tiptoe. The evening
newspapers had seen to that.
The Lawrence, backing, filling, shud-
dering in every PLANK, tore desperately
into the foe. 1t was a battle of ice
against wood, Of tide against steam.
But no one aboard A1c hreboat thought
Of turning back.
Cheers from the shore, where enough
coffee was steaming over a bonfire and
enough blankets were piled to warm up
q thousand boy hoataways, urged on
the crew IS the Lawrence inched her
way to the rescue
When she got within mile of the ice
raft the Lawrence could go no further,
but the disappointment Of the specta-
tors was shortlived. Captain Brown, of
the Fire Department, at this heart
rending moment came into possession
Of q pair of field glasses. He was so
near the raft he had been able short
time before to sec the figures OF the
boys in motion against the white back
ground. That had been with his naked
eyes
"Shiver Me Eyes," They're Moving!
The figures were moving again as he
raised the glasses.
He looked long and hard Then he
grinned A moment later the Lawrence,
having been in wig-wag communication
with the shore, was backing through
the lane she had cleft. Deputy Chief
hayes, who had been telephoned to,
climbed down out Of his observation
tower. The bontires were doused, the
coffee spilled, the blankets folded and
packed for quick trip home. The
crowd evaporated. The evening pape RS
called it day.
On the breast Of the turning tide two
dirty blocks of ice that looked like q
Toy standing up and another reclining
against the background of the immacu-
late cake they rode-blocks that we're
still mostly, but sometimes seemed to
be making frantic signals moved slow
" toward the sea.