Democratic Sentinel, Volume 4, Number 19, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 June 1880 — SICKENING DISASTER. [ARTICLE]

SICKENING DISASTER.

The Lom of the Sarrapuwett, on Long Island Sound—A Frightful Struggle for Life Against Fire and Water. About midnight of Fridays the 11th of June, two large steamers of the Stonington line came in collision .in Long Island sound. Both boats were crowded with passengers. Competition had driven the fare between New York and Boston via the sound down to sl. Many persons took advantage fit the sfnaß fare, and all the boats, since the reduction, have carried large companießj There was a dense -fog, :■ which swept in ’ from the sea, - and -did not Bft for two hours after daybreak. .Veiled in this fog, the two steamboats, approaching from opposite directions, crashed into one another. The Narragsrißett left her wharf in New York, at the close of the afternoon! The Stonington left her wharf in Stonington! several hours later. There "wks a hsavy feg the whole length of the* sound when the Stonington started. This same fog overcrept the Narragansett Both steamers plunged on at a good rate of speed, sounding their fog-whfetles and trusting to the accurate hearing of their pilots and masters to find them a safe way. Every half minute the whistles shrieked. The faint sound of the Narragansett’s whistle was first heard by the Stonington at a point near the Cornfield lightship, a few miles west of the mouth of the Connecticut river and five miles from the Connecticut shore. The Narragansett’s signal said to bear to the.left. The Stonington answered with the same signal. , . - The signals sounded as ’if tn ere was 'a good distance east and west between the twef boats ; but in -a moment more, the. lights-'oLthe two vessels shone -througlvthe fog,. mid wey were going in the saniy poursQ',in .opposite The helm of’rtfia'NarriigailßCtEiwas thrown sharp about, whipb/brongMfoFer broadside to the Stonington. The Stonington plunged on and struck her on the starboard quarter just in front of the wheel. The shock was terrific. It shook the Stonington, which struck point on, in such a way as to throw all her sleeping passengers out of their berths. It ripped open a great hole in her bow, almost down to the water’s edge. If the sea had been heavy she must have gone down at the shock. All the Narragansett’s lights were instantly extinguished. Passengers found themselves locked in their staterooms in absolute darkness. Tlie side of the boat was ripped open below the water’s level, and she filled and sank immediately. A fire also broke forth, and so fiercely that in an hour and a half it farthest all the parts of the vessel remaining above water were destroyed. Fortunately, she sank in shallow water. She must have settled upon some bar, for the water rose only just high enough to submerge the saloon deck. The upper deck would have afforded .a safe asylum had it not been .for the fire. Many of the passengers on board the Narragansett waited neither for the sinking nor for the fire. In sudden terror they leaped into the sea, and, becoming numbed and exhausted, sank before the arrival of aid. Those who waited were'saved. Immediately upon the shock tbe bulk of the passengers climbed upon the top deck. The boat sank, but it fortunately soon struck bottom, and they were still safe. Then the fire broke forth. It whipped so fiercely to leeward that the boats on that side could not be lowered, but the boats to windward were successfully let into the water, all sijve one, which was swamped with a considerable company. The life-rafts were pushed overboard. They proved the salvation of scores. Passengers lashed themselves in lifg-jcckets, and so protected leaped into the water to avoid the fire. Meanwhile assistance was at hand. The steamer City of New York, bound for the metropolis, came up and hailed the Stonington. Life-boats were manned from both boats, and soon the rescued were being lifted aboard the Stonington and the New York by the score. . The panic which followed thU collision was terrible. Men, women and children jumped from their beds and rushed, ..shrieking, from their staterooms, and of them in their night •clothes. They filled the darkened saloon and pushed and jostled each other in thqjr frantic efforts to get upon the deck. The Officers, seem’ fd have- lost their heads completely, and, with the exception of the parser, John Kiernan,’ not one of them, from tlie accounts of the passengers, seems to havv - done • anything to stop the panic. Lights iwere finally procured, and tho passengers fought for chairs, mattresses, life-preserv-ers, and every article which would possibly aid to float them. There were heroic men in that struggling mass of terrified human beings, and •there were', too, cowardly creatures, who took advantage of the weakness of women and children to save their own worthless lives. In the confusion and terror of the moment husbands were separated from wives, and children from parents, and all fought but for one object—to grasp the life which was Hitting from them. Some, weaker than the others, fainted ; some prayed, while all shrieked wildly for aid. In the midst Of the tumult the Narragansett was discovered to be on fire. The bow of the Stonington had penetrated the boiler of the other boat, tho burning, coals of the furnace had been scattered on the oiled woodwork of the steamer, and now to the fear of death by drowning were added the horrors of a death by burning. This increased the panic, and a rush was made for the boats;" but there were no officers at their posts to stop them, and the passengers cut them adrift and piled into them like sheep. The first to reach the waiter was overcrowded, and it was swamped, but the others were put adrift with their precious cargoes. The steamer was settling, the heat from the fire was growing . too severe to be borne, and men, women, and children plunged into the dark waters with chairs, mattresses, planks, and whatever they could lay their hands on. One mother had left her babes in her stateroom, and the fire and smoke fought her back as she attempted to rescue them, so that she was obliged to leave them to perish in the flames. Another jumped with her babe into the water, already filled with struggling, men and women, and the little one was wrenched from her grasp and sucked beneath the waters. "

The incidents of that terrible night are full of suffering and agony to scores of human beings. While these terrible scenes were being enacted on the Narragansett,. the officers of the Stonington seemed to have lost their heads completely. The passengers, after being assured of their own safety—the fear of which had for a time filled them with horror—urged the officers to send boats to rescue the drowning passengers of the Narragansett. After a long delay the boats were lowered, and,then it was found there were no plugs to stop, the . water-holes. To supply these created another delay, and all the time the cries for help were ringing on the night air. The boats were finally rigged and manned, but the men knew nothing of handling the oars, and the result was confusion and much loss of • invaluable time. Once at work, however, the boats of the Stonington did well and rescued many of the drowning men and women. The men worked with a will, which made up in some degree for the lack of discipline. But other and more effective aid whs at hand. Capt. Lanphear, of the City of New -York, sighted the steamer, and bore down upon the disabled vessel. The boats of the City of New York were soon in the water, officered and manned by sailors who understood their work and did it heartily. For an -hour and a half the boats floated around among the drowning passengers, whose struggles in the water were made visible by the light of the burning steamer, and the work of rescue was not given up so long asa head was to be seen or a cry for help heard. Women were pulled into the boats by the hair of their heads when they were just ready to give Up the battle, and men who thought themselves strong fell down apparently lifeless on the decks of the Stonington and City of New York after being rescued. Several persons who were taken on board the Stonington died from ’ sheer ’exhaustion and fright after having battled in the water for nearly two hours. The Narragansett was burned to the water’s edge, and then the hull, with her entire cargo, sank in eight fathoms of water. No accurate list of her passengers was kept, and many who sailed in her are not now known. It is therefore impossible to estimate the exact loss of life. At this writing no estimate of the loss of life approximating correctness can be made. The officials of the steamboat company are apparently bent upon, suppressing the'real facts as long as possible. The number of people burned or drowned is variously placed at from fifty to one hundred and fifty. From all accounts of the disaster, it appears that there was a total lack of the appliances and the discipline which are supposed to be available on snipboard for the saving of human life in such circumstances—no officer to take in charge the business of rescuing the terrified passengers, no crew trained to lower, man, and work the life-boats. The steamer Narragansett cost $320,000 in 1868. She was repaired last-autumn at an expense of $30,000, and was in excellent condition. New boilers were put in about a year ago. Her, value to the company at the time of her loss was not less than‘s3oo,ooo..’ She was insured against fire for SIOO,OOO, and there was marine insurance upon her for $30,000. •