Daily News (Kingston, ON), 29 Apr 1897

p.4

WIND AND WAVE.

The Bannockburn entered the Government dry-dock this morning.

The steamer Rosedale, on grounding at Rock Island light, broke her wheel, which is being replaced by a new one.

Three pinflats loaded 40,000 bushels of oats, 10,000 bushels of buckwheat, and 25,000 bushels of peas, at Richardson's elevators today, for Montreal.

When the Bronson's tow struck on Monday night, the barge Acacia began to leak freely. Captain Murray ran her into the bay below the Crossman House, and a six-inch syphon was set to work to keep the water in check. By that means, the water was kept down to six feet in the hold. Wrecker John Donnelly, jr., started his pump to work on the tug Thompson, while a diver surveyed the hull of the barge and found her forefront broken and seams opened up. These were patched as well as possible, and, an elevator being secured, 7,000 bushels of dry corn were taken out. The remainder of the cargo - 13,500 bushels - was damaged by water. The Active brought the barge to the city, with the pumps working at half-steam. From the barge Harvest 6,000 bushels of dry wheat were saved. The Bronson proceeded to Montreal with the rest of the tow, excepting the Kinghorn, which lies about 100 feet below the surface of the water.

News received by the Brockville Recorder yesterday intimated that the one barge which sank just as Rockport was reached, will likely be a total loss, mainly for the reason that she lies in about ninety feet of water. A gang of men were expected at Rockport on Wednesday with a tug, to look the ground over, and it was thought an effort would be made to pick up the towing hawser of the sunken barge, and also a number of others which she had on her deck. Her whole outfit of ropes was new this season, and is valued at about $400. The captain states that this barge struck when the others did, away over on the American shore, but showed no water in her hold, and was taken on down the river. The tug captain was anxious to get into the lee of the Canadian side, and had got down as far as Whiskey Island when he decided to try and hold on there. It was then found that the barge was leaking badly, and her sinking leads the boatmen to infer that the hole made in her bottom must have got plugged with a rock, and when this worked loose she filled. She was a valuable barge, and had about 18,000 bushels of wheat on board. The cargo is understood to have belonged to the Ogilvies, of Montreal.