The Sun.
London, England, 1850-02-18 00:00:00

AWFUL EXPLOSION OF A STEAM

BOILER.

FIFTY KILLED AND FIFTY WOUNDED.
(From the New York Herald of Feb. 5.)
It is our melancholy duty to• day to present to our
readers the details, as far as they could be gathered
up to the time of our going to press, of one of the
most frightful casualties, attended with an awful de-
struction of human life, that ever occurred in New
York.

The accident occurred at a quarter to eight o'clock,
yesterday morning, by the bursting of a two hundred
horse power boiler, in the printing press and machine
shop of Mr. A. B. Taylor, Nos. 5 and 7, Hague-
street, within a door or two of Pearl-street. As soon
as the explosion took place, we are informed
by persons who witnessed the catastrophe, the
whole building, which was six stories in height,
was actually lifted front its foundation to a
height of six feet, and when it reached that
elevation, it tumbled down, crushing in its ruins a
vast number. So great was the force of the explo-
sion, that fragments of the building were scattered
in every direction ; the windows in the neighbour-
hood were broken, and a large portion of the
front wall of the fated building was thrown
with tremendous power into the houses oppo-
site. In fact, the building was completely
wrecked, hardly one brick being left standing on an-
other, with the exception of a solitary piece of wall
eight or ten feet high, as if to indicate what had been.
In the firm of Alvah B. Taylor and Co.' there were
about sixty-five persons employed. In addition
to these, there were about the same number
employed in another firm in the same build-
ing, namely, St. John Burr and Co., batters.
In the basement story was the engine and the
blacksmith shop, where there were four pair of bel-
lows and about twelve men at work, besides Crissey,
the engineer, and his brother. The engine con-
nected with the second and third stories, where
the machine shop was situated, by means of
shafts and straps. The ground floor was oc-
cupied as a hat shop, and eight men worked at
a table in front, of whom there is no account.
The fourth story also belonged to the hat establish-
ment, and was used as a blowing room. The fifth
story of the building was used as a carpenter's shop
for making models for the machine shop. The sixth
was occupied by Mr. Singer, a letter engraver, who
has obtained a patent for a new invention. It is be-
lieved there was no person in this story at the time of
the explosion.
A building immediately in the rear, occupied as a
brush factory, and also as a watch-case manufactory,
had the roof and a portion of the wall thrown in by
the falling ruins. It was in going to this building that
Louis Day, the Frenchman, was killed. The walls of
the machine. shop were very strong, being 20 inches
thick.. The building belonged to the Messrs. Harper,
and we understand was not insured. The stock and
engine, &c., we have heard are insured.
The soap and candle factory of Hull and Co., in
the rear, was considerably injured by the shock.
So dreadful was the explosion that the windows in
several houses in Pearl-street were broken. Even
the sashes of 351 were smashed. A gentleman who
was looking on at the time informed us that the ex-
plosion was like the reports of two cannons fired in
quick succession, one after the other. Doubtless
the second report was the crash of the falling ruins.
Immediately after the explosion fire burst from
the promiscuous heap of bricks and beams, and
human bodies were seen with legs and arms
sticking out—some of them dead, some living.
The fire alarm for the district was first
given, and then a general alarm, which
brought the firemen from all parts of the city to
the scene of desolation. Some plied the engines,
while others assisted to get out as many as possible
of those. who were under the ruins. In a short
time the fire was so far subdued that the fire-
men could work more effectually in removing the
bricks and timbers ; and towards ten o'clock
there was scarcely any flame issuing from
the wreck; but the heat was very great, and the
great difficulty to be avoided was lest those beneath
the pile should be either drowned or scalded ; while
on the other hand they might be burned to death by
the fire ; and but little could be done to save those
still living, until the fire was completely brought
under.

As near as can be estimated, there were 120 per-
sons in the building at the time of the catastrophe,
scattered throughout the machine-shop, and the hat-
factory above-mentioned, in both of which a great
many men and boys are usually employed.
Had the accident occurred an hour, or even half-an-
hour later, the destruction of human life would
unquestionably have been much greater than it
was, as a great many of the boys, in consequence of
the extreme coldnes of the weather, had not at that
time arrived at their work. As it is, however, the
number of persons killed is dreadful to contemplate.
In the machine shop and hat shop together there
were usually about 130 hands employed ; probably
there were from 100 to 120 men and boys present at
the time of the explosion.

In the hat shop most of the bands were present.
In this establishment a good many boys were em-
ployed—in the machine shop there were few. The
following is a list of names, though not a complete
one, of the hands in the machine shop :—Geerge Ford,
first foreman; Robert King, second ditto; J. S.Crissey,
Samuel T. Crissey, A Huggins, Adam Neely, John
Browne, Larry Chrystal, Robert Ross, John Gil-
martin, Thomas McKeever, Owen Cunningham,
Charles Dougherty (saved), A. C. Osborne, William
Proctor, Henry Reed, Eli Hull (taken out dead),
Marshal Vought, George 11. Davis, Thomas Van-
derbilt, Robert Hyslop, Rufus C. Witing, A.
Aldridge (Seneca Lake), William Gowenlop, James
Gilderoy, Thomas Philips, Robert Knowlton,
Oscar Kelsey, Lorah King, Halsey King, John C.
King, Leonard Brookes, James Brookes, Thomas
Brookes, Clarke Vought, Oliver; Browne, Luther
Thompson, William De Lander, M. M. Culton,
Thomas Wood, William Rogers, William
Proctor, Richard Herschel], M. D. Ford,
J. Gilder, J. Thompson, James Powers, Richard
Burtwhistle, and two or three names not ascertained.
Mr. Taylor, who resides in Newark, had not arrived
at the time of the accident ; Mr. Putnam, his part-
ner, is also safe, not having reached the premises till
fcer the explosion.
The following are names of those in the employ of
Messrs.L
. Canfie Burr ;—C, O.
Mills,Ci
0. Jessup, foreman, W.
James
and Co.
Hyatt, es
Martin-
dale, James Flood (boy), P. A. R.
hillips (boy),
Thomas Weed (boy), H.
ld, J
W. Smith, S. H. Smith,
Joseph Hannibal, John Rogers, Edwin Hurd, George
Hyde, Peter Hyde, Frank Ryder, John Lockwood,
W. Quigg, J. Docherty (boy), D. Doekerty (boy), G.
F. Worrell (boy), R. Hannibal (boy), L. B. Whitney.
Richard Egbert, W. Boudoine, M. McLaughlin, W.
Barclay, Frank Barclay, R. uv.
guton, E Lambert,
S. Findall, W. Merritt, Tyndalli(boy), F. Lynch,
Dutch Frenchman, Thomas Farrell, W. Collies
(boy), J. Collins (boy), W. Thompson (boy),
Peter Burns, John Ward, W. Collins, Luke
Collard, J. Doming, T. Vrranger, John Thurston
(boy), J. Huestis (boy), and a boy, name unknown,
with others, whose names the foreman could not re-
member. For many of their friends and relatives,
who heard of the accident, entertained the worst
fears.