Morning herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1837-1840, 1840-01-29
The affiliated Lexington en- Fire
URAua-s.Al~


-. ay.. Repeatedly.
| we 60 not think that jacob III. Vanderbilt, the
'.ouest' weh-read, nnassuming gentleman, (who
blew up the steamboat General Jackson, and killed,
we Know OF how many persons,) will be much be-
| nehed by the part he has taken in defence of the
accursed Lexington. Frederick Hampstead, bro.
Their OF the engineer who was lost in her. called ON
us yesterday, and made the following statement;
which, iftrue, shews that reliance whatever is 10
be placed ON the statements oft he bswer ND of the
I General Jackson Hampstead says, that he went
and returned inthe Lexington the last entire trip
but one that she made. When he went on board. the
joiner was then repairing parts Of her deck that had
been burnt the trip that was jus: completed-his
brother, Cornelius Hampstead, told him to keep
sharp look out for the boat catching fre-that she
was very dangerous, and that if he did not take
great care, he would be burnt up in her He partic.
ularly cautioned him about the blower, which was
so strong as to blow the lighted coal and sparks all
ABOUT the beat. Jacob II. Vanderbilt ne yer rent in
the boat after this blower was in operation, and
knows nothing about it. lattI h
nat trip which Frederick Hampstead went in the
Lexington, this boat on fire repeatediy; indeed
81 many times that he could not count them One
'he the wood piled all round and about the boiler
was oh nre so extensively that 1t acquired the ut
most exertions of all hands to put il out Four boil
% makers aise went in her to repair her. the trio
'hat frederick Hampstead went in her. His brother
told him to look out for fire at the back end Of Tn.
bridge wall because the blower was so strong as r.
dow out the bricks forming the bridge wall AT the
end OF the bars and thus allow the flames TO travel
all round the outside Of the boiler and ignite the
wood piled There. On that very trip this was the
case; the bricks were blown down by the force of
the blower, and the flames caught the wood which
was with difficulty put out.
This was when the blower was only making 600
revolutions to IL strokes of the engine. On her last
fatal trip new pulley was put on the blower, that
increased its power with IL srokes
And yet +. Hampstead says, that hen this Internal
blower was making only eco revolutions, it would
blow the bricks of the safety wall out so fast that it
required the constant attention Of two men to attend
to this point. She has repeatedly been on fire over
the boiler arch; and yet wood was slows ed fore and
aft, Immediately around the boiler, for its whole
length And Hampstead says, that it his firm belief
she took fire, when she burnt up, from this very cir
cumstancs. ti.. u. .t-,-
In addition to all these important facts, so dis
graceful to the directors Hampstead says that cot
ton was piled up over the boiler hatch every trip:
and the decks 50 numbered with cotton as to leave
only gangway of twenty-five inches betwe en- il and
the panels of the boat The trip he went in her. the
cotton was placed, that sixty or seventy bales
had to be removed before the fire engine could be got
al; nay, more from the quantity of cotton she car
ried, II wou,d take four half an hour to remove
the cotton and get the fire engine out The forward
cab ltaiTs went down close to the back end of the
boiler; and the casing of the smoke pipe was about
tW enty feet from the after cabin stairs
One more fact, stated by Frederick Hampstead.
deserves especial attention The fatal trip she was
burnt up he took four boiler makers from Secor's
shop, and put seven patches the boiler, on the
arch part over the furnace, right over the fire bars
He also has had a conversation with Charles Smith.
the fireman who saved, and he says that on that
aal trip she took fire before she got out of the East
niver.
We call the attention of the public generally and
particularly the Coronsrs Jury, to these startling
acts and when Jacob III. Vanderbilt, the polite let
Ter writer, or the defenders of the company. shall
'ave explained away these statements, we have a
ew more for them TO discuss.