The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1853-01-19

y. g. CIROUTT OOURr.
nsrs,~a Hon Jud0A Retta


commenced by saying that the jury had been brought
there for the purpose OF investigating very serious
charge, made by the grand jury against two persons
residing in this district. One OF them - john w.
Farnbam who commanded the steamboat, and John
How,ett, the engineer They have demanded sc.
paratt trials, and Captain Farnham u now placed
before them. The District Attorney then proceeded
to state that. in consequence OF the great number oil
disasters which occurred board boats since the IN
PRODUCTION OF steam navigation, Congress had enact.
ed law, il 1888 providing for the better security OF
the lives of passengers board steamboats, and this
law extends itself everywhere under the flag OF the
| United States The District Attorney read the act
which provides that any commander. or any other
person having authority on board steamboat, VINO
shall be found guilty OF negligence or inatention
shall be subject 70 an imprisonment not exceeding
ten years, in the discretion of the Court, according
| to the circumstances Of the case To the persons
| in charge of the Management of steamboats, were
entrusted the lives Of our wives and children anda
that were dear to and in order that they may he
better protected, Congress had enacted this law An
other section Of which compes captains Of vessels to
open the safety valve at every wharf or landing
place and if he neglect 70 do So no matter whether
any accident occurs or not he is subject to penalty
| Of two hundred dollars. Mr.. Hall here read the
ninth and sections Of the act He alluded
to the disaster WHICH occurred board the steam
boat Henry Clay in july 1852, and said that within
a short month after that the community was aston
ihed by the intelligence that no less than thrtyfour
persons had their lives destroyed by another steam
boat calamity, and that boat wss the Reindeer. 1t
will appear in evidence that the Reindeer left New
York little after seven o'clock ON the morning of
the fourth Of September, 1852, bound for
| Albany with q number OF passengers, many
Of whom were going to enjoy the cool regions OF the
north. She passed up on her accustomed route.
| 1.-THE District Attorney here produced map OF the
State Of New York, with the route on n, the hudson
made six landings between New York and Bristol Tor
Maiden, as If is sometimes called where she arrived
about one O'clock distance of liz or ia miles.
Deducting the stoppages would be found that the
vessel went at speed Of about twenty miles hour,
and during the whole of that time she never, at any
point, complied with the act by using her safety
valve to let Off the steam She defied this law, and
would appear in evidence that she always did defy
| it. He, Mr. Hall, believed that the steamboats, on
the North river never do comply with this act, bat
that they habituay disObey it, in consequence ofthe
They adopt another mode--they open the doors Of
the boilers az evasion of the seventh sectOn they
say that Congress should not have passed such
law; and gentlemen connected with the
act Congress ought not to be obeyed and that they
will dismiss from their employment any captain or
engineer who will obey it. Rivalry must be main
tanned and human life sacrificed. 1t would appeal.
in evidence that some Of the passengers inquired OF
the second engineer, Who unfortunately, has been
destroyed if it was not the custom to blow off steam
at the stoppages and that he said they never blew it
of. Mr.. Hall then stated that, this melancholy
occasion, forty persons were killed or wounded,
thirty-four OF them having lost their lives
The first witness called was Allen w. Seaman,
who, being examined by Mr.. Hall, said reside at
Hudson; am river pilot; was engaged in the
business in September. 1862, on board the Reindeer;
was the pilot Of the Reindeer on 4th Sept. last;
had been her pilot over two years; she had been
built about two years; ! went on board OF her in
August 1851; she ran six months in 1851, and ran
the of 1852 until 4th September; she left New
York. bound for Albany, on 4th Sept. at a few
minutes past o'clock; she first stopped at Cozzens
dock, about ifty-0ne miles from New York; do not
know the hour at which We landed: we next stopped
at Newburg, then Poughkeepsie. Kingston, TiyOli,
and then Bristol, or Maiden; we arrived there few
minutes past o'clock; was steering her part of
bowed steam at West Point (Cozzens): suppose
were there about five minutes; the oilerexpoded
at Bristol; should say we had not landed three
minutes when the explosion took place. WITNESS
here described the position of the boilers to the Court
and jury.l The inside sheet Of the boiler gave way,
and the steam went down into the furnace and passed
into the after cabin there was thin Partition. which
the steam tore down; some of the passengers were
at dinner; some Of the passengers were destroyed;
saw the bodies of the barkeeper and one or two fire.
men, and the cook: the name OF the steward
1 was Garw0od Barnaway; he died that night, about
| eleven O'Clock; don't recOllcct the exact number
that was killed; it was between thirty and thirty
five; there were iorty-onc wounded and killed alto
gethcr CAPTAIN j. w. Farnham commanded that
steamboat; he had commanded her since the begin
| ming of 1852; John Hewlett was the engineer; the
second engineers name was Abraham Beecher Cox:
Mr.. Hewlett was injured; saw the steamboiler af-
forwards; 1t not injured in any other place but
\ the one have described it had been bent up and
drove the fire out of the ire-places; the Reindeer
burnt up: she lay at the wharf at Bristol from
/ Saturday, the 4th September, until the succeeding
Friday; could not say from what cause she was
burnt up; the steam not blown off at Bristol;
/ don't rccoect her blowing it off anywhere that day
/ but ut West Point; have known her to blow OF her
steam dozen times while was pilot
Cross-examined by Mr. W. &. Noyes-I have been
engaged pilot on STEAMBOATS, on the Hudson river
\ for about twenty years; | have not always been
I pilot; commenced as deck-hand: it was about
1882 steamers on the river commenced burning coal;
was then on board the steamboat Legislator which
ran from Hudson to New York; an engineers
duty is TO attend to his engine: he has the
control OF the engines; he has an assistant engineer
! and fremen under him. there was only one assistant
engineer on the Reindeer, and believe six fremen
the assistant engineer was killed. and two fremen,
and young man named Brown, an 0iler; there were
from twelve to fifteen of the hands belonging to the
boat killed; it is the duty of either the engineer or
assistant to be in the engine room; ! never went
there that did not find one or other of them there;
| was in the engine room when we were near West
! Point: passed the door of the engine room when
we were within four miles of Bristol; the engineer
and assistant were both there; Mr. Hewlett had been
at dinner, and came in to let Mr.. Cox 60 to his din
ner | saw the captain, between Red Hook and Bris-
toll walking the deck he asked me what way we
going to land, and told him aft: the duty of
the captain to assist the passengers at landing and
receive their tickets and give orders to the men; he
stands on the gangway; the duty OF the second pilot
is standing over the captain at the gangway, and he
gives me the signals for landing by bell, and give
the signals to the engineers the captain does not give
any signal at all; the second pilot was at his post,
and gave the usual signals that OCCASION;
we had not started from Bristol when the acct
dent took place; | found the captain on
the after deck, when ! next saw him; also
met Ilowlett he was burnt and scalded, and
his face was black with coal dust; our time Of arriv
ing varied according to the tides and weather; we
have arrived ut Bristol at IL o'clock; we had ebb
tide all the way the 4th Sept; we had not great
deal of wind that day; we were three-quartcrs OF an
hour behind time that day; there was other boat
up that day; we did not go fast that day; the
was, suppose, because we had not great deal of
steam; we had an ordinary load of passengers, from
80 to 100; there might have been more. Q.-Has
the captain any control the engineer in reference
TO the practical movement of the boat A-Not that
ever knew Of the engineer is appointed by the ow
ner and the engineer appoints the second engineer