The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-09-27

CUT, she ssst hIhnt Another report,
and one wA'ch there ared TO be good reason for be-
lesng, end which wls ny improbable, was that
the ship ire Lengths Of hose were brought from
various parts al the ship and attached 10 the pumps, the
men wers nurrymg 70 anu o with buckets ana IONS So
Of the ship, which still threw up dense volumes Of steam
and smoke All the time the good ship kept her course
make about six revolutions, the giant paddle wheels
yoviug heretofore, and the kept steadily work
ing at 52-about two thirds her speed.
PROVrDERTIAL FORESIGHT OF CAPTAIN HARRISON.
gAe rumors that the ship on fire. that she
rapidly nhng with water were strengthened ey the stem
rapdy and vehernenty ORDERS was confidently stated
had been given the ship ashore Hastings or
beach her at the first fitting favorable spot that could be
found The ut the wheel heaved with hearty gooi
will to bring the ships bead rapidly round, and then
been as doce as am6, moving easy Thames
steamer above bridge tossed and pitched and rolled in,
and she dashng and phnsng as she pleased at some
ten knots through the water, with Hastings ON her port
| side and large ship. running across her bows It
the appearance Of this ship that led TO tina
| order to port her helm, and with any
OF running the vessel in shore. Fortunately the
| strange ship wore roand, and escaped inevitable
destruction Owing the extraordinary foresight and
great Practical knowledge OF Captain Harrison chains had
snch as shat which had occurred These were rove
through the sheaves, and made good quickly pos
sibe and the ship vas IN few minutes again under the
moved. Many OF the passengers lent willing hand at
the rope for bringing round the rudder must not omit
The OF ropes for the tcr, and he was
after protest, allowed TO put chains board to
be applied IN Gaze OF need The captain had also, in the
early part OF the day laid some stout running lines
through blocks near the tcr, which could be attached
%o sss % ne y engine e. wGrg
event Of the ner ropes gong until the chains could be
| Exed.
| CAUSES of THE EXPLOSION.
tits time 10 inquire into the cause Of Ais ''rup
| ture,n or disruption" or sexplosion,' rs il
riously called by those who viewed the accident its
4 different points IL the
constructing steamships, to have arrangement
which called pipe , ason" the lower part
the furnaces and through the boiler tubes which escapes
the funnel Of course great, and the lower
ton much hotter than the upper part OF the funnel II
thought that this great heat might be rendered useful
partially heating the water before il was into the
than the metal Of the funnel would in some
sure shield protection from the intense heat of
those parts OF the ship which near il. In the
Of the Great Eastern where large amount of
| fire required for the heavy boilers, it would, Of
course DC conseaa oOoSo Apply ,ns prn S
possible The grand saloon ladies' drawing room s
rather ravcrsed oy two OF the five or six gigantic
tunnels Of the ship and thought that the tcmpera
ture would be much too high unless this system Of water
jackc,ng or casing was adopted. Accordingly around
the part Of each funnel placed iron
i cylinder, and the space-about ten inchcs-which
between this outer and inner filed with
Of water. pump ought be constantly employed
in forcing water into the casing circular tank which,
when heated 10 certain degree, would pass oil into the
boiler beneath aordng supply OF warm instead Of cold
i
fresh supplies Of cold poured in the water will in time
become Of the same temperature as that of the inner iron
casing and should approach to boiling heat and gene
rate steam then, il the steam cannot escape, there will
be an explosion, as in the case Of an ordinary boer
the safety valve IS not permitted to work. This
was exactly what took place on board the Great
heated the cock in the feedpipc shut off, and the
whole affair became closed iron tank, in which the
steam rapidly accumulated and finding no vent and not
sufficient resistance exploded with the terrific force indi
by the fact Of its having forced the whole funnel
wards through two decks and flooring and into the air
above the upper deck The actual result was the
though the engineer had constructed perfect
~ and water tight which he had filed with and
allowed heated until il burst for the purpose see
ing what would be the effects Of such explosion upon
the ship reference 10 her peculiar system Of building in
water tight compartments. Nothing can be simple
efficient the purpose Of keeping down the tenn
pcraturc the neighborhood OF smoke tunnels the
theory requires 70 be carefully carried OUT for this is
done is shown by the recent calamity, the only
effect is create Volcano terrible in it's action and
redeemed the slightest degree BY any compromising ad
vantage in Increasing the power and efficiency OF the
working arrangements OF the machinery.
ASPECT OF THE GRAND SALOON AFTER THE DISASTER.
AS the heat and steam had sufficiently cleared
admit Of descending saloon, the sight which
the eye Of most grieyous character The splendid
chamber which Mr. Grace had elaborated with SO much
proprateness TO its constitutional character perfect
ruin and It's artist desiner stood silent and amazed
the havoc which in had been made OF oil his
cherished designs colossal mirror the after part Of
the saloon had disappeared, not fragment lett the
gorgeous gilt Trainings but, strange freak Of the demon
OF destrucon the mirror just framed Of the funnel
which had shot upwards untouched, as well as the
each side Of the saloon, which now reflected
between them long vista Of ruins The mirrors which
formed the covering Of ME which had been the
cause Of so much mischief were literally smashed
atoms, and large fragments OF the broken glass
hauled upon deck long aft Of the paddle
wheels The ornamental bronzed which supported
the gilt cornces and elaborate ornamen,aon we're either
struck down bent into the fantastic shapes; the
flooring consisting Of three incn planks, upheayed
several places the gangw avs leading TO the sleeping cabins
at the sides shot away; the hanrails gone
and the elegant carpet concealed beneath chaos of frag
mcnts of 6ncry The books the shelves of the library
mad tho thr IA
and the floor presented huge upheavng chasms
through which might be the still greater ruin in the
lower cabin. Below the saloon drawing is the
saloon OF the lower deck, which was traversed by the
same funnel the above it, On each side of these
spacious saloons small sarcaees leading blocks
of sleeping cabins, scarcely one Of which would have
been without its two occupants hours later
in the evening They are no. blown down like house
of cards The bedding and furniture which they con
tanned form heaps Of dislocated chairs and wash.
stands, and basins the doors are off their hinges,
the partitions forced outwards, the staircases
leading to them must be sought in the spnters
and broken wood which lie in heaps in the lower saloon
BY the aid OF ladder succeeded in reaching the cabin
which We had occupied the previous evening won
dered how we bad not been crushed by the concusson
should have been able the darkness of the
night to have escaped from the ruin which pre-
sented itself every hand Descending from the sleep
ing cabins into the saloon, picked our way
amid heaps Of spntered timber gaps in the
flooring 10 spot from which could look down the
vast hollow where the collapse called by the
engineers, had occurred There deep and rag
ged well OF the fa'a iron casing and within
Of the lower portions OF the funnel reposng the upper
surface " We DO'er Ane iron pateS were rent AZ the
rivets aDdS torn in the centres; some were rolled
up like huge masses Of paper, and blown away
into distant Of the saloon; the steam
pipes and syphon tube bent in and upon
the torn masses most fantastic forms and strange
confusion. The massive twO-ieet fange wrought
iron grders which supported the lower deck were in the
neighborhood Of the accident curved and bent
irregular forms, and the fact Of these Of metal
having yielded afforded the strongest most striking
evidence OF the terrific force Of the explosion Descend
ing still lower into the regions Of the furnaces and boilers
there were other evidences Of the injury which had been
caused Happily the boilers stood firm and SO far as
we were able TO observe not ve had started. All the
furnace doors OF the forward pair of boilers OPEN
and the FIRE had been raked out after the accident they
we're not used and the engines supplied from the
other pair of boilers Some shreds plates of the
casing remained in the lower part and the rough Jagged
and uneven edge shows the part Mt which the funnel sepa
rated previous TO its through tiers of cabins
The huge tube was again severed the fanges the
the col,