Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1865-11-16

The Yosemite" Disaster.
The wreck Of the steamer Yosemite
lrrived yesterday morning in tow Of the
Goliah, from Rio Vista, where
he was overtaken by the disaster Of
Thursday evening. She was taken to the
or San Quentin Point, and
noOred about a quarter Of a mile from
'hore, where she is now being cleared for
reconstruction.
The circumstances Of the explosion, as
gathered from statements Of officers and
and passengers, are about as follows: The
Yosemite arrived at Rio Vista az ten
minutes obefore six O'Clock Thursday
evening, on her downward trip from Sa-
cramento. Her business at this point
was accomplished in less than ten min
utes, and her lines having been east oil, |
the engine wa set in motion to back her
out from the landing. Scarcely had the
wheel performed a revolution when the
starboard boiler exploded with a great
force. throwing the shell in large frag-
meuts through the main deck, Kidding
the contiguous bulkheads and tmbers,
and completely demolishing her upper
works forward OF the paddle-bOXes. The
damage to the hull, however, was COM
paratively slight, not affecting its sound
ness.
Before the steam hrd vet cleared away
the apOniZing cries Of the poor scalded
victims who were not instantly killed,
| gave token 20 the sad results 30 human
life and limb. Night had just thrown
its sable mantle over the earth, and the
darkness added 10 the horror Of the stu
alton. Many ofthe passengers had re-
tired to their staterOoms, but in a moment
a scene of terror and confusion was pre-
.--~.L Thl n-.wl-
| Of rescuing the living and e~xtricating the
| bodies of the dead from the piles of shiv-
/ cred timbers and debris, was commenced
Immediately. The casualties we're con-
fined 10 the Storage passengers and those
Of the cabin passengers and attaches OF
the boat who were at that moment for
ward. When It was ascertained that the
surviving wounded were all cared for,
and the half-dozen bodies which wsrely-
inCconspicuous had been takOnup, further
search for the dead was deferred until the
following morning, when the recesses of
the hold were explored, and a minute eX-
animation made Of the decks. Out of
nearly forty Chinese passengers in the
storage, thirty-three were taken out
dead; those who escaped happened to be
on the deck when the explosion occurred.
Among the killed Of these unfortunate
] creatures NH JIG nlA4AAE-NAE AAAAN 10
male injured by the accident. The aftel
part of the boat suffered d damage what
ever, consequently the ladies escaped
with nothing worse than the temporary
effect Of a severe fright. In the forward
staterOOms Of the upper cabin were seve.
raj persons, among whom was one Of the
WOrreu sisters .~Irene.) Miss WOrrelP,
staterUOm was thrown Outof shape by the
conclusion, but the lady was unscathed
A Mr.. Lindaner, who, il is supposed
had retired TO his berth, has not beer
heard Of since, while a friend of hi,
was blown into the water and swan
70 the shore. Four employees Of Mr.. Ma
guire, the theatrical manager, were killed
one o fthem, John Z. Meyers, q coined.
ian, was. standing on the upper deck, anc
the other three, from their position wheI
found, are supposed tohave been standing
together below. A boy, nine years O
age, was blown ashore, and instantly
killed, his head being dashed against 4
shed. The mate Of the steamer wa,
standing near the forward gangway, anC
!, received a stunning blow on the head
from some flying missile. He has, how.
ever, been constantly on duty, making
no further account Of his own injury than
simply TO put a baudage on his head, anC
let Il care for itself. Capt. Pistole wa
thrown by the force Of the explosion, bu.
sustained no hurt. Fiftv-three or fOul
? persons are known to have been killed Of
{ fatally injured and since dead, and abOU.
t~hirty-twO more or less injured by tn,
2 scalding water OF steam, or struck with
3 falling or flying objects. In addition
= there are a few missing, supposed tohavI
been thrown into the water and drowned
Among the Cinnamon killed by tn.
.--Ta-s-- -.a, - III -
: accumulated considerable wealth. werl
p on their way 10 the Bay, with the nten,
I ton of returning to their native land {,
enjoy the fruits Of their industry. Sew
2 eral Of them had large purses of coin anC
gold dust. One had a check on a banl
Ia san Francisco for sixty thousand dol
lars, Ond another had a check for twenty
thousand dollars.
p After the explosion occurred, severa
of the Geck-hands were detected in rob
bling the bodies of the deceased. A mum.
Der Of watches and a quantity of money
T were taken, but the thievse were arrested
and placed in jail, and the stolen valua.
bles recovered. The names of the scOun.
drels arrested are Pat. Farron and -
Mcguire.
Mr.. Alfred +. Durney, Of this city, one
Of the visiting managers Of the Indus
AA4aA -AAAEbA- a a Hlr-E-AEfL OH NtlN II o.
semitic, returning home from Saera-
meRto. At the time of the explosion he
was standing directly over the boiler,
and was thrown into the air bv the force
Of the explosion. He remembers falling
on the deck, with a shower Of fragments
falling on and around him. a few
scratches on the neck, face and hands
are the only injuries be sustained. He
was The only person near tina spot who
escaped instant death.
The damage 20 the Yosemite is not so
serious but that she can be put iRto run
ming order again in a few weeks. The
engine was Uniniured, and her smoke
stack keptiJs position. The inside lining
Of the hull, Immediately alongside the
exploded boiler, was smashed into splin-
tiers, and all the timbers of that portion
Of the boat hat came under the influence
Of the explosion were so completeIy
shivered as 10 render them entirely use
less. Nothing ahafC the bulkhead that
run up through the forward part Of the
cabin was injured, not even TO the crack
ing Of a mirror.
Several Of the bodies were brought
down to the city by the Chrysopols yes
terday morning, AMI more will vet az
Among those already here are
those Of Hon. @. W. Seaton, James NJ
Barns, Henry Regens1crger, Vim. =
Sutherland, Henry NJ. Dazin, Charlie, q.
Jacks, William .. Carnegie.
The theories with regard to the orfgiD If
the disaster are conflicting and uusstis-
factory. The officers Of the vessel scort
the idea thatit was caused bv the carsan-
ing Of the vessel, and the Engineer tes-
titles that he had but auoUt two minutes
before tried the gUages and found the
boiler a~bundantly supplied with water.
The impression among those attached to
the boatis, that the boiler was detective.
Its quite natural that they should ex-
pialn Inc matter in such a way as 70 ex-
culDate themselves.
Coroner knorp held an inquest over
the bodies Of the victims, at Rio Vista.
on Friday. The following is an abstract
Of the testimony given:
Capt. Poole knew nothing of the cause
Of the explosion, unless 10 be that the iron
Of which the boiler was made was defeoo-
i've. The boilers were inspected in Nav
last by BEAMS and Waterman, ard a
ceruncate granted authorizing her To
carry thirty-five pounds Of steam.
Robert II. Baucrphyte, the Chief En-
glneer, testified that at the time of t5e
explosion he had four cocks Of water in
the boilers, which was as much as fbev
carried az any time; a second before the
explosion he looked at the gauge. and
found that they had t-wentv-seven
pounds OF steam on. The quality
Of the iron in the boiler Is rather IN
ferior, being Of English make, and from
the Thornecroft Rolling Mills. i'm
England. There were some patches ON
the boiler, put on before and since the
last inspection Of the boilers; whenever
they think the iron iR certain places is
worn out they put on patches to
strengthen it. Unless the iron was de-
fective, the boilers could not have exDIo-
dcd nder the amount Of pressure under
them.
/. Fourratt, the pilot testified 10 the
trustWOrthiness Of the chief engineer and
that the company thought they We're yet
ting the best iron when the boilers were
fabricated. Il is always the standing or
der Of the company to put the best of ma I
terial in the machinery and boilers. The
Jury in their verdict eXonerated the oB-
Of the boat from al blame, and adj
ded 4" We further say, that whatever