The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1868-06-22
The Explosion OF "a Steam Firo Fngine
In New York.

A shocking catastrophe occurred in the
Bowory, New York, on Thursday evening, dur
ing fire, owing to the explosion of steam fire
engine, which resulted in the loseof five lives
and the wounding Of nineteen other persons,
which will probably increase the death roll.
The Times gives the following particulars OF
The sad catastrophe: .o.
work steadily and without incident for thirty
minutes, when an order was issued TO take
up, -" preparatory to going home.
Al the moment the order referredt o was gwen,
an act OF the performance at the Bowery Thea
tire had Just concluded, and Tuen and boys
poured out OF the pit door upon tho sidewalk,
and as it were, upon the engine itself. The
engineer, in compliance with the order given,
made the necessary alterations, and turned on
the cold water. Instantaneously ;canne an ex-
plosion. The huge machine war lifted as by Q
siant-harfd Crear from, the street, poiaed.a7
instant in mid'air, then sent, with terri9le
force, crushing and crushed upon the side
walk. Masses Of iron, grate-bars, and pieces
of rods we're torn from the framework aud
hurled through the crowd Of human beings,
being thrown in some instances distance OF
one hundred feet. The steam from the rent
boiler seethed and scalded its way through the
dense mass of humanity at the same moment,
mancling iron came the terrible noise OF tho
explosion as it shook the neighborine houses,
and with it that still more awful sound, the
shrieks Of human agony.
For some moments there was confusion, con-
sternation, wailing and nothing more. There
we're crushed, mangled, bloedlng, wrlthlng
mon and boys upon the sidewalk; there was
the huge machine, riven and kissing upon it's
side. but no one seemed to understand the ma.
ture OF the catastrophe. Captain Jourdan, OF
the sixth precinct, was on the ground and was
the first to bring something like order out OF
the terrible chaos. With the assistance OF Ser
ceant Wcems commanding the force of the
tenth precinct, Captain Jourdan pushed back
The crowd that had tumbled upon the scene
the moment after the explosion. and who we're
trampliug the wounded under foot in wld e3-
citement. >,
When order was obtained and the scene thor
oughly surveyed, the bodies of four men and
one boy were found who had been killed out
right They were clad in the rough garb OF
labor life, and of the thousands about not one
could tell what had been the names and sta
tions of those four mangled bodies. One was
that of man about thirty years OF age, Oh
dark complexion, black hair and black Wills
kers, and of about medium height. Another
was that OF cadaverou5 boy, not more than
sixteen years Of age, With light brown hair and
smooth fair face. Another was that OF man
Of about twenty-five years, thickset and black,
haired, and not bearded. These three had
each q leg literally torn into shreds, while the
boy, in addition, had the flesh shaycn from the
bones of the left arm as if defLly done with
surgeons knife. The fourth corpse was that
of man about thirty-fve years OF age. He
had received but single wound in the back
of the head, where he bad evidently beon
struck by mass OF iron that had crushed the
skull.
These were the dead of the catastrophe, sent
at once, and painlessly, it may be said, to then
account. They we're singled out from the with,
ing mass of less fortunate victims, and placed
in the streets where the thousands OF specta'
tors could gaze upon them.
The dead we're but the least fearful part o.
tho sight that met the gaze OF the terrified
multitude the moment after The explosion
The wounded remained, and, torn and shrek
ing, they were more appalling by far than the
painless dead. The explosion is attriouta6le
to carclessncss in allowing the wator IN the
boiler TO run too low, and then suddenly feed
ing tho boiler with cold water, which, striking
on the hot surface, generated suPerheat;eu
steam, resulting in tho explosion: The boiler
was allowed to carry between eighty and ninety
pounds of, steam, and generally worked at
pressure varying from sixty to eighty pounds