New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-08-09
THE sILvER SPRAY DISASTER.
The Story of the Steward.
IErom the Cincinnati Gazette.1


Learning that Mr.. Joseph Legler, steward
and owner of the bar of the illfated boat,
had arrived in the city, our reporter called
upon him at his residence, and obtained
from his lips the story herewith given:
l had been asleep an hour and half, said
the steward, in my berth, about three rooms
from the ladies' cabin, when was awakened
by what seemed to me like the crushing of
a boat on a snag. When looked out
found the boat had apparently grounded
and was sinking Still believing that she
had struck a snag-for didn't hear the
report of the explosion at all, which the
people on the shore said was louder than
any of the artillery they heard during the
war-I looked out for the roof and was sur
prised to see it gone, over nv room, and
almost everywhere else.
/ called out for help to lift me to some
higher place. just then Clay, the steers
man, came along and asked it l was fast.
l told him no, but l wanted to get up, as
the boat had struck snag and was sinking.
ooh, no." said Clay, ''she's only bowed up!'
then saw what was the matter. The cabin
was collapsed; all the central portion was
gone. and the sides had almost touched
each other. 1t was the middle boiler that
exploded. By this timeI began to see the
scalded. Edward Long, my nephew, the
barkeeper, first came in sight; he was nearly
naked, and was wild from the pain. Then
came Jordan and one or two others, also
badly hurt. l at once turned my attention
to taking care of them. got comforts and
threw them around them, and got them all
on the barge. l made three trips from the
barge to the boat, getting things for the
wounded. My last trip came near being
the death of me, and by this time the fire
had caught in the boat and began to give
us all new cause Of alarm.
1 could find no buckets, but l sent down
some dish baskets to the men below, to
enable them to throw water ON the fire. We
soon saw that we could not save the boat,
and that our only hope lay in cutting the
barge loose, and floating away on it. l
crept around on the neck of the boat, in
such dangerous place as l know | could
not hope to scale in safety again and got on
the barge. BY this time, we who were un-
hurt, were at the forward part OF the barge
irving to get it loose from the boat. The
wounded were at the other end. While we
were doing our best to get the barge loose,
we were all Mortified to find the barge itself
on fire in the middle, threatening to sepa-
rate us from the poor, helpless wounded.
portion of the boiler deck had been thrown
partly on the barge, and defied our efforts
to push them off, thus tying the barge to the
burning boat. We had no tools OF any de-
scription to work with, only our hands.
Seeing we could not be saved on the barge,
we rushed to the end where the wounded
were, and removed them to the wheel.
then began to break off such burning lum-
Der as could get hold of, and told the boys
to take the water. We all did So and with
the exception of little colored cook, who
was so badly scalded he could not live any
how, the chambermaid, Mary Nizette, who
lived at John and Belts, in this city, and a
colOred woman, who was called Miss Alice,
all got into the water, and nearly all reached
the shore. These three are all. think, that
died by the fire.
How the accident happened no living man
can tell with certainty. l talked with the
engineer on the deck. asked him who was
in charge. He answered: Il blew her up,
but can no more tell you how if happened
than YOU could, asleep in your berth. u
And | believe him, for l know him to be
one of the best engineers on the river. 1t
was to go to steamboating tomorrow,
don't know any engineer | would sooner
ride over than this man Ashford. The only
explanation he could suggest was, that
the mud might have clogged connecting
| pipe between the boilers. and thus kept up
the supply for one boiler; then, when by
| some lurch, or other cause, the mud lOOsened
| the water would rush into the empty bOilel
and produce au'eXplosion.