The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1871-08-12


when crowded with passengers explod
ed her boiler in the slip at Whitehall
street The conclusion was terrific.
shattering the forward part OF the boat
and killing and sending Il great mum
Der OF people. The hurricane deck
was carried overheard and fell over a
large number of persons III the water,
who were drowned
THE SCENE
was beyond description Men were
struck dumb at the loss Of their wives
aud little ones; women We're distracted
at having lost husbands and children;
while little children were crying for
their parents who were lost. The boil
or was suddenly blown out, landing IN
the DOW thirty feet distant. The for
ward part OF the boat, the upper cabin
and all, was instantly shiyered and
split into thousand pieces. As an
eyewitness expressed it., the forward
part of the boat was lifted fifty feet in
the air, the smoke-stack fell, and then
everything was buried in the hold
Passengers, chairs, stools, horses,
benches and life-preservers dropped in
TO the hold fronting the huge boiler
which poured out Il deadly vol
ume of steam. Many persons were
blown overheard. 4 father and moth
or had their children blown from their
arms The water in an instant was
alive with men women and children
struggling for life The after part of
the boat, which had escaped the force
OF the explosion. would have been safe
for the uninjured, but they we've panic
/ stricken, and leaped overheard without
regard to consequences.
/ Many persons were drowned. The
i harhor police boat came to the rescue,
and gentlemen who were III a rOW-boat
near the battery saved several lives
/ The firemen also went TO the rescue,
and bravelY did they work The debris
III the fore part of the hail was first re
moved. The cries OF the poor half-broil-
/ ct victims were heartrending Shmu-
/ lants were given them rs they struggled
/ beneath the beams, and oils poured on
! their burns As fast as the wounded
were recovered they were borne to the
deck of another ferryboat moored
/ alongside, where they were tenderlv
cared for by DR. Shine. Within %
minutes ambulauces from Central St
! Hospital were at Whitehall. Tie
scalded victims were placed III alubu-
/ lmces and driven to the hospital at full
speed Private carriages and express
wagons were also brought into IequiSi-
! ton. The insurance patrol wagon bore
! several loads Of moaning human beings
/ TO the hospital Some died on the way,
/ and others were delerious With pain
/ One ambulance was filed with children,
/ whose eyes were closed and their whole
/ faces sweiled beyond recognition. Their
/ little feet and legs nere cooked and their
/ tender muscles laid bare.
/ The wounded viii reach one hundred.
/ Many of them were placed in carriages
Eand driven to their homes The drug
st.Jtes IN the neigh boThoo1 were filed
With them. Among the injured was
Sheriff MADDEN, Of Brooklyn, who was
driven to his residence. over -, 000
/ persons gathered 1T the Battery within
au hour atfeE' the explosion.
. The most reliable returns Of the cas-
ulties by the disaster give a total Of
killed fifty and wounded about one
Atndred and twenty
John s[agee sthe pilot, was thrown
from theaforwafl pilot house twenty
teet IN the air, falling on the boat aud
escaping without a scratch.
-. lURfHEE PARTICULARS.
Coroners Aeenan aud Young visited
I the scene oi-the explosion immediately
after the accident happened, Coroner
keenan, VIII hold an investigation, but
/ Will not begin for several days, perhaps
not before next week. 1t is intended
/ that it shall be searching and thorough,
and the opinion of several experts with
reference To the condition OF the
boiler, the material OF which
it was made, and the amount OF steam
. it carried at the time, VIII be obtained.
The jury VIII be composed of business
men OF practical mechanics, able to
render an intelligent verdict according
to the evidence, and place the blame
for the appalling calamity where it
properly belongs. The Jury will view
the bodies at the morgue, and permits
viii then be given by Coroner koenau
for their removal by relatives or under
takers. BY order of the Coroner no
permits for removal were granted.
No theory is offered by the officers Of
the company for the disaster The en-
gineer OF the Northtield says that when
the Westtield steamed out from the Isl
!. and, she had four cocks Of water, and
from the fact that only a slight report
accompanied the explosion, he thinks
there could not have been but Il small
/ head Of steam ON.
Stevens, Secretary of the Staten
Island Ferry Company, says that there
was a government safety-valyc attached
to the boiler. The collector asserts
/ positively that there could not have
! been more than 80 persons on board
/ the boat, the Wcstteld beng an extra
boat, aud but few persons aware that it
had been placed ON the line He holds
/ that it was not possible for SO many to
have been on her, rs though she had
been on regular trip.
INTERESTING STATEMENTS.
Mayor Carroll, OF Syracuse, says: Il
was standing ON the main deck, leaning
against the rail reading a paper; Mr.
Eckel and MIR. Sherlock we're standing
beside me, aud Mr.. Pbjllipson and Mr..
Lew were sitting IN the forward cabin.
suddenly there was terrific explosion,
the violence of which hurled me into
the air and | fell into the hold among
a confused mass of dead and
diving men, women aud children. | was
nearly covered with debris, and almost
blinded by dust and dirt Recovery in
moment | CROPPED my way through
the darkness. aud cl8mherod ont with