New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-08-29
ANOTHER BOILER EXPLOSION
STEAMER SUNK,

- - A. POINT CLEAR, Mlss.-NN
EXCELSIOR PARTY BLOWN
Loss or IFE. 80 s+corer Ocean
MoRus Art. 2s.-The low-presS"i, -, c,,rdo,,
Wv, s,plo6ed her boiler at % jew" m -
,ttcr, !, 81 the wharf at Point 'I'"i' .lls 49,,
hi'eIL~r' az 70 on board so to GO OF whom
aOou' o. ls ,ronnded. portion of the bodies
N'io oht 10 this city by the steamers Fountain
- Iost night. The others will be brought
'"u d.y Efforts are making for the recovery OF
- of tbe drowned The cause of the dlSas-
-. To- not been ascertained and an investigation
LII no made Out Of seven persons comprising one
Colo family six were killed. The captain, en-
S,noe, ao,. -ilot were killed. Only three OF the
officers escaped.
The Mobilt Register has the following account Of
ihe disaster:
The steamer Ocean Wave Qow pressuTe) left the
,ity on Sunday morning. with about 200 persons on
hoard for an excursion TO Fish River, about 20 miles
fom the city. On the return trip the boat reached
Point Clear al 5 p. M. and was made fast The band
and part Of the passengers went ashore and, alter
tLe lapse Of half an hour, the whistle was blown,
and all returned TO the boat. They had Just got on
board when the boiler exploded with great force
followed by a rumbling kissing sound, ana rag
ments of the timbers of the boat and the metal OF
the boiler were blown in every direction Inc loi
ward part Of the cabin was carried away anu ING
chimney fell upon the after-cabin and crusheu It,
The boat sunk almost Immediately ana her Do"
j. now submerged ,
tvor 10 persons were killed or injured by the
explosion. So far the bodies of 10 dead, eight of
whom are ladies, have been recovered Twenty
eight of the wounded have been brought TO the clty
one Of them girl, has since died. The scene was
auuallinc and heartrending Wilder exhibitions OF
grief have been seldom witnessed The frantic cnes
If the survivors in lamentatiOn for their lost wives
children parents brothers. and sisters, were agonz-
ipg 70 the last degree. Many of the passengers were
little children, and little hats and bonnets came
ashore 10 tell of the victims beneath the waves.
The CAPTAIN, VIM. Eaton, swan for some time
with both legs broken. boat reached him just too
bte and he went down. Thetwo pilots were killed
the f1emen were all killed. and the engineer and his
wife severely injured. 1t is impossible to estimate
correctly the loss OF life. By some it is supposed that
at least 20 OF 40 persons still buried in the debris
Of the wreck or at the bottom of the Bay diver
las gone 10 the scene of the disaster.
The accident has cast gloom over the whole city,
and universal sadness prevails. Streets are crowded
with people, and the excitement and feeling are in
tense. The Ocean Wave has been for some time con-
edered an unsafe boat, and has always been an I'M
lucky one criminal responsibility rests some
where and il should he visited upon those to whose
Iecklesuess and ncapacity the disaster is atbuta-
be- The appearance of the boiler indicated that it
had yielded through rottenness as it had been torn
apart I'D a long seam. Had IT exploded with greater
violence the destruction would have been more general
Tie force of the explosion directed upward and
forward.
ne Nautical Gazette reports that the ocean Wave was
tult az HobOken in 1854 and was lowpressure
steamer Of s3s f6lCO register, employed as freight
boat in Mobile Bay, and frequently used as an excur-
you steamer. She was II years Old and was not In
very coed condition The L. s. Local Inspectors OF the
Tcnth Supervising District have had occasion several
times 10 compel her TO comply more fully with
The steamboat laws The first complaint made against
this boat lar, year was for not having on board the re-
guIed number Of hfe-WeseTveIs and subsequently the
Local Inspectors, John W. Youman (ot hulls ana Ed
ward SpTague Of bolers ordered extensive repairs
20 both hull and boilers These Inspectors report that
not single explosion loss Of life by steam occurred
h their district last year. II Is not known that the
Ocean Waves boiler has been changed since she was built