New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1871-08-04
THE FERRY-BOAT DISASTER.
,, oovrRNMENT INVESTIGATION.


,v,NArIoN OF THE ENGINEER, sUPTRINTENp-
bN UT AND AN EXPERT-CONrRADICr0RY EVI-
nrSCp OF THE sUPERINTENDEYT-A EN-
civrFR WHO CANNOT READ OR wRITE-A
QUESTION OF LAGER-BFER.
The Government investigation into the causes
~ the westAed explosion was resumed yesterday morn
ING at No % Finest Inspectors Hill and Booe and
supervising Inspector Lowe were present.
Juus Rayner of No. CannOD-st. stated that he went
on board the wested Sunday just before the expo
sion; out OF curiosity he looked down TO see the man
starting the engine but there one there's the IRE
man came on deck and leaned against the funnel; Wit
ness noticed the hand on the dial well up to the high
pumbers looked In at the boerroom, then returned 10
look at the engine-rOom, and one was there;
witness noxt heard unusual noise, and was Dio"h
of TO the slip uninured before the explosion the stea
was blowing of from tho safetyvalve Judging by the
sound; witness knows the sound having been ious
time in o steam ssw-ml; no colored man was on ooa,u
tho whole time IL the engineer was standing Fun ~
front Of the engine, witness coudn't see him nom W
he stood but II the engineer stirred AT all he wouu
been sure to see him; the remen went back 10 inc ~
room five minutes after the time for starting, anu WIZ
ness Who had been watching TO the engineer star
the boat returned and looked into the eDgne-fooW anu
no one was there then the explosion occurred
EVIDENCE OF THE CoJoRED ENGtSELE
Henry Robinson the colOrcd engineer OF the "eS'
been a steamboat engineer nearly fifteen years; no u
nova, RIM any passeucer boats except ferryDoats I'D
1869 no received license from the Board OF Engineers
which ne believe the fourth license ne mao
the boat left the Landing on sunday nj 2s oouh
inc AZ Quarantine which he left with four COCKS OF wa
tor after comingfnto the NewYork slip he looked mo
,ha o,Ineroo and found % pounds Of steam blowing
into the tank; the fireman came ont and shut
oG the water; as the witness went toward
the fre-room he asked the fireman about the
water in the tanks and the fireman replied
TINT il was all right he entered the reroom and tried
the cocks and found three solid cocks of water after
ward going back TO theengneroom he found that there
were 81 pounds Of steam he then walked ont and stood
in front of the engnerOom aerward walking forward,
and coIung back when about is feet from the engine
ROOM heard the report of the explosion he ran to the
trap to 90 down what the matter and one OF
the remen running up witness did not so down
he had not been absent from the reroom four minutes
before the explosion be did not zee the steam-Gauge
after noticing that marked % pounds the steam which
operated the gauge was taken from the steanppe he
believed that the gauge did not always work with per
feet freedom the inspectors certificate allowed him to
carry 25 pounds of steam but the valve set at q
when he saw the gauge q in the slip the valve was
just simmerng Off :" he had dark fire at the time;
he attempted to relieve the boiler by the tank valve he
was blowing into the tank at the time OF
the explosion but the safety-vave still blowing;
the boiler is fed with water by torcepup connected
with the engine the boiler can be fed from the tank
with boiling water witness did not notice the tempera
ture OF the water in the tank the day OF the eXpo
sion; there was very seldom any difficulty in work
ing the pumps; witness never had occasion TO
raise the safety-valve except when water was low
in the tank the fire was very hot; the waive
always raised itself when under the pressure TO which 1t
was loaded he had rarely steam In the Wcs1cld
above q pounds he had it at 90 pounds while the
hoat on hor IA this within he
thinks there have been occasions when the gauge ind-
Gated higher degree of steam than this, but the gauge
was then wrong he knew the gauge was wrong by the
safetyvave and had the altered; when the gauge
Lad been altered it agreed with the safety-yaive the
opening Of the safetyvave five inches in diameter
witness had seen mercury and sphon gauges and had
run a vessel with the mercury gauge without gauge
he could regulate saictyyalve which had not pre-
viously been egulated by gauge.
witness said he could not exactly explain the diner
ence between highpressure boat and low-presSure
boat save that one used steam high pressure ana
the other used il at low presse,beng called upon TO
define vacuum he declared it to be "fou air " he was
interrogated the erent ways in which vacuum
couI formed and mentioned that one could De maze
by sucking with ones lips at the end OF pipe the oiher
end Of which stopped NE believed that IN tht case inc
nine was made 10 adhere TO the lips by suction he was
aware that the atmosphere exerted pressure but did
NOT know how much the engine was not working
M the time Of the explosion; witness had never
worked in a machine shop he had been hremah oe-
fore he was an engineers he had worked on board steam
boat since 1851 and before this had never known any
accident on boat he was connected with he had never
noticed any leaks in the boiler since 1t was repaired last
Fall except little leaking about the cauking; there
were two patches the boiler on part OF the cyl
Under which was blown off, this near the saddle; he
did not think there any defect in the part OF the
boiler which rested upon the saddle there wac patch
on the cylinder part the boiler near the frebox con
neced with one of the legs; the patch was about two
feet long and fifteen inches broad; 1t was soft patch
| the witness never knew il 10 leakl
The regular pumps attacled TO the engine were gener
ally used for feeding the boiler the donkey pump was
not used last Sunday to the witnesses knowledge; the
boat carried an keel her passage the furnace
end of the boiler feet from the engineroom
! the flrefoom was between the enginerOom and The
boiler; the fireman came up deck between the TIVE
gangways aft of the engiAeroom the semitic through
which be up about IS feet from the boiler th
boat was in the Slip about minutes; witness put thu
hose TO fill the tank when the boat first came during The
Is minutes he went further from the boat than tn
bridge about seven minutes consumed in arrang
ing the hose; be went to the reroom to try the wa:c
about four minutes before the time Of starting; O. TIT
time OF the explosion he walking back to the engine
roJm expecting the bell to ring for starting; there wa
an interval Of about minute and half between TIT
time Of his last looking at the steam and the tint
| of the explosion.
witness could form 10 idea Of the cause OF the expo
sion unless there weakness in the sheet bot
the boiler aud the boat his avorte above the other