Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-08-03
A Terrible Catastrophe.

The Staten Island ferryboat, Westfeld
crowded with passengers, exploded hel
boiler at twenty minutes past one O'Clock
Sunday, in the slip at Whitehall. The
conclusion was terrific, SCATTERING the
forward end of the boat, and killing and
scalding great number of people. The
hurricane deck was carried overheard
and lsrge number of persons fell into
the water and were drowned. The en-.
tire lost is supposed to be one hundred
and fifty.
ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.
AS reporter rushed down Broadway
toward Fourth street ferry, he met car
riage with CHASTITY wounded lady inside
supported between two men, and then 8
a small wagon with a woman stretched
upon the floor apparently dead and then
another OF the great fire department wag
ons filled with horrid freight of torn and
muddy bundles Of clothes with here and
there bloody head raised above the Level
of the mass to mark it as humanity. Fol.
lowing in the track of these were wagons
which turned down Pearl street, and fol
lowing the stream of people who were
rushing like mad from Broadway, the re-
porter walked through Pearl street into
New street, to the first precinct station,
where the wagons stopped. A vast crowd
filled the street crowding upon to the steps
of the house on the opposite side, and
climbing on the railing and windows in
front of the station. The popularity OF
this vast assemblage was perfect stiffness.
There was no conversation, and the only
sounds were the hoarse shouts and orders
of the police and iremen who sought to
drive the crowd back from the passage
way, by which the bodies were carried in.
Unexpelled, the reporter passed into the
front room of the station house, shout,
dering and pushing his way through the
crowd.
In the center OF the room stood poor
woman with her clothes torn away from
full burns upon her breast and arms, from
which the water with which they had re-
Gently been washed dripped, mixed with
blood. A group of people had been col
lected by her groaus as the doctor sponged
and dressed her WOUNDS, aud behind this
crowd, in a corner of the front room, lay
oIouox, LIoo3u o,J bosrcoaroJ oor--os T.
chairs behind the railing sat two men and
a woman, fearful to behold, with bloody
and scalded hands and faces, and one man
internally wounded, who had fallen to
the floor, lay there curled up in agony.
The room in the rear Of this was very ILL
lighted and almost dark, and in evory
corner some fearful shape was sitting or
lying, moaning and gesticulating with
skinless bloody hands, and striving to
articulate with scorched SCALED lips and
blackened tongues. 4 doctor was bend
ing over An old woman on o stretcher on
the floor who screamed with agony at
every touch and movement. Another
woman sat in a chair blackeued and
mutilated in fearful manner, begging
for cup of water. Wounded men laid
about the floor in pools OF their own blood,
and fumes of wine and brandy which had
been administered to them mingled with
the sickening odor of eharred flesh.
Men women and children still alive
would be brought in scorched and bruised
and mutilated to such a degree that it
seemed almost impossible that life could
Around the corpses in the front
room, the crowd was incessant and was
constantly recruited from the people who
came in. Among the dead lay a man
with the back of his head absolutely
blown off. He was enid by come to DO
fireman. In the most Interesting group,
was respectable dressed woman of 30
years, apparently sewing woman with
a plain wedding ring on her left hand.
Her head was crushed and her mouth
clotted with blood.
THE EXPLOSION.