New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1871-09-09
The Ocean Wave Investigation.

| The Mobile Tribune of yesterday reports
the testimony of Mr.. H. B. Oils, in the in
vestigation as to the causes of the Ocean
| Wave disaster:
He was a machinist and engineer for
| twenty-five years. and was local inspector
| for six years. Examined the boiler of the
| Ocean Wave after the explosion. Disc0v-
! cred the bottom of the boiler in some places
very thin varying from one-siXteenth to a
! full quarter. The two lower sheets ran
! lengthwise, and were riveted with two
rows Of rivets from the after end. A soft
patch, about fourteen by three inches, was
| secured by five tive.eighth inch bolts on one
| side, and gum under. At this place the
iron was very thin, and the patch was evil
! IDENTIFY put on to cover crack. which was
| close to the seam at the bottom of the boiler.
| The boiler came originally from Harlan,
I Hollingsworth & Co, Wilmington, Della
! ware, who built it for the steamer Sparks
| in 1864. First knew the boiler in the com
mencement of 1869. The boiler was
| put under my authority only as an
| Inspector. Gave the lawful hydrostatic
| test at the time, and discovered nothing
! faulty. Did not discover two sheets placed
| in the cylindrical part of the boiler l0ngI-
| tudinally. Could see no difference in the
strength of the iron put in IN that form and
in the ordinary way. Has discovered that
| the creasing of iron would follow the grain
| and not crOsswise of the iron; sheets put in
that way form a longitudinal seam at tie
bottom of the boiler which may leak, waste
| and corrode the iron. Never heard any
complaints made against the Ocean Wave
while he was inspector. Does not remem-
Der ever to have seen sheets running fore
and aft as in the present case while he was
Inspector Sees no signs on the t1ues show
ing that the water was low. The surfaces
i,,1 h hn of ha a,pa
color and shape, and as tar as witness saw,
the fire box, smoke box, and t1ues appear
to be in their proper places on the
boat; the shell of the boiler is the
part that gave way, evidently parting
in the bottom where the iron was very
thin in places along the longitudinal seams,
which had evidently been leaking under
the soft patch. The iron was evidently
eaten through, the soft patch serving the
purpose of covering the crack. The patch
was fourteen by three inches, fastened by
five bolts bolted on the gum. The cause of
the explosion was defective iron at the
bottom of the boiler, cansed by pressure of
steam. From thirty to thirty-five pounds
would have been sufficient to cause the ex-
plosion. The patch had been on from four
to eight months. If, in testing the boiler
by hydrostatic test, a leak had been dis
covered the attention of the inspector
should have been called to it in the ex-
animation and the thickness of the iron
would have been tried. The practice of
witness, when an inspector, was to apply
the test, and continue it to the point re-
quired, keep the pressure up, and
make examinations of the boiler
with the first engineer, and III
the event any defects showed themselves
order the necessary repairs; when the re-
pairs were made the boilers retested to
prove their correctness. 1t was not his
practice to examine boilers internally.
Never used a hammer to sound the iron
while the boiler was under pressure. Dis
covered nothing wrong i'll the common
valve; the government valve looked as
though the opening had been INSTRUCTED by
putty made from white and red lead there
appeared to be sufficient space for steam to
supply government valve; knows Murray,
the engineer; he is sobber man, but drinks
occasionally; only knew of him as an engi
neer on small boats, and for several years
on the Ocean Wave. Knows almost nothing
of his papers as engineer, and remembers
as little. Knew Captain Eaton as an engi-
neer and a sober man.
The examination of witnesses will be con
tinued until all the facts are fully made
known.
This, from the Iberville NeprS, is poetical
prose:
The river in front of Plaquemine is be-
coming 'small by degrees and beautifully
less" A blazing summer sun has shOrn the !
turbid Father of Waters of his magnificent |
strength, and he now rolls along as listlessly |
as trout brook-certainly great change
since last winter, when the mighty river
poured its angry floods to the gulf, occa-
sionally Overlapping its bounds, and carry
I hog "a