The New York herald., 1871-08-01


The interview closed here
ON BOARD THE WESTFiEID YESTERDAY.
What Practical Men Say About the Boiiers-
Scene Of Horror and Confusion.
miserable wreck, moored to rotten tmbes
pier upon which stands decaycd derrick-onc thai
has evidently seen better days-and surrounded b.
numerous other ric1cty and wretched-IOOEina
wharves-Gt companions In adyersity-,ies the i'll
ratcd Westfeld the theatre OF Sundays lamentabN
disaster.
To allow the bodies Of the unfortunate vcums to
be recovered from the slip, Immediately alter tna
disaster the vessel was towed away up tho ExS
River TO the foot OF Thirteenth street, where she
now lies, the
OBJECT or MUCH CURIOSITY
and out OF the reach Of the rabble who tnrOny the
wharves, regarding 1t as something OF unenvlahie
notorlety. policeman on guard and a few lax3
employees, proggng around among the doris f0a
relics OF the departed are her only crew.
Tho vessel can only be approached safely b1
means Of a boat, and numerous wherrics ars impro
ylsed by the smart gamlns OF the district to convey
visitors to and fro for the small sum Of five cents.
Very properly
'NuSE ARE ALLOWED ON BOARD
but those VINO have business there, aud 1t really
astonishing how many persons have this day made Il
their business to inspect the unfortunate vessel.
among whom was HERALD reporter, whose object
was to describe the benefit Of the public the ptc
ture of desOla,IOn.
Arriving OH board, the scene presented was most
remarkable Tn, aft portion OF the vessel-that H.
the end which was mO0rcd to the slip-was perfect
aud entire; tue fore part Was
ENTIRELY OUT AWAY
from the shell OF the hull TO the pilot house on taa
upper deck, and was scattered around confusedly
in small fragments; lndeed some part OF the WOOD
work literally torn TO ribbons. 4he force Of the
explosion may be imagined from the fact
that from the centre Of the vessel to the bow.
or rather what was the bow as she lay iu
the Slip, everything was thoroughly and eectuaily
removed, even to the outer parKs Of the boat An
that remains In that cnd Is what has been urtcd up
and returned again IN a confused mass. The bolcv
Is lifted yards out Of Its place and large portion Oi
1t LOGGED IN the extreme bow,
s'rURNING OVER TIE MAIN DECR''
like the lid OF box The smoke stack lies diagOa.
ally across the keel anu boiler plate Is lodged In
the side OF the n0ld valves, crdnks aud stays
warped and huddled pell Inel arould.
Among the debris Is still to b, noticed numerous
1hign0ns, pads, parts oil dresses and various Dor
tions OF female attlrc Quietly noting these me!aa-
choy relies the HERALD reporter notices o. the
employees. who Is progging about, ana has evi-
IDENTITY fallen upon some object which puzzles him.
Ascending from the hull this employe slowly sp-
proaches me reporter. udrolling piece OF moist,
I'd got nice pair OF kid Gloves" and lie lifts up
the gaze OF those standing around and the rou2lIs
standing on the wharf the
SKIN FROM TuE PALMS OF A MANS HANDS,
right aud ie evidently In the struggle for life amid
the scading steam OF the explosion 'i'l stand you
umansy on the Wharf. ssare, iii not take mUnsv
1or dead mans skin." Says the emplOyc, and hs
descends again INTO the hold and returns again With
several other specimens, which he wraps up
and treasures away. The sight Is sickening, aud
the reporter tells 'him SO. The various portions
OF female har arc curiously p0Hcd over by the sticEs
Of the visitors, and spccuIaOns are ventured rs to
VINO may have been the possessor and whether they
b. THE .sENGTNE ROOM"
which remains perfect and enijre are several sets Of
harness, evidently belonging TO tho poor animals on
board at the time Of the accident. Everything which
meets the eye serves 10 remind tho bcholier or the
terrible panic which must have added horror upon
horror 10 tic ebastiy scene al the moment OF the
terrible crash.
Descending into the hold and Inspecting the boiler.
we lind " Is an ordinary marine boiler, Constructed
on the return nue principle, having sixteen nues
connected @ Win The furnace and surrounding ,ns
which meet few inches nom the centre aud which
are pronounced by
as utterly insufficient ior boiler Of that capacity
!, evidently 9avns yielded IN the first instance IN
forcing them out OF their iastcnlngs, inns rippiiT
the end out ike a piece or paper ana driving the
Sssr easing INTO the DOW ,ss Of the vessel as before
forming a yawnIng gull filled with steam and
scaldlng water, into which many Of the Un-
nope U,''' Of % escape To think r ot i s""SSs ons
almost envies those who were blown on the deck
ers, % parboed Re of As
Pelling the Wesfeld and It's living freight over New
York Bay, we mere append Tue opinions expressed
by practical men who were inspecting II In tue pres
N Df n O.
GENTLEMAN OF LARGE EXPERIENCE
and connected with very extensive boiler manu-
factory, thus gave his Opuion:-"rhe boiler Is old.
the IRON OF which IT Is constructed is very inferior
the explosion having torn = across the fibre Of the
and, ABOVE all, 1t IL insulicently and unsc,entn-
caily stayed the stays being placed diag0naly, W.
weakening tic construction. It has, understand.
been certied 10 beartwenty-seven p"unus PRESSURE
For my pare would not work II AZ
TEN POUNDS PRESSURE,
and for any man TO certify TINS b0ner AZ AL atef
proper inspection ne must y,,c 6e xcry y,ucrn cSpa"e
such we record It. gentleman from Pniia'sei.
pha puporns 20 e na ~ SaS
New York expressly 70 report on thts ncca.
dent, save his opinion as iSIlows;NoI @ mo:d
occur occur from the density Of the water. which, on
being suddenly moved by the motion OF the vessel.
from MS latent heat generates steam suddenly aud
causes explosion. II Is true the boiler Is imper-
account for ;he accident" the opinion was ananl-
nous among those best capable VI Judging the sub
icct that the boiler was
IApERFECTLY CONSTRUCTED,
and s!ngularly weak for its capacity and the w0rA
II was intended TO perform II there Is In TINS h0r-
rble catastrophe any cause at all for congratulations
III saying Thai H. might nave been worse, which
Heaven forbid, IL Is that fire was not added to tho
otncr horrors which surrounded the miserable and
unfortunate passengers BY the Wcsthcd OH that
fatal SabDath afternoon. Had the explosion taken
pace at the furnace cnd vi the boiler this would
have undoubtedly been the case ana little would
have been left or the
USrORrrNATE STEAMBOAT
10 describe and mOralize upon. Although tue tOilcs
was torn aud rent and bodily removed from lts
true position yet the furnaces renamed untOliohe1
and the horror OF IRE escaped Occurring as IL did.