The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-03-23
REFERENCES.
AA-The Exploded Boiler.
B-Blacksmith Shop.
C-ohn Robinson.
D-Shed.
THE CAUSE OF THslExPLosIoN
The Steam Drum.

TH6 CAQS6 Of IdS. S.AAfLOoiVS
is matter of mystery. rThesboier was slhlr.
ty-horse power tubular boiler, built Of five
sixteenth plate Iron. The shell was between
four and FIVE years old, but the aues and all
the interior parts of the boiler. had beer, re-
newM abont six weeks ago, when hI was
thoroughly .overbauled, tested and made as
goSdaasi new throughout. A test Of seventy
pounds of steam was successfully applied at
that time, and ills stated that it was under
but flfty-two pounds pressure at the time OF
the explosion. 1t was located just outside OF
the machine shop at the point marked A IN
the above diagram, resting on brick founda-
ton and enclosed, Tor the sake of protection
against fire, in a semtcylindrlcal case OF sheet
iron. Mr.. Michael Kelly, the foreman Of the
works, haaiuss sIeis the boiler, which, he GER
titles, was Under bat Hfy:two pounds pres
sure, when he Heard the noise of
.sr The EXPLOSION,
and was stunned and confused for the moment
BY the crashing of The umbers OF The machine
shop nWhfch he stood, the whizz OF the tre-
mendous masses OF Iron hnrtling through the
air, the cries az the wounded men, and above
all by the shocking sight OF poor Barton's
mangled body as It whirled through the air.
This was q ghastly scene. The poor lad was
standing in front of the boiler, and must have
been struck in his face, which was found ,hor-
rlbly gasbed and dIsHgured. he was hurled
as though shot from a mortar, high in the air,
and ffa northerly direction, over the fence
represented above, and his maDgled and
quivering body came down with sickening
thud on the roadway leading to the WnarVes
at the loot Of Hasel street, over an hundred
feet from the place ewhere he had stood but a
moment before. The unfortunate youth was
thesson of Captain Frank Barton, an old
coastlng captain well known In this communi-
ty, was sixteen years and four months old,
and lived with his parents In Johnson's
Row, East Bay. Of
THE OTHER SUFFERERS,
the one most seriously injured was John Rob-
inson, who was standing just inside the door
of the moulding shop, at the point markedc @
in the above diagram, and was struck by q
large piece of the caet iron fre-plate, weigh:
ing in the neigh60ahood Of hundred pounds,
which was hurled through q second story
window of the building, striking Robinson on
his right leg. The ankle and right foot were
terribly crushed and mangIea, and the arte-
rles severed. The wounded man was con-
veyed to his hop1s on Wall street, :wAef8 he
was attended by DR.. Davega, who is endea-
voring to save the limb, but with small pros
pectss ofsuccess.
John Early, living in South street, was
bruised about the back aud the side of the
head. and J. L. Lyons, Michael Blanche and
John Quinn also sustained slight injuries.
The latter's escape from instant death was
almost miraculous. He was working at q wise
under the shed in front of the foundry, (mark-
ed D In the diagram when one of the heavy
fues of the boiler shot past him and between
him and the bench at which he was engaged,
grazing and tearing his clothing and iDficting
some ugly bruises upon: his chest In the neigh.
borhood Of the ribs; Quinn lives in Reid
street, one door from King, and was also at.
tended by DR.. Davega.
THE WRECK.
The sight in the yard of the iron-w forks after
the explosion was curious one. The boiler
had disappeared from the spot (A) where II
had just stood, and the fragments were scat.
tered for hundreds of feet around. The rear
wall of the frame machine shop was blown
completely out, It's twelve-lnch timbers
crushed and splintered, and every pane oil
glass, with but few exceptions, in the machine
shop, blacksmith shop, foundry and boiler
shop was gone. The deb:ls of The machine
shop wall were scattered about the yard, as
well as huge masses of iron, pipes, castings
betting, &c. One massive grindstone, three
feet in diameter, standing midway between
the foundry and machine shop, had beer
picked up by some strange freak of the ex
pl9sion, shivered to pieces, and deposited lr