Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-07-09

suffering from severe burns about the arms and
face. He saidg About $50 l heard q low
dull report OF explosion Quick es
Ssoss9' o,9 SrGed ..% o ts sa@e eas va Granite We
State on my starboard side aud a tow on my port
side, Finding that the steamer was on fire i'm;
mediately headed her for The sunken island, and
with full head OF steam although the engineer
had been Withdrawn from his post landed her
about forty feet upon the meadows. Most Of the
passengers were on the bow Of the vessel and
those on tine stern were at the mercy Of the
famea, a. all the passages TO the bow were
shut shut oa Ma Many Jumped on land while while
at the wheel until the Last moment
and then jumped overheard and vas picked up
by a small boat We had no freight on board
and do not know what caused the explosion.
The Seawanahaka can carry 1900 persons but
Monday is generally dull day and we had only
about go or 500 on bpard this afternoon.
The engineer Of the steamer, Frank Weeks,
and his son Edward, who was fireman on the
steamer, were at their pQsta at the time Of the
Ere. The fireman explains that some Of the
small tubes Of the boiler must have burst,
throwing the furnace door open and scattering
hot Goals around, which set FIRE to the vessel.
He, like his father, was driven from his post by
the flames. Both escaped with severe burns.
The number Of lives lost by the accident cannot
be learned, as tbe steamer, being merely daily
ister IL ia not likely that the list of lost will
number more than fifty.
At midnight eleven bodies, nine adults, one
child and two babies were brought to the morgue
at the Bellevue Hospital, A number of persons
who had relatives and friends on the Senwana-
haka were waiting 10 identify them If among
the unfortunate lost, and the scene as the bodies
were carried in from the boat and the coiiins
opened was heart rending. One old gentleman
Mr., Deboise, was frantic with grief when he
identified the body of his son. David H. Deboise
of No 392 Pacific street. Brooklyn. The body of a
beautiful young woman about twenty years of
age was identified as that of Mary Reed. The body
Oft stout lady about fifty years Of age was sup
posed 10 be that Of Mrs. Richie of Locust Grove,
L. l. IL is reported there are about fifteen bodies
on Randalls Island shore. The body of q young
man was picked up by a row boat and moored
to a stake at the foot of One Hundred and
Fifteenth street.. II is known that some Of the
crew did not do their duty but Jumped into the
river and swan ashore. When the flames broke
out the Seawanahaka was passing through He'll
Gate but was run on until nearly burned to
Gate. However, members of the crew say she
could not have been beached sooner No doubt
more bodies, il not picked up by boats, will be
found q n Long Island Shore tomorrow morn
ing as the wind was blowing in that direction.
If the catastrophe had occurred even an hour
later the loss of life would have been frightful.
1t occurred Just at time when the sound steam
ers and Harlem and other local boats were in the
immediate neighb0rhOOd. SeawanahaSa was
about fourteen years old She was a regular day
boat running between New York and RoBlyn,
Sandy Point and GlenwOod She arrives In this
city about nine a. nj. and leaves on return at
4:l5. The passengers on her are generally bank
ers, business and literary men who live at Long
Island and come to the city in the morning and
returning in the afternoon, frequently lady
members of their families and servants accom-
panying them.