New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-07-23

there This comes into good play now, for it pre-
vents the silt from entering and filing up the 'uh-
mel at that end"
What plan will be followed regarding an official
Investigation ~
"Under New-Jersey laws believe the County
Physician has charge of this matte- | understand
County Physician Converse has either been here to-
dav. has sent his men here TO see aoout Ut. lheV
will examine u.s. suppose. and The escaped WORK
men before cOroners iary. Bat nothing can DC
done until the bodies are found"
Mr.. HaSkn Is the inventor of the system oil ap
plying COMPRESSED AIR 10 tnnnelng;, W ne cues
toned by TRIBUNE reporter Yesterday ne salo:
"Comp pressed air Is new thing ana every year
Ii Us being used for new purpose. Last nlght was
the first trial IFS use with an eiectc lighi Aoout
six wears AGO began to experiment OF the subject.
discovered that the particular soil winch is tOuAn
in this neichbOrhood ana winch is called sit
would hold together closely. / put SiX-inch pipe
in the ground and forced IN compressed ar ana
found that 1t did not escape. am now satisfied
that the only way TO work under the river IN such
soil is in this manner. No man can tnnne the Hud-
son River by any other method. The system has
never been tried before in tun1elllng | rave tTled
il in small way number OF times, but not In
tunnel But from our work here nave perfect CON
fdence IN the system" ,
DO you think that the disaster VIII hinder you
from hiring new workmenT
mot at all. Superintendent Andersen and his
men ready TO day to 90 right on with the WORK
the moment we need IT,"
ESCAPE OF THOMAS CRDiMINs.
Thomas Crimmins, one of the wOrkmen in the
tunne at the time of the disaster. who reported
missing on Wednesday By the officers o. the com
pany was found yesterday to have escaped with
the men who came up the shaft. His hand was in
jured in forcing open the iron door of the air-ock.
Immediately upon reaching the surface he left
the spot aud went to the house of his sister
in this city, where be remained until 10 a. IL.
yesterday He was found by TRIBUNE reporter
at his boarding house in HobOken yesterday after
noon. living down and feeling much Frustrated. He
is about thirty years of age and native If Ireland
He had been al work for the Tunnel Company for
six weeks His acc cunt of the disaster was as TO-
- t was about half-past o'clock, half an hour
past the time for our shift. winch numOered 10ur,
teen men, to leave the tunnel for lunch. We had
gore IN at midnight. Some of us had already en-
tered the air-ock, and We were waiting Tor ore
man Bush and the others to come Ihey Kept us
waiting there fully fifteen minutes before the DIS
aster occurred and the accounts whca say that the
men who were saved came through the door OF the
air flock are not right With one exception those
only saved who were aIeady in TIE lock ~
the time of the disaster. We called 10 Burns 10
come several times, for he was already behind tune
But he DELAYED III coming, aud We coaid see hlln
sill AZ work putting up of the plates that he
wanted TO finish first. If he and the Others of our
shift mad come out az the proper time seven more
men would have been saved.
As we stood there suddenly we heard Foreman
Woodland. of the other shift call ont: Come
quick and stop the eaA men 5iuio't tile eur
locX We heard Woodland shout: Men, look out
for yourselves. Go 10 the lock but be dad not 90
tins until the bolts began to break over MIN ana
We could see, Nelson following him. Just as
Nelson reached the door he cried sly back is
broken ana he fell IN the doorway. lie mast have
been struck by plate Then we could see the ROOF
caving IN and the iron bolts giving way, ana De-
fore another man could reach the door II was hung
ehut upon Nelson's body by the force OF the earth
and V alter. Then there was terrible confusion. we
could hear the men IN the iuhei gToahhg anu I CIV
ing out. and We were frightened hall 10 deah rive
If the men with rushed to the door opening mo
the shaft. while another workman and myself tTled
TO get poor Nelson out. Hrs head ana shoulders
were III The lock and we caught hold OF them, but
he made no motion and We found that he was dead
We could not move him. there was q lot OF woih-
ing-clofhes in corner the door, and we
snatched these and began stunug them IN the
crack Of the doorway. But the work did
no good and the water was rushing IL fast. AL
ready il was up to waists Then we saw that
we could not help those IN the tunnel and began o
look cut for ourselves. The I'VE men VINO were WIN
us had left alone. having escaped DI Jhe GOor Oh
the shaft They had burst through the bulls eye
window of the door with crOwbar7, and the AIR
which then entered allowed them 10 open ~ Blu
the rsh of water had closed this door behind them,
and there we two were shut within the alr-lOck.
which was RAPIDLY filing with water. Death seemed
certain for with that weight of water against the
door il did not seem possible that we could open II.
With desperate effort we rushed through the water
gle but il was for life | injured ny hand severely
in the pull but opened Il, and the rush of water
which followed carried US ont on 10 the platform at
the bottom of the shaft. In passing out my cloth
ing was caught by a hook erplece of iron at my
back and partly torn from me- Then we hgI-
shaft Soaking wet as l was and injured,
/ hurried home, and tins Is probably the rea-
son / was reported lost. 1t was very narrow
Had You not at times feared that something of
this kind would happen "
We were afraid OF II every day, and at the
boarding house would talk it over. But every shift
thought IT would be the next SHIFT that would get
struck. and so we worked on Several new men
were taken that night, and at least three OF them
were killed. Some the wOrkmen had already lett the
work for fear that il won Id fall H. We all knew
that II was very dangerous"
oyy m
pointed to watch the leaks r
Five from each SHIFT and / one Of those
4 from our SHIFT. The leaks small cracks in the
walls and we're constantly breaking. j tmnk we
found on an average one every five minutes. They
could easily be stopped up by taking a handful of
the silt at the bottom and putting II over them |
have moi hing to say against the management at all
But do not think, as IL is stated that any OF the
watchmen neglected Their duty IL was lls1y WORK
and We knew it, but they had smarter men at II
than we were or the work would not have been
"Will You go back there to work ~
mot if | know myself have had enough OF
tunneling, at least for a While"
I" DO you think that Tue company VIII nave nara
work TO get more men Z" >,
the time, and they VIII take any risk Tor work"
WHAT ANOTHER WORKMAN THINKS ABOUT 1T.
Theodore Van Nostraud, one of the men who es-
capped from the tunnel. when asked yesterday if he
thought anything more could have been done TO
protect the wOrk1nen sad:
There was no fault the system so far as could
see But am sure of one thng-the men were not
careless There never plate put on without
being well braced. and the watchmen were dong
their duty. The leaks were liable to get beyond
their control, aud think they did in this case."
"Do you think any of the men ran to the farther
tunnel ~
g canttel They may have done So We could
not see tor the lights were pat out by the falling
roof. But the poor man who deserves much praise
is Foreman Woodland After he had done his best
10 stop the leak, aud when he saw that this was i'm
possible and that the tunnel must IN, his next
thought was for ms men. He did not ran for the
lock first and tell them to follow but shouting.
Ouck rush for the lock- he waited 10 them
safely out. II such a thing had been possible. But
1t was too late"