Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-07-09
ANOTHER DISASTER.
The Steamer SoaWanahaka Burned
Near New York.
From $50 to 500 People Said to Have
Been on Board.
The List Of Dead Between Thirty and
Fifty.

EeNA sup up inc Dnunu 70 1AduNNNNa IL Att Nuuh
FIRE at 80 o'clock this afternoon while of Ran;
dalla Island, East River. The FIRE was caused |
by an explosion in the engine room, and the
Pilot Charles Smith remained nt his post until
he was nearly burned TO DEATH and succeeded in
Bleaching the vessel on sunken meadow adioin;
ing the Island. Many persons spranR overheard |
and were drowned, many Others in the stern of
the vessel could not get of and were burned 70
fifty arc believed 10 have perished, The bodies
of thirty dead persons are recovered. Only those
of DIR. Deboise, wealthy gentleman, residence
unknown, and Of Mary Reed, q. young. woman,
were identified. Among the saved are Charles A. |
Dana, editor Of the sun; 8. l.. NJ Barlow, Colonel
W. X, Chase and II. II. Rochester, treasurer OF
vessel burned 70 the waters edge.
Another account by q passenger says: There
were about $50 on board. All went well until
He'll Gate was passed, when fire alarm rang
ont and flames were discovered bursting through
the pilot house.. The officers and crew assured
the passengers there was no danger and headed
he bs,at h;r Randail's Island. She grounded on
a bar about 200 feet from shore, The steamer
Granite State Of the Hartford line, passing at
the time picked MP thirteen passengers and one
dead body, which landed at Whitestone. The
steamer Oaseo rescued the majority of the pas
senRers and proceeded with them to College
Point. Those without life preservers sayed
themselves by clinging to the guards, paddles,
and other sheltered parta of the boat. The Sea
wanahaka left the city each afternoon after the
close Of business hours for various places Of
popular resort along the Bound, and many
well-known citizens sailed in her every day for
their summer residences.
Charles Abel one of the fremen of the boat,
was found on the pier al the foot Of Peck slip,
from which the Seawanahaka went this after
noon. He said we made our landing at the foot Of
Thirty-third street at 43O o'clock and IL was
about fifteen minutes later when we reached
Little He'll Gate. / was sitting in the wing, or
port gangway, after having started the bilge
pump, when l heard noise and on looking
around saw fire pouring out of the tire room. l
got up and tried 70 make my way into the fire
room but the flames were too much for me. We
fuaf off Rnuhnllr Ialuud and runmiuu for
ward yelled to the aptain who was nt the
wheel, to head for shore, but he shouted back
that he could not, then ran into the cabins
forward and urged the steward and passengers
to save themselves. They did not suspect that
the vessel was on fire then as no smoke or flame
was blown in that direction At that time the
woodwork Of the vessel about her center was
burning like tinder and the flames were making
their way toward both ends of the boat. There
were probably about 200 persons on board, Men
were Jumping from the hurricane deck into the
water, and large number of terrified women
and children were hpddled near the stern
of the boat. l climbed over the rail near
the bow, and several men almost jumped
upon me before / took to the water to
save myself. / found a life preserver near me
and was going TO put it on when man clutched
it, and knowing could swim and thinking he
could not ], let him have It and swan for
Wards Island, which reached and then helped
to man boat and assisted in picking up passen-
gers in the water. The SeawanahakR was finally
beached on Randall's Island, but soon burned
to the waters edge. Captain Charles p. Smith
was at the wheel and stuck to his post to the
last. His face and body were badly burned.
Small boRts came to the rescue from every di-
rection. The steamboats, Granite State, bound
for Hartford, Osseo, MinnahannOok and Sylvan
Glen had boats manned and sent to our assist
ance The clothing of many children took fire
and some of them were severely burned,
Engineer Weeks put on full head of steam,
am told in response to request from the Gap
tain and then climbed up among the machine
and was seen standing on the upper deck try
ing To raise the valves so that steam could es-
cape and an explosion be avoided. We never
carried over thirty-fOur pounds of steam, The
only members Of the crew understand who are
missing are Josiah HaEbrOuck, cook, and bis
grandson, Charles HasbrOuck, who was em-
ployed on the boat. We had crew Of four deck
hands, one deck boy, engineer, two tiremen, Cap
tain, clerk. experimenting wheel-man, super
lntendants 9lefk, H.; porter 9teWsra ana cook;
| them lost their presence of mind. You can i'm
| Agine now cool they were when the clerk who
was collecting fares, aOon "a he realized that
the boat was on trereturned TO his Office and se-
| cured all the money he had left there. Among
our passengers were Charles A. Dana, Richard
| O'Gorman, 3. l.. M. Barlow. one or two of Hnr-
! per's publishers and number of other gentle
| men whose names cannot now recollect but
who were in the habit of going to their homes
| along the Long Island shore by our boat. All of
| the gentlemen have named / understood es-
| capped. The vessel burned like powder after
once the flames started, and it was terrible
scene Shrieking women and children huddled
| aft until their clothes caught fire, and those on
the forward part of the boat were men who
were cut of from communicating with
tives and friends, by flames which burned
| the fercest about the center of the boat.
Mr, M9ires, our porter, saw 2 child h9atlng on
| save it, when a frantic woman olutched his arm
saying You are a strong man and woman
| without any friends on bOardi for Gods sake
| help me- The porter left the child TO itself
and believe saved the woman. The only one
Of the seawanahRka's boats that got out was one
| which had canvas fastened over it.. After the
canvas was got off the body of child about two
| years old was found lying in the water in the
bottom of the boat. Nobody seemed to know
was almost exhausted but the doctors who
were hurrying about revived me by pouring
some liquor down my throat. l reached this
city this morning on the Sylvan Glen which
also had several of our passengers on board.
Other passengers were taken on board the OsseO,
Granite State and Miqnahannock, and were car
ried to those boats destinations. A lady was
climbing down ladder leading from the
promenade deck TO the main deok but
as the ladder is pretty hard thing for
| q man TO get down at any time she fell
into the gAngway amid the flames. Myself
and about half dozen others rescued her from
longs either at Great Neck or Sands Point grab
up an asparagus box and before / could
stop him jumped overheard with il.
| yelled at him not 10 jump or he would be
struck by the wheel. He did not heed me and
went over forward The last saw Of him he
was going under the wheel. Several others who
went over and forward also went under the pad
die to avoid thesmoke and flames. The Eastern
boulevard Club ground, East One Hundred and
Twenty;hrst street is right opposite the scene
of the disaster. Some dozen members were pres.
ent at the time and gathered number of neigh
bOrs, manned all the boats of the club, and hired
Others At the adjacent floats. These all went
across the river and brought about forty
persons to the club house who We're burned
about the body, hands and face; The wounds
of these parties were dressed and clothes given
them: The friends Of those who were not abl,
to go home were notified and came with carri
ages and removed them. In the hurry N,
names of those saved were taken.
ne A Man,y,ald oh ~ s,F Nba .Non ~
the lunatic asylum on Wards Island, sale
he was sitting in his room this Afternoon
at $3.50 when he saw the steamer coming NJ
the river all on fire. A the steamer passed the
Island he saw il was the eseawanahaka. The fir,
seemed TO be Just forward of the paddle wheels
and the ct. steamer turned in Ss i to land on the
going at full speed, He started out TO follow
her. Az that time there were about 50) patient
in the ground, and most of them had seen tht
burning steamer, They made rush for tn,
river front and fell in line TO witness the sight
OTderlies Of the institution were sent out an,
rooms. DIR. Mcdonald ordered all tn
necessary articles from the apothecar.
and az once Once went to The scene Of Oh
been run upon sunken meadow and was al
ablaEe. Men, women and children were jump
ing from the burning vessel. The doctor otdere'
his private boat out aud everything possible wa
done 10 relieve the passengers ON beard the un
fortunate steamer. The fret man brought Il
the land by the Wards Island boats was Mr.. DE
who was being brought to shore by two othe
men, but when he was landed II was beyond tn
| power of medical aid 10 resusoitate him Tn
body Of woman, who was identified by mark
on her clothing as Mary Reed, came ashore oi
the Island, A rope, which had evidently beei
fastened about her body 10 lower her TO the wa
ter from the steamer, was bound around he
neck, and between strangulation and exhaustion
the woman had died, Next came the body Of
woman burned to a crisp, with an infant sevel
| months old in her arms also burned TO death
then two children, neither of them more thai
| apparently but little Injured. young girl wa
found floating lust away from the wreck an,