The weekly democratic statesman. [volume] (Austin, Tex.) 1871-1883, 1880-07-29
NEWS BY TELEGRAPH.

uti. III course OF CONSTRUCTION. III lllt
foot of Sixteenth street. in this city,
cavcd in. carrying an immense guam
tity OF earth with il. Twenty-one
persons were buried. Seven were
soon after taken out alive. Four
teen. the remainder, were under
meath. Water from the river flowed
in rapidly, and steam fire engines
were set to work TO. if possible, save
those who might still be alive from
drowning. The workmcn residing
in the vicinity turned out and every
thing is being done. An excited
crowd of persons has congregated.
The night gang of thirty men. in
Guiding assistant Superintendent
Woodward and two firemen, enter
ed the shaft at midnight. The hours
of work for this gang being from II
to s O'Clock. The depth of the shaft
is siXty-tive feet. While most of the
men were employed ut the bottom
of the shaft about one-third of the
gang was engaged on the brick wall
of the arch twenty-five feet higher.
1t was the latter squad who were all
bricklayers that escaped. except two.
The main arch of the tunnel was out
from the shaft. distance of about
thirty feet. Where il opens TO two
distinct arches that are to form the
tunnel. through some negligence of
the men, il is supposed the air lock
was not properly adjusted. When
the process of shifting commenced
the brick wall, consisting of two
.l.ns ln afAs
rushed into the cave. The superin-
tendent thinks the air in the tunnel
must have escaped through the shift.
He has put the gang. one hundred
men, to work to dig Il new pass to
the tunnel, but they will not be able
to reach them in less than three
days.
The following is the official report
of the Hudson River Tunnel Com
pany through its engineers Messrs.
Spellman Il Brush. relating to the
accident to the Hudson River Tun-
mel, which occurred at the foot of
Sixteenth street, Jersey City. this
morning: About 4:30. while the men
were changing shifts, that portion of
iron roof adjoining the shift of the
connecting chambers between the
two tunnels and the sinking shaft,
fell in. Twenty-eight men were in
the tunnel at the time. of whom
eight escaped through the air lock,
and twenty men were killed. The
accident occurred at the connection
of the iron plates with the brick wall
of the working shaft, which during
4 Il, Il, lNnl HI
not watched by the men as closely
rs it should have been, and the COM
pressed air was allowed to escape.
This compressed air is relied upon to
assist in supporting the roof, which
was also sustained by strong timber
bracing, and the escape of air has al
ways been prevented by stopping
any leaks with waste. As the root
fell the plates closed the door of the
air lock into the tunnel, and the wa
ter rising rapidly cut off the escape
of the twenty men who were killed.
The building of the connecting
chamber, a most difficult piece OF
work, progressed until now. The
roof was all in position and secured
and bolted. The connection of the
iron plates with the shaft was being
made at the time of the accident
Work will be prosecuted night and
day with all the men who can adj
vantageously be employed until the
bodies are recovered. 1t will prob
ABLY take about three days. The ac-
cident will probably delay the work
for three weeks. The following is a
statement made by one of the men
who escaped after the eight men had
escaped: One man, i'll trying to pass
through the door leading from the
air lock into the temporary cham
Der of the tunnel, was jammed in the
doorway, and despite the efforts OF
those ahead. could not be brought
out. as the door closed upon him
and held him fast. Peter Woodland,
assistant superintendent, told the
men to try and get out, and when
the ninth man got fastened in the
doorway, called out to those who
had escaped telling them to hurry
and get assistance to help the rest
and himself who were left behind.
He refused to leave himselfsaying he
would stay and make every effort to
get the rest and, if not possible,
those who were escaping must try
and get the rest and himself out il
possible. All of those killed as well
as those saved resided in Jersey
City. The men who were rescued
did not reach the surface moment
too soon, for the water rushed after
them with great rapidity till il
reached the level, within five feet
of the top of the shaft. The suryi-
vors were so bewildered that they
seemed TO lose all presence of mind,
even if assistance could be ender-
ed the poor fellows in the pit. Near
ly all the employed in the tunnel
lived in proximity of the works on
Thirteenth, Fourteenth and Fifteenth
streets. and friends and relatives
rushed to the plat in the most ex-
cited frame of mind. News of the
disaster spread like wild fire through
the surrounding cities. From all
points immense crowds thronged to
the scene of the calamity. About
the fatal excavation, awe struck, the
spectators stood Gordon, of the po-
lice officers, stationed about the shed
and engine room to prevent inter-
ference with the.laborers at work to
recover the bodies through the bro
ken windows of the shaft house.
The distracted wives, mothers and
children were seen with anguish and
they sought in vain for the forms
that would never be seenagain alive.
Thos. Van Nostrand, one of the men
rescued in the waste lock gave the
reporter thrilling account of his
narrow escape. He said there were
twenty-eight men at work in the
tunnel. They went in at o'clock
last night for an eight hour shift and
was at work near the east end of the
waste lock and in the west end of
the tunnel. Itwas about 4:30 o'clock
that / heard the bolts snap and the
braces give way at the same time |
felt the rush of air in my face. /
started back with the seven men
who were near me and ran into tire
waste lock. The air pressure
crowded the door shut at the end.
At first il was blocked by joist,
which we pulled out, and then the
door slammed TO. The lock. has
doors at both ends, and glass dead
eyes TO admit. light. Through the
deadeyes we could see the men in
side the tunnel Water was rushing
in. Peter Woodland, city assistant
superintendent, stood AT the door
outside the waste lock, which was
stationary. Itwould not move with
us without knocking out the dead
eyes. This would be fatal TO the
men outside, as the water would
rush in and drown the men in an in