New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-07-22

| Married and has % family. lie has worked IN
the tunnel abou. five months. He lives in VIII
| low-st., Hoboken.
| STATEMENTS OF THE RESCUED MEN.
THE LEAK IN THE 1UNEEL-LAsT WORDS OF ONE
| OF THOSE WHO PERIsHED-RusHISG INTO
| THE AIR-LoCK-HOw THE WATER WAS EX-
| CLUDED.
| The following statement was made by Theodore
Van Nostrand, II workman, who was in the tunnel
| at the time of the disaster:
Il went down the shaft at IL o'clock last night
expecting to come out at this morning. stayed
at work till l30 a. M, and then coming out
| for lunch. The first thing saw the leak in the
south side of the funnel. 1t within ten feet OF
| the shaft. The night superintendent, Mr., Wood
| land called to me to get foot blocks to mp
the hole. When 1 got to the leak he
cried ont for all hands to for
the air-ock. Then all started for the air-lock.
It was dark. The compressed air escaping blew
out our candles As we got TO the lock all tired
to get in. The iron plates began to fall on us, and
partly closed the door of the lock, that could
neither open nor shut it. We stripped ourselves
naked and stuffed our clothes in the crack, which
was six inches wide, that we could open the
valves and let what air there in the lock out.
| Bat the water came in fast before
| the air got cut that we had to break the
| bullseyes 10 let the water out of the lock. Then
the ar-locll door into the shaft opened and
were safe.
"The water gained on us and we swept
about the shaft. We were in the ar-lock twenty
minutes fully. When l got out | noticed it was
| 51O a. III. We did not have much talking i'll the
tunnel. Assistant Superintendent Woodland asked
a man named Barney to try and open the
door. But it was impossible to do it.
Then he told us to stuff the crack
up as we'll as we could. If you get OUT he slid,
try and do what you can for u.s. Those we're the
| last words he uttered. We could hear him talk
! through the crack, and could of the men
| covered with blood from the falling plates. When
we were in tine lock we put tie best men at the
valves and the builseyes to keep them from being
| broken before the right time came"
"What caused the brea<p
q cannot say: we have had leaks frequently"
| "Were the men at their proper posts when the
| break occurredp
ayes, sir; when the leak first occurred there
were several men near it, jacobsen and Others"
| THE LAST MAN IL THE AIR.LoCK.
| Christian Hanson made statement as follows
| 81 went down at midnight. and was engaged in
| connecting the plates. left the tunnel at 4:30 a.
| H. for lunch. | was the last man in the air-i0ck.
| The man behind me was caught half inside and half
outside the lock- His name was Otto Anderson,
| a Swedc. We saw the water rushing IN. and heard
the plates cracking. 1t is more than kno"-what
| caused the accident. 1t seemed to be safer than
ever last night air escaping at all. We had not
minutes warning. God knows how escaped"
THOMAS BRADY's EXPERIENCE.
| Thomas Brady one of the men rescued from the
tunnel. gave the following description of the acci-
| dent:
81 live at No. 1853 Henderson-st, Jersey City, and
was one of the twenty eight men in the tunne! at
| the time the plates gave way. 1t all took place so
| quickly that cannot exactly state what did hap
pen good many OF the men working down the
shaft had gone out and mp to lunch and during their
absence the remainder, including myself remained
| below putting on plates. On their return were
| To go TO lunch. There came n strange noise from
some quarter Just as we had completed our task.
We FASTENED into the air-ock when the leak started
| The superintendent gave orders that all hands
should come out and stop the leak. /
was among the men who obeyed the order.
The leak at that time was pretty
large 1t could not be stopped. The supcrintend-
cut evidently realized that fact as he cried at the
top of his voice Get in the lock as quick as you
can. all of YOU Anderson, who came behind me,
was cauQht in the door of the lock. His head and
shoulders were within, remainder o. his body with
out caught hold of his hands and endcavored to
pull him IN, but lie was wedged so firmly that
couldn't stir him. l asked him If he could assist
himself at ALL and he not answering looked down
and discovered that he was dead The life had been
crushed out of him.
THE water by this time had filled up that 1t
was coming into the lock through the hole at the
door Something had TO be done to stop it, and we
began taking off clothes and putting them in
the hole. The water kept pouring in. though, until
it came to my armpits before we burst in the glass
bullseyes and elected our escape. On reaching
point of safety we did not know what course to
pursue In order to the remainder Some went
out. while superintendent Anderson Michael Iiur
lev and myself started to if we could find one
The water was then coming up in torrents, and L
rof I'D 20 my waist in the water without being able
to render any assistance 10 the imprisoned men,"
SCENE OF CONFUSION.
Alfred Moiin. of No. 81 Greenwlch-st., New-York
was one of the number in the tunnel when the plates
gave way. and was rescued in the air-lock He re-
lated his escape tc TRIBUNE reporter at the mouth
of the air-shaft last evening.
81 know less as TO how it all came about" he said,
'than any of my companions. 1 was busily en-