New-York tribune., 1881-12-28
KILLED BY AN EXPLOSION

NINETEEN LIVES LOST ON A STEAMER.
TERRIBLE ACCIDENT AT WEST POINT, vA.-HOw
THE VICTIMS MET THEIR DEATH-JUMPING
OVERHEARD ONLY TO BE KILLED-sKETCH OF
THE STEAMER WEST POINT
RICHMOND, Va, Dec 27.-An explosion occurred
Yesterday at West Point, Va, board the steamer
West Point plyi g between that place and Bllti-
more which resulted in the total destruction Of the
boat and the loss of nineteen lives. The West
Point arrived at her wharf Sunday afternoon, but
the work Of discharging the cargo was not begun
until yesterday at noon; and af er the hands had
been engaged n ariy twOhours unloading "A terrific,
vet unexplained explosion occurred near the for
ward hatch of the steamer and almost Instantly the
forward part of the vessei enyclOped IN names.
There were twelve coored men IN the forward hold
al the time, all Of whom were either killed by the
explosion or burned to death Five other men were
ait slowing cotton. These jumped over
board and four of them wcro drowned
When it was found that there was no hope of saw
ing the steamer she was cut loose from the wharf,
and the tide carried her two miles up the Pamunkey
River where she continued to burn until every thing
combustbe was destroyed, and her iron hull was
broken in two amidships.
The following are the names Of those who were
killed. burned to death or drowned: L. :. Bradford,
chief Of stryedorcS of West Point; Edward Kerse,
wharf hand Of Richmond. and mess boy, name
unknown. of Baltimore and the following c0lored
hands: Jarvis, fireman, of Baltimore; James
Staples Alexander Wilson J. Johnson Lee Jennings
and BENJAMIN Smith of Richmond 49, LOveland of
| Yorktown, Samuel Watkins, sheppard Taylor Nell
son Baylord and Horace Bibbs, of Wes' Point; Nell
son Siarkc and Charles Tyler, of New Kent Albert
Jackson Jack Parker and Adolphus Babbtt Of City
| Point
The first officer OF tho steamer. Peter GeOghcgnn,
of baltimore. was blown overheard, but saved,
| although he is badly bnrned Qnar,ermaster Will
! lam BoNannon OF Baltimore. was soripusly and 0os-
| sibly fatally burned. Wi'lilm Barnes, Of West
Point assistant stevcIorc who in charge Of the
! loading party. was severely burned. william
! Green. colorcd hand. OF Richmond, was burned
about the face and hands
| Tho hoafs cargo was made no Of miscellaneous
| freight among which were several hundred barrels
of oil sixty of which wcrr gasoline The oil hecom-
| ing limited tho flames spread with such rapdIty
that there was no chance Of saving the vessel or any
Of fhe ucrsous board of her even Il hey were not
killed By the explosion The rward portion of the
decks aud great part of the StarDoarn slin were
blown OF and here is no do bt hut that all those
i'm the hold the forward hatch were instantly
killed The four men who were drow wncd were stor-
ing cotton i'm the after hold As soon as those men
heard the explosion aud saw the rapid spread Of the
| Fr, they together with boy who was SsSlsting
them made for the s'arb"ard port and p'ungei INTO
]
dock and frlI upon them dis"b bling four OF them IN
! ,rch a manner that they never rose again. The
| GCth one s1y'd himself by swimming back 70 me
wharf while 'he boy succeeded IN getting upon the
! doaIng hatch and was subsequently taken OF by q
boat from the shore. The cause of the explosion ls
vct mystery. The officers of the Richmond and
! Danvil'o Railroad Company. .'which runs lts
| West Point Line in connection with the Baltimore
steamer who arrived here to-day from West Point
stated that hey are utterly unable 70 account LOT
| tLr disaster They say that the only fire on board
| was under the boiler which runs tho hOistnc en-
cine and that the engineer running 1t remained al
| his post and was unhurt, The hold had Deeh
! openrd nearly two hours when the explosion oc-
| Cured so the theories 0f the explosion OF Tue
| boIlcr OF Of confined gas are done away with John
| Jarvis lcoornd trcm1n, was IN the man nOller
cleaning il ont Ifc of cOursc had light, ana TINS
| ,yos tho only iyht known tO have been on board.
! The West Point made her first trip from Balti-
moro Port on Tuesday Of last week She was one or
The best appointed freight boats in the Chesapeake
trade being 70 feet long and having capacity ot
! GoJ ions She was almost entirely new, just IRON
! the -hinyard the only old norton being the IRON
| MATES and frame of the steamer Shirley, which was
! Lurncd NJ the same place while living ut the wharf
in November, 1850. The vessel was rebuilt at a
| cost of SGJ 900 She WAS owned by the Baltimore,
| Cbcsapcakc and Richmond Steamboat Company.
RAI1TMoRs. Dec 27.--The West Point was in
sured for $4,000 as follows $4,000 each
in. the Fire Association, of Philadelphia;
Lancashire, of England; Williamsburg CITY,
of Ncw-Yorl; Qnecn. of Liverpool, and
North American. of Philadelphia and $500
each in the National, of New-Iork; Connec-
tcut Fire, British American and Peabody OF Balti-
/ more German American, OF New-YOrk, and How
George F. Neeiham, the general freight agent
here SAYS that all of the cargo between decks had
b,eu DISCHARGED. rs had also the Greater portion Ol
the freight i'm the iOwer hold which consisted OF
| c1rload Of cOmurcsset hay, twenty tons OF Isr,i,
lizcr and the coal oil AMI ga7olin' ne ireiSht hol
was separated from the boher-room by an IRON Duih