The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-07-15
no NEARER THE TRUTH.
Anoiher Day Of the scIoto InsestIga.
tion, mud the End II Not Yet. tx

-
Another Day Of the scIoto InsestIga.
tion, mud the End IL Not Yet. 5i
] he examination Of witnesses In relation
To the collision between The seioto and John
Tomas was resumed yesterday by Local Ia.
speotop Young and Wilson, and number OF
persons testified during the day, but up.
parently the end Is no. ye. approaching.
The investigation seems 10 have dritted into
al unfortunate channel. A decorus and
serious proceeding might be looked for In
the inquiry into if.Egs
so SAD AND SHOCKING AZ OCCURRENCE,
but instead OF being impressive the proceed.
ings are In graf degree entertaining TO the
crowd, and levity prevails which would
seem strangely out Of place tO one OF the be.
rehycd friends OF victim OF the accident
which Is being Investigated could they look
In upon the scene oil mirth which follows
some sally OF one OF the attorneys or some
retOrt OF witness. s-H.
The investigation Is also consuming need.
less time: Too much latitude Is given TO the
counsel in their examination OF the wit.
ntSscs. 1t Is true the inquiry has driftcd Into
Its present shape by degrees, but II should be
allowed TO drift no further. Tho object Of
the investigation Is 10 enable the Inspectors
to judge Of and announce the truth, let who
may suiier, and MOTTO convict or clear any
person concerned.
The opening OF yesterdays session saw
quite number OF spectators assembled In
the court room
James 4. Smith, yard foreman for the juno.
ton Iron, Company ut Mingo. said that Oh
the Fourth he was at Major Dur,'s house u.s.
sisting him In shooting lire works. lie OBJ
served the Iona, going down; she blew one
signal about the furnace, little closer to the
Ohio than the Virginia shore-pt0bably fifty
yards. lie heard no answering signal, nor
uny second signal from the Lomas, nor did
he see the collision. lie reached the scene OF
the collision within twenty minutes after the
accident, when she was lying on the bottom,
with her head rather toward the Ohio shore,
in the neghborhood Of 100 yards from the
shore. When the Lomas fins. whisled she
was close to the Ohio shore. probably forty
| or fifty yards oil She was then nearly oppo
Site Burts house. He measured Thufday
night, and from where he first saw the boat
TO where she then lay WAS about I01 yards.
The witness was riridly cross-exaiuined, but
nothing specially interesting was developed.
Mr. James Millisau was the next witness.
He is IN engineer in ilour.mll in Pennsyl-
vanin. He Was
| or TnE LoMAs
at the time OF the accident BY invitation OF
Captain lnglebright and Pilot Hoffman, and
was In the pilo;.h0use. lie raw the Scioto
on the left OF the Tomas apparently, and
Pilot Long blew one whisile, just after
which the Scioto started across tile river to-
ward the other boat, and. after soma little
time had elapsed, answered the one whistle
with two. Long says, "WhEt the devil does
that man mcan?' The witness was under
the impression that Long turned the l.omas
two whistles, right upon which both boats
blew several short whistles simultaneously
He did not notice whether any bells were
rung, but saw Captain Ingebright forward
Of the pilot-housc fixing smoked signal lam
tern. The Captain remarked: Jack, you
are getting little too close together; better
back her." Long replied that he was back
Ing, and Milligan noticed then that her en-.
gines were working strong. lie could not
say how far the Tomas was from the Ohio
shore, and could not estimate the distance
between the boats. When the signals we're
first blown, though, the Scioto seemed to
be good ways oil--as far Us boats generally
signalled. lie could not say that much more
than the usual time elapsed between the first
signal OF the Lomas and the Scio,0's response
At the time of collision the Scio;o was nearly
straight up and down the river, but II any
thing she was pointing just n little toward
the OHIO shore. The l.ulnas was also nearly
straight up and down. or a little quartering
in the opposite direction from the other boat;
that is, toward the Virginia shore. When
the boats struck, the stern OF the Tomas
swung around down stream. The boats were
not theu more than one.third OF the way
from the Ohio shore. From the length OF
time the Lomas had been backing, lie judged
she was pretty well checked up, though he
had nothing 10 judge by but the movement
Of the Scio;o. The boats came toward each
other pretty fist. The witness had time to
go cut OF the pilot house, turn around and
catch hold OF Il hos-chain from the time the
pio; said lie was backing until they struck.
The ascending boat was so far toward the left
OF the Lomas thnt lie doubted when he first
sighted her il Long could see her, on account
OF the smoke stack, rs Long was standing on
the left OF the wheel.
On the cross-enanination witness said he
had pilo.ed Inglebrigh,'s ferry some lime ago,
and had license 10 do 50. Pilots generally
stood on the opposite side OF the wheel from
the shore when hugging the shore; he
could not say that the pilot changed his po-
sition after blowing his signal, but he had
received the impression, though he was not
positive, that before blowing the second time
Long had shaped his course toward the Vir-
ginia shore.
JOSEPH HOFFMAN,, EEGrLAE riIor or THE LoMAs,
was next called. He gave his residence as
Bellairf, and said he followed plotting as n
business" He was on the Tomas OH the
Fourth, as acting pilot In the day time. and
asmaster while Capt. lnglebright was not so
acting. The boat had started from Martins
Ferry for Wellsburg, but finally went TO
Steubenville. She started from the Stcuben-
vile whariboat on the return between sun.
down and dark. The whistle was blown Just
US the boat was passing about Mingo island.
lie Was standing on the boiler deck back OF
the stacks, with Mr.; Gray, the Martins Ferry
banker, and looked out to see what boat She
was blowing for. lie noticed two signal
lights, but could not see the boat. lie re-
marked to Mr.. Gray, There's boat there
and listened little while for the answer,
and then went 10 the foot Of the Stair; Still
the other boat had not answered. He started
back upstairs, and VIXEN about halt way vi,
the lower boat whistled; Witness kind Of
halted, and Long blew two whis,lcd. IIoiI:
man ran up to the top OF the stairs, and saw
that the boats were so far apart that he did
not think there was any danger OF collision
He heard the bells in the engine room, and
asNtu Long u ne was pacRlnB. lie said YES.
lnglebright said for God sake to back her. lie
again responded that he was backing. The
witness did not think there would be any
collision to amount to anything, as he
thought, by looking ut the shore, Tint their
Roadway was checking. Still the boats were
coming toward each other nearly parallel.
lie ran past Capt. lnglebright and into the
pilot hoase. lnglebrisht was near the steps
going toward the front. After the collision,
or about The time OF the collision, the witness
took hold OF the Wheel Tie Iomas was
then tearing the tmbers OF the other boat,
lie loosened the boat, and then backed her
stern up, and drove the Lomas down little
close 10 the other boat When Long first sir.
nailed the Lomas was about halfway be.
tween the Island and the Ohio shore, and The
boats were then nearly half mileapar.. lie
always thought the distance which separated
them-irom ihelsIand TO the head OF Gross
Creek bar, was about IL half mile. 1t Was
about tho distance he usually wlis,led, and
further than be generally did on dark
night He considered it good safe distance.
When lie first saw the Scio,os lights She
seemed TO be in the middle OF the river. Jus,
after she apparently shaped her course 10.