The sun., 1882-08-20
A CRASH AT MIDNIGHT.
A BROKEN WALKING BEAM FALLING
ON A NORTH RIVER BOAT.
Shattered Decks and = Terrible Escape or
steam Ono Man Fatally scnlded and
Others Injured-Good Order Maintained.

Shattered Decks and = Terrible Escape or
steam Ono Man Fatally scnlded and
Others Injured-Ssood Order Maintained.
The steamer Kaaterskill Of the New York
and Catskill line met with serious accident
about o'clock yesterday morning when on
her down trip. at point about AZ miles above
this city. She was moving slowly. not more
than ten or twelve miles per hour. according to
the statements OF her officers and OF passengers
on board. and was carrying but thirty pounds
OF steam. instead Of fifty pounds. the pressure
allowed by her certificate. Suddenly. without
the slightest premonition. her ponderous walk
ing beam snapped In two. and tho huge con-
Meeting rod. with a large piece Of the walking
beam attached. fell over and went crashing
down through the hurricane deck and the sa-
loon deck to the main deck below. At the same
instant the piston. no longer upheld by the
walking beam. dropped and smashed its weight
through the bottom Of the cylinder. letting out
dense volumes Of steam. that filed the lower
deck and arose through the engine well and
the shattered saloon deck to the cabin above
There was instantly great excitement among
the 1875 passengers on board. Some twenty
Ave OF, the passengers. most Of them ladies' oc-
cupied staterooms. out OF which they came
frightedly inouiring what had happened. Two
Of the ladies', in their excitement plunged into
not serious scalds on the face and hands. The
chief sufferers, however. were some poor Ital-
ian laborers who at the time Of the accident
deck in the immediate neighborhood of the
engine room, There we're twenty Of them. but
of them was burned 50 badly that he cannot
survive his injuries. The injuries OF the others
were comparatively slight. The prompt action
OF Capt. Stead, the commandant OF the boat.
soon reassured the passengers and restored
order. In a few minutes the escaped steam
the the steam6oat tie e. ". Redaeid Of the coxsacte
line ran alongside, and took of the passengers
ss rssshed Ta al
Of the kaSterskili and her Captain can came down
middle Of the river two miles above Stony Point
In the afternoon she vas towed down 70 the city
a az the oo Of %ee
done 70 her as tsr M ss it could be formed yester-
Capt. James Stead said: We left oatskill
landing at o'clock on Friday evening. and
Smiths Dock. Maiden, Tivoli. Barrytown. and
Cold Spring 1t was midnight when we reached
the latter place. only 65 miles below Catskill
there. ! then remarked to the engineer that
he might as well 60 SLOW, as we did not care to
soyer thS Sad passed
was sitting inside. forward when all q sud
den.I heard a great crash and felt the Boat
what we had hii for thought at first that we we
got out there heard a second great crash be:
t. b IhS ssS ,Ss walking beam
i throaSS the dscEse ny fifst fs fear then uS %as
that i might, have gone clear down through
cabin and down stairs to see, whether
she was making WSs WSter had called 70 the
reDlied
turned back l found the cabin full OF steam, so
hot tand denso that could not 60 through it.
e fs rsped II don dom AnsS Know gst but % fsep
quiet. II there il any serious danger L will re-.
course. but did not not seem % to be gre greatly alarmed
! ran up the ladder to the upper deck. aft. and
tss tS Rs hold
water That fact l at once reported to the
passengers assuring a them that they were in
end to their fright and they began laughing
and Joking each other about the funny appear
snce they madeI,and. l tell you: a woman
does look rather comica.
-, The engine is probably very badly injured
There was no danger of tho piston falling
through the bottom Of the boat. for right under
where it would haye come down. the keelson is
20 inches wide and 5 feet deep. OF solid yellow
pine, 1t was very singular accident. for tho
walking beam seems to be immensely strong
and the vessel is almost brand new, having
only been in service since the 29th Of July last.
We treated the scalded people with oil and
four. as best we could. and. with one excep-
tion. they were all out Of danger by the time
we reached New York. l did not know until
this morning that Major s. A. Russell had been
hurt by falling from the saloon deck to the
main deck. 1t was bad tumble for as heavy a
man as he is, but think he was simply shaken
up. and will be all right in a day or two. Two
Catskill ladies who were scalded about their
faces. shoulders, and arms-one OF them Mrs
s. Green. wife of the local freight agent OF the
steamboat company at Catskill. and the other
her sister Miss Mary Hinman-were. able to go
home this morning by the train. Major Russell
was sent to Bel levue Hospital. Of which institu-
tion he is deputy warden"
Capt. r. p. Tremaine OF the steamboat G. W.
Redfield. who took look at the broken walk
ing beam. said yesterday that the fracture
seemed rs bright as a new silver dollar, and he
could see no sign of a flaw that might have
caused The accident.
The engines of the Kaaterskil we're con-
structed by Messrs. w. & A. Fletcher OF 266
West street and cost $50. 900. The skeleton Of
the walking beam, they said yesterday. was as
is usual OF cast iron with a strong strap OF
wrought iron. upon which the main reliance
for strength is placed. about it. This sort OF
accident is not 40 common now as IL was few
years ago, and is hardly ever dangerous to the
vessel Neither the piston nor the connecting
rod ever falls through the bottom OF a boat
when such an occurrence takes place. 1t Is
when the boat is rum ing slowly that this acc-
dent is most likely to happen: seldom or never
when she Is going at high rate OF speed.