West-Jersey pioneer., 1882-03-30
TERRIBLE DESTRUCTION.


front of the houses on Delaware Avenue
opposite the place where the Inflated
tug was lying. For several weeks she
has been engaged in towing on the
Schuylkill river. On Wednesday night,
March 22d, she entered the dock south of
the Philadelphia and Atlantic City Rail
way depot, intending to remain there
during the night and tow a canal-boat
down to Greenwich Point, Thursday
morning Before the crew retired for
the night, the fire was banked and every
thing appeared perfectly secure. Thos.
Maloney, the captain of the canal-boat
''Annie Maloney, which was to be towed
down the river, visited the pratt" for
the purpose of completing the arrange
ments, and he slept on board so as to be
There We're five men on the boat at the
time of the explosion, all of whom were
killed. They were George Scully, acting
captain in the place of his father, who
had gone to his house on Monroe street,
leaving the boat in charge of his son for
the night George Scully was twenty
three years of age. BY the force of the
explosion he was blown across Delaware
avenue, over the top of the warehouse
opposite, and landed in Water street.
When he was picked up he was not dead.
On reaching the Pennsylvania Hospital
his sufferings ended. Another victim
was Bernard McCann, fireman, fifty-five
years of age, living at Front and Queen
streets His body, mangled and distort-
ed was found lying on Delaware avenue
below Walnut street. The third unfor
tunate was Patrick Flanagan, deck hand,
aged forty years, living at Port Rich
mond. His body was found lying on the
pavement on the west side of Delaware
avenue. Thos. Maloney, captain of the
canal-boat "Annie Maloney, y aged thirty
years was thrown dead on the pier of the
Philadelphia and Atlantic City Railway
Company The tug was moored to the
pier. The engineer, John Lyons, aged
fifty, is supposed to have sunk with the
buried with the hull. A laborer named
Morrison, who was in the habit of sleep
ing on the boat when in the dock, was
seen conversing with Lyons in the even
ing before the explosion, but nothing
| further has been heard or seen of him.
The police tug sWm. S. Stokely'' at the
time of the explosion was lying in the
dock at pier 6, and Immediately steamed
around to Walnut street wharf. At the
eastern end of the pier was moored the
tug ELLA. The flying embers lodged
on the ella on the pier, and a barge
containing freight cars moored on the
north side of the pier. The explosion
tore asunder the moorings of the ELLA, !"
and the burning boat drifted slowly to-
ward the burning railway sheds. Ed
ward Murphine and Robert G. Love, who
were on board of the ELLA" jumped
into the water, and were rescued by the
crew of the s'Stokely.n The tug Ma
jor,n which was lying at the extreme end
of the pier, was also set on fire, but the
flames were extinguished before they
had gained any headway. The Ella
was valued at $4,000, and was insured for
two thousand dollars in the Royal Insur-
ance Company Shortly after the ex-
plosion and the demolition of the Mar
row Gauge depot, an alarm of fire was
sounded, but the structure, which was
about 200 feet in length by 60 feet in
width, was entirely destroyed. In the
dock north of the pier was fioater hold
ing five freight cars, all of which were
badly singed by the flames. The loss
sustained by the Railway Company is
about $4,000, fully covered by insurt
ance. The fire will not interfere with
the operations of the road. A Herring S
safe. built by Farrell & Co., which was in
the office on the pier, was the only thing
that was not completely ruined. A kit
ten on board the tug Pratt was thrown
out of the tug by the force of the explo-
sion on to Delaware avenue. She was
discovered alive but somewhat startled,
under the debris The tug Henry c..
Pratt" was built at Troy, New York, in
1876, being sixty-five feet keel and seven
| teen feet breadth of beam. She was
owned by Patrick Murphy and John De
vinney, of this city, who valued her at
$4,000. The boiler was built by McEnes
& Dillon, Rondout, N. Y, in 1877, and
was tested by the United States Inspec-
| tor, May 9Th, 1881, with 1870 pounds pres
sure per square inch. The rent took
place where the shell joined the fire-box,
through the line of rivets.
The buildings 1873, 1870 and 1872 South
Delaware avenue, belonging to the es
tate of J. s. VAIN & Co., were badly
damaged. The boiler took an upward
course and struck the roof of the latter
building, the ground floor Of which is oc-
cupied by Kelley, Lovitt & Co., ship
chambers. 1t then bounded off and fell
to the side walk, tearing away part OF
| the gabled-roof of the building. An in
tricate new work of steam pipes, twisted
into every conceivable shape, encircled
the boiler, and accompanied it on its
flight. These pipes lodged here and
there along the roof and balcony, and
hung out like black icicles of gigantic
proportions. One of the pipes was driven
WIFI SUCH IoTCe tIltbt II pciooI" "eOo oiio
wall of the building about half way up.
Here it hung fastened as firmly asthough
riveted there by workmen for the beam
of balcony The locks of the door
| were torn off Some of the iron bars
and hinges were found imbedded in the
brick walls.
The upper floors of the buildings men
toned are occupied by E. Selbach u Co.,
as a storehouse for dyestuffs, and by S.
Morris VAIN & Co., -four and cotton
commission merchants. The I'd floor is
used as a. priyate office by the latter firm.