Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-08-29
EXPLOSION ON A STEAMER
THE KILLED ESTIMATED AT
BETWEEN 10 AND so.

North River the Scene of the Oisaster-
The Shattered Hull Sinks a Minute
After the Shock-The Number of Pas
sengers Aboard in DOubt.-The River
Strewn With Wreekage
NEW YORK, August 2S.-Inspector
Thorne received a dispatch this afternoon
stating that the excursion steamer River
dale had blown up at the foot of Sixteenth
street, in the North river, and calling for
all the ambulances in the city.
The Riverdale started up the Hudson
on her trip to HaverstraW at O'Clock
this afternoon with fifty passengers on
board from the foot of Harrison street
/ When opposite the foot of Thirteenth
street her boilers exploded. Fve-wit-
nesses on sh0re saw what seemed TO he
the whole of the inside Of the vessel flv
lnts the air with report like the
I discharge of cannon. The shell
/ of the hull careened over, but continued
/ up the stream from the momentum of
/ its own speed until it went down, bow
F first, at the foot of Fifteenth street. About
/ twenty OF the passengers. including every
/ body in the cabins, were blown up in the
/ explosion. The rest seized life preservers.
and jumping over the rail INTO the river.
j were picked up by number of tugbOats
/ ! ork and Jersey shores to their assist
ance.
NEW YORK, August IS. 1OP. M-Not
more than ten lives are at this hour posi-
/ lively known to be lost. Among those
/ blown up and badly scalded is said to be
/ Gardner. the evangelist. On the arrival
/ OF ambulances the body of Mrs. Sission,
| OF Iarrytown, was brought ashore i'm a
/ boat. Her grandson, whose name is
3 t'hanIn 4 2 h.
ana was picked up by tugbOat. This
/ was the only body recovered at 4 O'Clock.
nan an hour after the explosion Cap
/ tam smith, who Was in command of the
/ Riyerdale, stated that while on deck he
! heard low rumble, and Immediately the
/ boilers blew up and the vessel began to
sink. He could not explain the cause of
the explosion. Tugs are now cruising
4 about the scene.
! George \. Davis, fireman on the Riv-
! erdale, was terribly scalded by the escap-
! ing steam. He was picked up by a tug
/ boat.
The Riverdale was an old boat and ran
/ up the river from this city to Hayerstraw
( and Cornwall.
/ Ot the passengers aboard, some were
/ blown up with the explosion, but. from
! the best accounts obtainable, their num-
/ Der was small, as there were few in
| the cabins at the time. No ex-
/ act idea can at present be gained
as to the number of passengers
/ on board or the number of lives lost. The
accounts Of the number of passengers on
board vary from fifty to two hundred, and
1 OF the killed from ten to fifty. The force
OF the explosion was downward, appa-
rently, the rapidity with which the vessel
+ sank showing that her bottom was blown
out. Hardly minute elapsed between
/ the explosion and the sinking of the shat
/ tered hull in the whirlpool, into which
the struggling swimmers were drawn
The river was strewn with the wreckage.
cabin doors, beams, boards and furniture
noatlng about, and proving the force of
the explosion. Tugs and small boats put
out IN swarms from the New York and
Jersey shores and began the work of
| fescuIng drowning passengers and creM