The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-10-07
BOILERS BURST.
A Battery Of Boilers at Rttsburg ExplOls
With Disastrous Effect
The Flying Fragments and Escaping steam
Severely Iniure Several Men-Two Dead
and Three Others Not Expected
Ia Recover.

PITTsguRc, October Shortly after 8
o'clock this morning a battery of boilers at
the Solar Iron Works Of Clarke & Co.. Oh
Thirty-sixth street. exploded with disastrous
effect. The night turn had just been relieved
by the day force when loud explosion star
tied the workmen, and that portion of the
works in the vicinity of the boilers was filled
with q cloud OF death-dealing steam.
Through the dense mist came shrieks and
groans, which notified the employees beyond
harms reach that a frightful calamity had
oyertaken portion Of their fellow-worlmen.
As soon as the steam settled down 4 rush
was made for the spot where the explosion
occurred, when it was ascertained that
the mud-drum o the boiler had ex-
ploded and that the escaping steam
had scalded seventeen men. Closer investi-
CATION showed that of this number fourteen
were badly burned and three fatally scalded.
The names of the injured were: Frank Mar
tin, badly scaldcd about the face and arms,
Will not live: James Catloe, fatally scalde0-
the top of his head was almost severed by a
piece of flying iron; Frank Murray, boy,
terribly burned. injuries fatal Thomas Stein
a boy. badly scaided; William Daniels a
boy scalded and injured by flying debris;
David Richards. a boy. scalled and arm
broken William 0rth, roller, badly scalded;
Frank Good, boy, badly cut on the head;
Patrick Henderson, shearsman, severely
scalded and injured by flying debris: Davi1
Smith, sheaTsnan. badly scalded; Joseph
Getze, boy, scalded, but not seriously:
William simpson, n boy, scalded and injured
by debris; Charles Haywood, a puddler,
seriously hurt by flying debris;
Joseph Steiner, assistant engineer, badly
bruised and slightly cut; Joseph Nef.
boy, badly scalded; Frank Neil, boy. badly
scalded; Bart Henderson, a gauger, terribly
burned, will probably not recover. Scarcely
had the hills bcetling the Allegheny ceased
10 reverberate the tones of the explosion
when the frenzied, frightened wives, moth
ers and children began TO rush upon the
scene and peer anxiOusly into the faces of
the gasping, dying men, seeking to identity
their loved ones or inquiring in agonized
. tones if they had escaped. Women half
dressed Others putting on their clothes rs
they ran, children almost nude and scream
ing at the top of their voices. crowded and
iostled each other i'm the mad rush for the
mill. Arriving there. there was silence for
a moment, and then wOman's wall was
| heard, and another and another, till there
was nothing but a discordant chorus of
feminine shrieks and means and cries OF
anguish. The cries and groans OF the
parboiled men would occasionally rise
above the shrieks of the women. IL
| was an awful scene and the physicians
who arrived said they were almost unnerved
! at the sight, in the presence of so much
/ human suffering, physical and mental. The
/ injured were found lying in all positions.
/ Some of them were far away from the
! battery that il seemed impossible that thew
! could have been injured by the explosion.
/ The large number of boys hurt Is accounted
! for by the fact that they were employed to
L. Al. i. Ill
! the mill nearest the boilers. Ii was fully
4 twenty minutes after the explosion before
/ the boy, Frank Murray, was taken out from
under the truck where he was thrown. In
addition TO being scalded he was terribly
crushed by the weight OF iron piled on top
| of him. James Cattoe and Frank Martin
/ suffered the most from the escaping steam,
| but no hopes are entertained for the recovery
! OF either of the three named. The others
1 are expected TO recover but the majority
will carry marks TO remind them OF their eX-
I perience as long a. they live. Those most
1 seriously injured were taken 10 the West
! Pennsylvania Hospital while the others were
removed TO their homes.
The interior of the finishing mill presented
/ terrible sight of destruction after the acci-
/ dent. Things were badly wrecked. The
I boilers. six in number, form battery, which
! sets in the extreme southwest corner Of the
I mill. The mud-drum runs legthwise under
! all six boilers. 1t was the end of this which
! blew out. With such terrible force did it
! explode as to scatter destruction on all sides.
! All the boilers were unseated. Two Of them
! tilted back, some on their ends. In the rear
the whole wall of masonry was moved out
ward. very remarkable feature was the
| jamming of the mud-drum's head against
! one of the engines. This engine was sitting
few yards north of the boilers. The burst
iron was blown directly against the cylinder
! head of the engine. smashing X TO pieces and
blowing the whole head inward. From this
the steam .ushed out with a loud, Kissing
sound. Large stacks of hoop-iron were
blown all over the floor, and in one instance
a wheelbarfOw was twisted through
the door. The iron machines and
benches were all thrown together in
inextricable masses of debris. under which
several of the men we're buried. Mr.. Powers.
| the chief engineer of the mill, says the boil
ers and mud-drum were inspected by the
Hartford Boiler Insurance Company two
months ago, and were then pronounced safe.
He was certain they were all right when he
| left last evening, and could only account for
| the explosion on the ground that the iron in
| the mud-drum was too weak TO stand the
| pressure to which ii was subjected
Twice before has accidents of this nature
occurred in this mill. The first one occurred
five years ago, and was unproductive of
DEATH The second one occurred only
eighteen months ago, and, although several
were scalded, no one was fatally hurt. ON
the last occasion two men were arrested for
tampering with the boiler but failed OF con-
yiction because of lack of proof of the crime
Two of the victims Thomas Cattoe and
John Murray, died at the West Pennsylva-
Hospital this morning. Three or four Others
are not expected to recover. The explosion
was caused by the mud eating through the
coating of the mud-drum. Pieces OF the
eirun pickpi nm were not more than a thirtV-