New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-01-28
TEN SEAMEN PARBOlLED.
lets OF HOT STEAM IN THEIR FACES.
. no,rEnp1pp BURSTS IN THE HOLD OF THE
wHsrE STAR STEAMER REPUBLIC.


to death in the stoke-hod by the pursuing Oh
boiler tube. Eight of the men are now iyins at
ST. yincents Hospital. all OF them seriously scaid-
cd and th.ee Of them. Thomas Mcfarland fourth
ov,a,,.er. lanes DIVER. sixth engineer: and John
Iaona,ds a coal passer, likely to die. Two Of the
,nan--Cbarles Yates, second engineer: and Henry
Jbba fifth engineer-retu-ned TO the vessel after
,beir wounds were dressed. This is list of the
injured
BORDEN JAMES fireman, Engiishman, age "a.
had his and neck severely scalded.
COLLINS JAMES, fireman, Englishmap, age 30,
scalded about the face, neck and body.
DIVER JAMES, sixth engineer an Englishman, age %,
had his head face neck and legs badly scaieed as
well his chest and back. His condition is
critical.
HUGHES. PATRICK, coal pasaes, age "a. IrishmaD,
was scadcd about the arms. face ami neck
IBBs HENRY hfh engineer had his arms scalded but
after they had been dressed at the hospital, he
returned 10 the ship.
LEONARD, JOHN, coal passer age As, English
man. very badly burned about the face, arms.
body and legs, snd may not recover.
MACFARLAND, THOMAS. fourth engineer, Glasgow,
age 3s was severely burned about the throat, head,
arms and legs. He has great difficulty in breath
ing, and is in q critical condition.
WARD, JAMES coal passer. Englishman sge %,
arms, body and legs scaidod.
WARD, SAMUEL. offer, Engishnan, age 81, badly
scaided on the face and arms.
YATES, CHARLES. second engineer, arms and face
scslded. After they had been dressed he returned
20 the ship.
HOW THE ACCIDENT HAPPENED.
The story of the accident as told by the chief
engineer, Andrew Duncan. was as follows: The
Republic grounded On the bar Saturday night
and did not get a6oet until between and 10
o'clock yesterday morning. She got up to her
pier at Tenth-st, North River, and was made
fast at 1r:2o. There were but twenty cabin
a.1 Ill laft In
pier shortly after IL o'clock. when those on
deck noticed steam coming cut Of the door
leading to the engine-room and from the engine
room into the stoke-hold From an investi-
cation it appears that six fremen and ccal-pass-
ers, or trimmers, and the five assistantengineers
were in the hold drawing the fires, cleaning mp
and making everything snug, that they could
leave their posts. There was steam press
ure of ffty-six pounds to the square inch on
the boiler from which they were drawing the
fire. There was a sharp report and at the
same instant the men received a stream of boil
ing water and steam in their faces.
The room that the men were in was about
forty feet long and twelve feet wide, and, being
in the hold OF the vessel. there was no way for
the steam to get out except through the openings
where the ladders Stood There were two lad
49, -
them. but the others were cut of by the jet and
could only get out by passing through the
stream of hot water and steam, which was
coming from thtee-foot boilcr-tnbe that nad
burst Those who got out quickly opened the
safety-valve of the boiler and in few seconds
the pressure leased and the steam aud water
stopped coming out of tie break. Meantinsc those
shut ND in the hold which was By this time hleo
with steam, suffered horribly. and they were all
Of yshem nearly suffocated. Three Of them were
entirely prostrated, and had TO- be hoisted out OF
the hold by means Of a derrick: the others could
barely crawl up the ladder into the engine-room
THE DOCTORS EXPERIENCE.
DR.. Mcdonald, the ships surgeon, was on hand
Immediately, and, after seeing how serious an ac-
cident it was, an ambulance was telephoned for.
The telephone message, saying that three men
were scalded arrived at St Vincent's Hospital vt
1895 Dr. Wallace who was ambulance sur
geon at that place yesterday, said TO Tribune
reporter: " 1t was a horHble sesne Wben' We
arrived at the ship and vent into the engine-room
n locked as though there had been battle. The
ten men were lying there groaning and crying
for some one to stop their pains We dld every
thing possible to dress the wounds OF the poor
fellows and the ships surgeon and the officers
also worked like beavers and did all in their power
10 ailay the suffering. AS soon as L arrived 4
sent for another ambulance, and when we had
done all IL was possible to do there, we put four
of the men in enc ambulance and two others that
we had TO carry on stretchers in the other and
haer for the other four Some of them were
horrible-looldng objects when they arrived here
They were of course, all black and greasy from
working around the engines, and the work OF
wy,shinS them with their skin scalded and ready
TO peel of, is extremely palniul 10 inc poor ie'-
lows" nn,,.
said tbat the vessel had been inspected just before
she started from Liverpool and had been found all
right Chief Engineer Duncan SAID that tpe tune
that burst had never shown any signs OF weak
neSs and he could not account for the accident:
II will take day at least for the Doiier 10 cool
off so that Thorough exomina!lon OF tiJ Dtsak sad
men OF the Republic on the pier, ana asKcu MN
IL he had noticed anything wrong with tne tune
during the voyage. lie sad tnat ~ hha hnS mos
heard on Thursday or Friday that there was some
trouble with it; ii leaked, he believed lie seemed
djsintlined TO say anything more ABOUT the atUer'
INCLINED TO BELITTLE THE AFFAIR.
Caufain Smith seemed inclined TO beiittle the
accident. and said that the men all stood up to
have their wounds dressed, and that they all
walked of from the ship to the ambulances The
shock of the bursting OF the pipe was not felt oy
those in the upper part Of the ship. The usual
pressure of steam carried by the vessels boilers
dtring voyage is sixty-fvc pounds to the square
inch The fires had been gradually allowed TO
die out the vessel came near the plerg ana the
pressure was nine pounds less IMAM uat db Me
pressure, however, made scarcely any difference
in the force with which the hot water and steam
came out Of the break, but, had IL not been that
sone one had presence of mind enough TO open the
safety-valvc. the men confined in the hold would
probably all have been dead before they could
have been got out The vessel is advertised 70
sail on Wednesday, and it could not be told yes
terday, until thorough examination OF the break
had been made, whether the accident would pre-
vent her from starting on time or not.
Al a late hour last evening, Dr. Winthrop H.
Mitchell at St Yincent's Hospital, said that Fire
man Borden would probably die. He was then
in a delrious condition. Engineer macIarand
suffered from oedema of the cloftis and the opera
ton OF trachcotomy had TO be performed on him.
The symptoms OF suffocation were removed by this
means and he was, able TO breathe more easily.
lie was sleeping at midnight but being exceed
inaly weak is in critical condition.
The doctor said that while Engineer Divers
burns were bad, be thought the patient would re-
eove.. There had been symptoms Of oedema
OF the nnffs In his cAse also hnf not sufficient 20