Mower County transcript., 1890-07-16
BLOWN UP BY OIL.

Inc AnnemmabIe Cargo OF the Biz Steam~
sr Tioga Ienites In thu Vessels Hold
# While - Her Dock jn Chicago-A Ter.#
rihc Explosion Follows, the Result Of
BIZ which Il the Loss OF Fifteen Lives. the
Wounding Of Several Persons and the
Sinking Of the Iil-Fated Craft.
CHICAGO. July 12.-By q terrific ex-=
ploston that shook all the buildings In
the center of the city and startled
thousands Of residents the stern OF the
magnificent freight steamer Tioga was
blown out at 7:35 o'clock Friday night
and no less than fifteen men met instant
death. Nine others were injured.
There was rush Of steam and smoke,
cloud OF shattered timbers, and the
agonizing cries Of those not killed who
were unable to escape from the flames
that at once began to eat up everything
within reach Of their awful fury.
Thousands fiocked to the docks of the
Union Steamboat Company, on the
river back of Market street between.
Washington and Randolph, and the Are
engines were soon in the vicinity doing
good work to prevent the threatened
complete loss of the big vessel.
Theory differs as to the cause of tho
explosion. Some claim that the COM
bustible cargo of oil stored in hold s,
directly aft the boilers, was the cause.
Others claim that the water in the
boilers had been allowed to run low and
that they were unable to withstand the
strain brought to bear upon them.
There were, however, $50 barrels Of oil
stored in hold No. 5, and it appears
from the testimony of those who es-
capped the wreck that this was the i'm
mediate cause of the explosion.
At Z o'clock the porter, William
Palmer, OF Buffalo, descended into the
hold with several lamps, which he
placed about on the deck that the roust-
abouts might see to continue their work
far into the night, as the vessel was to
have left on her return trip to Buffalo
this evening. No sooner had Palmer
ascended to the upper deck after joking
vii the men below than the explosion
came. 1t is believed that the vapor
from few barrels of naphtha comm u
nicated with the light of the lamps and
did the fearful work.
The noise Of the explosion was heard
nearly mile distant from the scene.
Immediately following itcame shower
of wood and iron thrown hundreds of
feet into the air, with here and there the
burned and mangled form of some h.
man being plainly visible to the hor-
riied spectators, and then falling
into the murky waters of the river,
probably never to be seen again. The
main deck and promenade deck, togeth-
er with the house work in the other part
of the vessel, were rendered a mass Of
splintered wood and twisted iron. A
sheet of flame wrapped the gigantic ves-
sci from about amidship to the stern,
shooting hundred feet into the air,
lighting up the neighboring warehouses
and shipping with dull glow which
only added terror to the scene.
When the first engines arrived their
efforts, under the direction of Marshal
Campion, were directed toward check
ing the flames, which were fast rushing
toward the forward part OF the vessel
and threatening her with total destruc-
tion. From the depth of the vessel
could be heard the roar of the flames
and the occasional explosion of a
barrel of oil, while the forms of half q
score Of unfortunates penned into the
fiery furnace could be seen writhing in
agony and unable to escape. The sight
was an awful one and the fremen who
made heroic efforts to render assist
ance were steadily driven back from
their position. On the upper deck lay
the unconscious forms of seven men
who were hurled up from below by the
force Of the explosion.
The fre-engines poured tons of water
into the burning vessel, the object be-
ing to cause her to sink to the rivers
bottom, which is very shallow at this
point An hour of this work, aided by the
water rushing into q large hole torn in
the bottom by the explosion, had
the desired effect and the vessel slowly
found resting-place in the bottom OF
the river, the water being level with
her main decks
The first body taken out was that Of
a colored roustabout. 1t was found
A0uS AAS D0A OtOA VuO SOu OAuS ". WAC
hatch leading into hold S. Not ves-
tige Of the clothing remained, the body
being burned almost to crisp and
twisted and distorted in horrible
shape. The face was entirely unrecog-
nizable and the body was quickly re-
moved to the morgue.
The surviving members of the crew.
under the command of Captain Phelps
and the truck companies, lowered them
selves into the hold, and, supported by
planks laid across the open hatchways,
recovered four more bodies and carried
them out to the dock. Two of these
were white men and two were .colored.
but they were 50 burned and distorted
as to be unrecognizable. They were
taken to the morgue and placed among
the unknown dead. These were all the
bodies recovered last night, but 1t Is al
most certain that the estimate Of dfteen
lives lost, as given above, Is correct.
T. t. Morford, local agent of. the
Union Steamboat Company, was found
at his Office at II o'clock writing = coun-
plete telegraphic report of the disaster
to the company headquarters at Buffalo.
He estimated the loss at from SIT, 900 to
$4,000. >''.s@s ~ = @''"5- -
The steamboat Tioga was built at
Buffalo in 1886 by the Onion Dry-Dock
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