New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1890-06-24
A TUGBOAT BLOWN UP.
CAPTAIN AND COOK KILLED. AND TWO
FIREMEN MISSING.
THE BODY OF THE FORMER FOUND on SHIP
TWO HUNDRED FEET AWAY-LACK CT
WATER IN THE BOILER CAUSES
THE EXPLOSION.


fatal explosion occurred yesterday morning
on the steam tug Alice d. Crewe while she was
lying at Van Brunt-st., Brooklyn. Two men
were killed outright and two others are missing
and are supposed to he dead The victims Of tho
disaster were Oscar W. Squires, captlin, and
James Rogers. cook The missing men were
firemen, and were known Dutch and Pea
Coal Jim, Their real names are not known.
4 deck-hand named Matthew BARLEY was in
jured slightly. lie went board the tug at
3 a. m. and awoke the firemen, telling them To
put on steam He then entered the cabin Of the
engineer, who was ashore, and lay down TO sleep.
The last he remembered was hearing the fremen
at work, and the next he knew he was IN the
water Upon coming to the surface he swan
ashore The noise Of the explosion was heard
long distance II is supposed that the firemen
made the fire, and that an insufficient supply Of
water in the boiler and superheated steam caused
the explosion The first vessel to arrive at the
scene Of the explosion, which occurred at 3:45
a m was the police boat Judge Moore. The
men from il made a careful search for the per-
sons supposed to he on board the tug when the
explosion occurred and found the dead body OF
Captain Saures upon the deck of a ship about
200 feet distant His right leg was torn of and
his body was badly bruised II lay in pool OF
blood, but it is supposed that he died from me
shock lie was about forty years of age, and
left a wife and children at Indian River, Conn.
The body Of the cook, Rogers, was found on the
deck Of a scow alongside the tug. where he had
fallen on his head II was not mutllated save
by scalding. The bodies Of the firemen. who
wore only known on board the vessel by their
soubriquets. were not found and 1t is supposed
that they were lost in the water.
The tug was a complete wreck above the water
line and fragments of her machinery, boilers ana
woodwork were scattered on all sides. Some
peces Of the boiler were found 300 feet away.
One crashed through the root Of bonded ware
house belonging u Beard * Co The ballast
scoy Lime Rock, to which the Crewe was moored.
was sunk by the explosion. and II is thought
that piece of the boiler Of the Crewe was
driven through her side After losing her ballast
she fioated. "A ,, ,,a
and carried an engine of 100 horsepower. She
Was owned by Thomas and John O5rien. OF No:
40 South-st They valued her at 900, ana hs1
no Insurance The boiler was believed 10 ne
thoroughly safe On Sunday the tug carried
Marty of fifty compostOrS 10 tie FISHING BANKS,
pnJ returned al a late hour. She was 10 90 ont
again early yesterday morning. llalt me crew
sient on board and the others went 10 tnelr homes
Rortlev lives M No. 40 Richard-st. He was resi-
mo comfortably at his home last evening. ana
concratulated himself upon his narrow escape:
He said he was blown into The ar ana uheh ieh
into the water. 80, -.
Iohn Abrahmson ships carpenter of the James
Nesmith which lay near the Crewe. descriDed
the EXPLOSION as terrific one. when reused MN
from sound sleep, as if thousand shyioehets
had exploded and were Slsslng ana bursting To-
ccther He ran on deck and stumbled over the
dead body OF Captain Squlres.