The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-07-12
The Large Lake Steamer Wrecked
at Chicago by a Fearful
Explosion.
Several Stevedores Meet Sudden
Death and Many Others
Suffer Injuries.
Speculation ~ to the Cause OF the Calami-
ty--Imperilled by the Collapse
Of Ferry.

s0Aoes AA10y-01kAs PoOpAo Wo10 nOO0A0
tho steamer at the time. When the work Of
rescuing the survivors, which was COM
almost instantly, was we'll under
way only two persons could be found who
escaped unhurt. To make the matter
worse fire broke out in the wrecked vessel
and huge volumes of flames and smoke inn
peded the searchers for the dead and dying.
The bursting of the steamers boilers was
the cause of the catastrophe. It was in the
Chicago river at the foot of Warrington
street that the explosion occurred. This
locality is in the heart of the business Sec
ton Of Chicago and the explosion brought
people running in terror out of the tall
buildings blocks away. Whi.e the
fire was still in progress an Asso-
oiated press reporter met the captain
Of the ill-fatsd steamer on the forward
deck. The officer consented to stop long
enough in his task of strengthening out the
confusion prevailing to give q statement of
what he knew of the wreck. Said he:
my name is Captain A. A. Phelps. I ar
rived here last evening from Buffalo in
command Of the Tioea and we we're unload,
place this evening. was in the freight
shed on the dock when heard q terrific
noise and running out saw the north
quarter of the vessel enveloped in steam.
All of the crew of twenty-five men were
either aboard at the time or were on the
after careful search. that all but three were
accounted for and safe. Those three
all from Buffalo and were: The second
engineer, George Hard; the lookout, G.
Swalley, and a deckhand, VIM. Cuthbert.
Besides the three missing who belonged to
the crew there must have been from tive I've
to fifteen other men killed and probably
half dozen additional wounded. There
was gang of laborers in the hold who
were doing the unloading. Eight colored
men are positively stated to have been be.
low and six or seven others were at the
matches aiding their fellow stevedores lower
down. The explosion occurred in the hold,
not in the machinery or boilers, as near as
could ascertain, and was probably in
some combuatible freight stored there.''
The captain was at this moment called
away to the wrecked portion of the vessel,
which seemed gradually settling in the
river. Occasionally i wounded man was
being hauled out Of the debris. As the
flames permitted the police and 6remen
closed in toward the literal black hole in
which the bodies of the unfortunate steve
dores still lay. Great crowds of people
and vessels, and watched the tragic scenes
being enacted on the Tioga. The immense
iron hull, painted forbidding black,
stretched three hundred feet or more along
the pier and swarm of people. firemen
and reporters were clambering over
her on all sides. Eye witnesses
telling newcomers the CORY particulars. It
appeared that the explosion occurred lust
after porter named VIM. Palmer had gone
below with lighted lamps. He had scarcely
reached the decks again when the shock
came. 1t was said that two hundred bar
rels of oil were among the cargo and that
these had become ignited. Others insisted
that the explosion must have been due to a
lack of water in the boilers and the second
engineer, who was known to be missing,
was the man whose duty it would be to
start the pony pumps in such an emergency.
This, it was declared, would have produced
just such an explosion, wrecking only one
compartment of the vessel.
Up to 11:3O p. M. nine dead bodies have
been taken from the wreck and five or more
wounded conveyed to the hospitals. The
Tioga's stern settled to the bottom of the
river, but as it is not deep the decks are
still above the surface. It is estimated
that $75. 600 will cover the damage to the
vessel and cargo. This amount is believed
to be fully insured. Engineer Haig and
Steam Filter Burns cannot live through the
night. Additional names of colored steve
dores supposed to have been killed are:
| Walter Dukes, Henry Weatherspoon, John
Goff, Jacob Churl, Alex. Smith, j. Braxt0h
cause of the explosion was obtained about
midnight, when the boilers and cargo could
be examined. The boilers seemed intact.
| The cargo was kerosene, gasoline and cot
| ton. The inference is drawn that the leak
ing of kerosene saturated the cotton and
generated gases which ignited when g
lantern was taken into the hold.