Morning journal and courier., 1891-03-06
| NEWS BY TELEGRAPH.
From All Quarters.
BURNED At her PIER.
A New York and Hartford
Packet Destroyed.
VERDICT IN The TUNNEL INQUEST.
Fatal Fire in a Southern
School Building.
RESULT OF the ELECTION IN CANADA
Death of Hon. w. A. Pierce
Of Rhode Island
RESULT OF The ELECTION IN CANADA
BURNED TO THE WATER,SEDGE

The Steamer City of Richmond of
the New York and Hartford Line
Destroyed at Her Pier in New York
-One Man Perishes-The Boat and
Cargo a Total Loss.
New YORK, March 5-The wooden
steamboat City of Richmond of the Hart
ford and New York Transportation COM
pany, plying between this city and Hart
ford, Conn, was burned at her berth,
Pier No. "a, East river, late this after
noon. The fire was discovered at 3:15 by
one of the deck hands, smoldering In a
bale of cotton amidships A few seconds
later it burst into flame and in an almost
incredible short time the entire vessel
was wrapped in roaring blaze of fire,
which Tapped the adjoining bulkheads and
and communicated with the shed on Pier
No. "a. Three alarms were sounded and
almost Immediately several special
calls were sent out for additional
engines and hook and ladder com
panies. The fire boats New York,
Zophar Mills and William T. Havemeyer
responded to the alarms and quickly had
torrents of water pouring upon the
burning vessel. Much of the steamers
woodwork was of light pine stuff, oil
soaked and infammable as finder. The
flames poured out of the stateroom win
dows, curled about the cornice and shot
aloft many feet in the air. In spite of the
Niagara of water pouring in from all sides
the cabins were roaring furnaces, which
belched forth great sheets of flames and
dense clouds of thick yellow smoke till
portions of the roof and sides fell in, and
there was nothing left to feed the flames
but the larger timbers and hull. Two
walters asleep in their hunks narrowly es-
capped smothering. Night Waterman Sam
uel Lambert, who spends his days in his
bunk on the lower deck preparatory to be-
ing on duty at night, persisted.
full cargo of valuable merchandise, $40, 900
worth of crude rubber, lighter load of
cotton, fruit, groceries, tinware, etc, etc.,
valued at between SAC, 900 and $4,000.
The total value of cargo and vessel was
estimated at $150,0O0. The steamer was
fully insured. She was built ten years
ago at Philadelphia for river traffic. For
long time she ran between Richmond
and City Point, on the James. Five years
ago she was bought by the New York and
Hartford Transportation company Henry
L. May was captain, henry oCrOnS, purSer
and Henry Beebe chief engineer of the
boat. She had crew of forty besides
twenty walters and chambermaids. Most
of the crew lost all of their effects and
were shivering about on the dock half
clad.
Henry Page, an oiler, in attempting to
escape, fell and broke his leg, besides re-
ceiving internal injuries. He has been pc
culiarly unfortunate of late. He had but
just returned to work from having been
laid up a month or so with injuries sus-
tanned by falling from a smokestack. He
was removed to the Chambers street hospi
tai.
The boat was a total loss, with the ex-
ception of the hull, which is apparently
not badly injured. The company will
make efforts to secure another boat at
once.
The interior of the dock shed was badly
burned and will have to be partially re-
built. The steamer Id1ewild, which plies
between this city and Glen Cove, lay on
the opposite side of the dock from the
burning vessel and was towed ont into the
stream for safety.
The body of colored man was found
tonight on the main deck among the de-
bris of the cargo and it was identified as
that of Sammy Lampson, a waiter. The
vessel sank late to night and is resting on
the bottom. 1t will to be known if other
lives have been lost until after the hull is
raised