Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-06-22
4 CREW DRIVEN MAD.
Inc Bursting of a Boiler on a Cruiser
Cooks Many Men Alive.
GENES OF FRIGHTFUL TORTURE.
Il Their Agony the Sailors Rend Each
Other and the Rescuers
lERBERT BISMARCK WEDS HIS BRIDE

BREST, June 21.-A terrible accident oc
urred yesterday on board the new French
ruiser Du Puy de LONE. Orders had been
iven for the vessel to make trial of hel
lachinery, and while this trial was in
,rogress the end of one of the boilers was
lown out The fire room Immediately be.
anne filled with scalding steam and a sui
hurous, suffocating smoke, caused by the
-ater reaching and extinguishing the fire
aGer the boiler.
To make the situation worse, the electric
lights went out, and the fire room was left
darkness. The engineer and stokers were
nable to escape until the chief engineer
nd an outsider rushed down the fire room
adder and broke open the door of the com.
rartment.
Then a most horrible and sickening sight
resented itself Men were lying on the
eek, delirious from the agony caused BY
he terrible injuries they had sustained.
some were writhing in convulsions, their
'iackened and distorted faces and fearfully
aHstered bodies, arms and legs presenting a
light at once sickening and heart-rending
Terrible Effects of the Torture.
Several of the men, in their torture, had
ritten themselves on their arms and hands
nd had attacked their equally unfortunate
ompanions and had bitten them. In some
ases men were heaped together in strug-
ling, writhIng masses, and it required con-
iderable effort to separate them. The cool
leck of the fire room was covered with hot
yater from the exploded boiler to the depth
IL, L.
ureO men lay, every second adding to the
errible scalding they had received.
Efforts were at once made to get the men
rUt of the fire room, but this task was rem
Tered difficult through the fact that they
we're absolutely crazy with pain, and at
acked their would-be rescuers with their
lands, feet and teeth, in some cases infict-
ng quite severe injuries. The hot water
lso added to the difficulty of removing the
nen, and finally it was found necessary to
-rasp them in any way possible and drag
hem out Fifteen of them were dying
Fhen they we're taken to the ships hospital,
md a number Of others will undoubtedly
lie in a very short time. 1t is believed
hat, besides their external injuries, nearly
vi Of them inhaled steam, and this alone
would be sufficient to cause death.
The Cruiser Is Set on Fire.
AT the very time the end the boiler blew
'ut, an explosion occurred in the coal
)unkeTs and set the cruiser on fire. The
rev were at once summoned to fire quar-
ers, and hose was laid to the bunkers. The
!onkey engines were started and the fire
5 as soon under control.
The two accidents caused some breach in
he usual man-of-war discipline, and some
II the officers appeared to have lost their
leads. While nearly everybody on board
he cruiser was attempting to rescue the
injured in the fire room, or fighting the fire
% the bunkers, the quartermasters reported
hat they could not handle the ship. An
nveStigation was made, when it was found
hat the steering apparatus was broken
iuTn. The cruiser was perfectly helpless,
and signals were hoisted asking for assist
ince. She was finally taken in tow and
yrought back to her moorings The naval
authorities will make a most searching in
'essigation into the accidents