The morning call., 1893-08-30
THE BARRACOUTA's MIsHAP.
Her After Cabin Completely
Wrecked.
THREE OF HER CREW WOUNDED
Damage to the Vessel About Sis, 900.
No Solution of the Motive for
the Mysterious Deed.

The Pacific Mail Company's steamship
Barracuda. Captain w. Il. Irvine, from
Comox, B. c., to Acapulco with 1888 tons
of coal, steamed into port late yesterday
afternoon for repairs. and anchored off
Mission Rock. An explosion occurred on
board the vessel on Sunday afternoon,
which completely wrecked her after house
and severely injured three of her crew
No one knows how the accident oc-
CURED. There was a grating noise,
harsh rumble, rush of flying debris high
into the air. and then ali was still.
The steamer left COmox al 1 A. NJ. on
the 9th. and was sixty miles OFF shore, her
course shaped for Acapulco. at 1:17 P NJ,
when the explosion occurred. 1t was as #
a cyclone had struck her saloon deck and
then bounded upward.
The Barracouta's upper house. abaftthe
after hatch. was lifted bodily from the
deck. carried for distance of more than
foot. and then settled back about half the
distance. There is now an opening of
more than six inches all around. She had
a beautiful saloon deck, wainscoted with
marble, which is a mass of splnters and
debris Every stateroOm from the saloon
companionway to the stern was blown to
fragments. Forward of the stairway the
bar and pantry are 4 mass of broken
dishes, glassware and shattered boards
The outer walls of the house were
wrenched into all angles, and partitions
between staterooms broken and twisted
out Of shape. Complete is the wreck of
the interior.
Some of the plauks of the upper deck
w nt
splintered. The upper house abaft the
after hatch seems to have been laid hold
of by giant hand, wrenched loose from
its base and then raised aloft. The maia
force of the explosion appears to have
been under the hatchway, which was
blown high over the mizzenmast. Some
idea Of its force may be obtained from
! the fact that the steel drum of the steam
winch was smashed into a thousand frag-
| ments.
| So sudden was the mshap and so
quickly was it over. that no one on board
had the least idea of what had happened,
except from the result.
Fortunately there were no passengers,
else the loss of life would have been
frightful. Luncheon was over, and only
three of the crew chanced to be in the
after part of the ship. Chief Steward
| George Gray was thrown out of his bunk,
when or how, he has not the least recollec-
tiOn. He suffered from general concus-
sion and a very severe wrench of the
cervical vertebra. Yesterday he was able
10 move about for the first time, though
very stiff and sore.
| Manuel Cordilos. cabin-boy, native
Of Central America, was found half an
hour after the accident in the pantry COM
pletely covered with broken cr0ckerv and
boards. and unconscious. His presence
was discovered by one of his shoes, which
stuck out under the wreekage. His face,
head. hands and legs are covered with
| bruises and-he has lost the sense of hear
| ing. 1t is likely that his tympana were
burst by the force of the explosion. The
! other injuries seem to be superficial.
Another Central American cabin-boy
was cut and bruised, but not severely.
| The machinery was not injured in the
least and the Barracouta's hull is prob
ably intact. as the vessel DID not develop a
leak. There was no fire in the cargo and
the explosion Ignited nothing except he
tarpaulin which covered the hatch. Nor