Eagle River Democrat. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1893-1896, 1895-07-01
IT WAS A DEATH RACE.
Whaleback's Efforts to Pass the
Virginia Causes a Steampipe
to Burst.

Chicago, H., June 24.-The whaleback
! Christopher Columbus steamed up to the
| last point Saturday night struggling be-
! yond its strength to win moonlight
race Of excursion boats, and was a cripple
| at its dock early Sunday morning. There
was a bic hole in the top of the last of
| its battery of six boilers, the yarnish of
| the cabin was steamed into wrinkles
| and in the salon there was the smell of
| salves on the red wounds of six of the
| crew caught in the hold when the pipe to
| the engine was blown into fragments
| This terrible accident was caused by the
| summer folly which makes the lake cap
! tains crazy to race their ships into port.
| Two men were killed and thirteen We're
seriously or painfully injured. The dead
| are:
e: ]. SITE, fireman, "A years old; lived
| at Paxton Ford county, III; died at $3.50
| UNKNOWN MAN, supposed to be Frank
Wilson, : fireman; face so badly scaded
| that he has not yet been identified; died at
| 5:15 O'Clock this morning at st. Lukes hos
| pital
The injured are:
| John Hoppe. fireman, resided 200 West
badly scalded; hands, arms and chest seri-
ously scalded; will probably die at st. Luke's
| hospital.
| Frank Rosner, fireman, resides at West
| Newton, Nicollet, Mimi. face, hands end
| arms scalded; at st. Lukes hospital; may
| recover.
| buque, Ia, age p years; face and both hands
| badly scalded; at county hospital; may die
George w. Kehoe., waiter in cafe; face
hands and arms scalded and right hand cut
Resides 122 Carol street. Buffalo,; at st.
Lqke,s hospital; may not recover
James Larimer, fireman, scalded on face
and body; may recover.
Miss Boxheimer pianist Bowman orches-
ira; severely burned about face and hands.
H. II. barrow, 279 Chestnut street, Chi
cago; musician; face badly scalded
George w. Keil, waterman, Buffalo; bad
~ burned about face and hands.
}. d: Ryan fireman, GA Forty-siXth street,
| terribly burned about face, body and arms
| Nix Setter waterman; terribly burned
| about head and face.
Miss Jessie L. Stone 262 Campbell ave-
| nue. scalded in face, not seriously
The inquest began at 2 O'Clock this
afternoon. Steamboat Inspector Stewart
II. Moore stated positively that the acct
dent was not due to any overpressure of
steam, nor was it the result of racing
with the Virginia. An expert in marine
| boilers ventured the explanation that wa
! ter had accumulated in the pipe leading
! from the boiler not III use to the steam
! dome. When steam was turned on in
| this boiler the water was shot with resist
| less force against the iron-casting leading
! to the dome. AS the accident occurred
| the instant steam was turned on it would
seem that there is a good deal in this ex-
| PLANTATION.
Chicago, ILL.,, June "a. Stewart H.
Moore, local government inspector of
steamboat boilers, has made an eXamna-
ton of the steampipe which burst on the
Whaleback steamer Christopher Columbus
on the southbound trip Saturday night,
injuring two persons fatally and a score
less seriously. "The breaking of the
steampipe,, to my mind, he said, is an
accident that could not be foreseen, nor
anticipated. 1t only serves as an illustra-
ton of the treachery of cast-iron, and
cast-iron is the only thing for boiler maxi
erS to use on pipes of this character So
| far as | can see, the break was not the
result of a flaw, but the metal was in
good condition. That it should happen
could mot be guarded against, and the
officers of the boat are IN noWise to blame
for the injury done"
The Columbus has q battery of six
boilers and it was the connection of the
sixth ONE with the main steam pipe that
had been blown loose at both ends.
Every body who was in the engineroom
WAS burned by the escaping steam and
the roar caused a panic on deck. En-
gineer Webster heroically performed the
task of shutting off the valves on the
different boilers, preventing further es-
cape of steam. In doing this he was
badly burned. The ship was then off
| Waukegan and she laid there until the
| injured had BEEN cared for and arrange
| ments made for using a battery of three
boilers. HobbIing along like a lame
| horse the Columbus finally reached her
dock at Chicago at 5 a. m. 1t was
charged that the Columbus was racing
with the Virginia and that in trying to
| catch up to the Goodrich steamer the
Whaleback's boilers were crowded be-
yond the legal limit, which was 40
pounds. Officers of both steamers, how
ever. deny that they were racing.