Omaha daily bee., 1896-02-02
AN AWFUL EXPERIENCE.
Trapped in the Fire-Dox of Tug
with the Tug Leaking.


with the Tug Leaking.
Marine engineers have their share of
startling experiences, says the Buffalo Ex-
press. George J. Little tells a story of
being trapped in the firebox of boiler. In
just such circumstances the hair sometimes
turns gray.
II can never forget it, II live to be 100
years old" said Mr.. Little. at occurred
on an old Buffalo tug named after G. M.
Farrar Of the firm of Farrar Trefts of
this city The tug is gone where all good
tugs go, but the memory of that few minutes
l spent trapped like rat in her frebox
comes back to me often, and wonder IL
the man who was with me that afternoon
remembers 1t as vividly as do.
ut was In the fall Of the year, along In
December, l think. We were laying up for
the winter. We had been breaking ice all
the week previous, and the old tug was
been obliged to pump her out with tin
pump twice that afternoon. 1t was cold
and we wanted to get through with our job
while 1t was Light so we spent very little
time on the pump, and at no time did we
pump her dry. We kept the water off the
fire-hole floor so we would not be obliged
to work in the water, and that was about
all. We intended to pump her thoroughly
after we had finished our other work.
There were two jobs we could do after dark.
One was the pumping, and the other was oil
ing the inside of the irebox.
when tug is laid up for the winter,
you knew, the boiler and every bright part
of the engine is painted over with oil to keep
it from rusting. The inside of the fire-box
is one of the particular places, and the
owner of the tug had cautioned us not to
slight 1t. That was one of the reasons we
had put it off till the last thing. Besides, we
had to use a torch, so 1t made no difference
IL it was dark outside.
ut Is necessary that you understand the
construction of the boiler to have a clear
idea of the situation. The boiler was an
ten years ago. 1t had water legs and a
water bottom, with a damper opening about
five inches wide extending across the front
of the boiler. The furnace door was such as
you will see on anys tug in Buffalo today.
1t was about two feet one way and eighteen
inches the other. The opening, which is
covered, was trife smaller, but was plenty
large enough to allew man to crawl
through it. The door fastened by a heavy
latch on the outside, which dropped into
place whenever the door was shut. Inside
the fre-box there was plenty of room for
two men to sit or kneel, and
work. The CRATES were removed
and there was the, room from the
ashpan, which was the water bottom, to the
crown sheet. OF course, it was not an in
viting place, nor large enough for club
room. but there was room for the two of us
to work, and as two can do more work
The one nearest the door, forget now
than one We crawledain, rome after the other.
whether 1t was my companion myself,
reached out the door and handed in the oil
brushes and the torch We put the torch in
the opening Of the fiue in the back Of the
frebox and started to work. The draught
through the door into the flue was so strong
that it threatened to blow the light out, so
| my companion said to me: Shut the door,
without thinking l reached out and
| pulled the door shut. In an instant 1 real
lied the situation. turned to look at my
companion, and saw that he, too, understood
We were in the furnace of the boiler, with
the only exit locked. We had both heard
the heavy latch of the door drop into place.
The tug that we were on was leaking so
badly that she would sink in few hours un-
less some assistance came. Even then we
could see the water slowly crawling over the
fire hole floor. If we called it would do no
| good. We could hardly be heard on deck,
and there was no one within half mile of
us. The damper-hole was not large enough
to allow boy to pass through, to say moth
ing of a man. All these thoughts ran
through our minds in second. We were
perfectly familiar with the situation and
knew our chances were slim. / VIII never
forget that scene. Before me sat my COM
panion, in a half-crouched position, his face
thrown into bold relief by the blackness of
the iron behind him. The flckering light of
the torch gave the face, with the firm-set
jaw, an awful expression. l remember, as
I looked into the face that looked into mine
with brave eyes, the thought came to me:
will l meet 1t as bravely as hep a
''The man with me was the son of the
owner of the boat and my cousin. He was
game to the fullest meaning of the word, and
/ knew It, We looked at each other for at
least a minute. 1t seemed a century. L
was waiting for him to speak, and he for
me. could not. The situation was hope
less. saw his eyes travel to the door, then
to the damper, and then to the fue in which
the torch 1ckered feebly. Then his eyes
again sought mine as he asked In low, DIS
tinct voice: Did the door latch?'
"I put my hand against it and pushed. 1t
did not give. l nodded my head. could
not speak, He half lifted himself and
Kicked the door with his foot and 1t swung
open. The draught of air put the light out,
and in that moment Of darkness l thanked
God.
"To this day cannot understand how that,
latch lifted, or, If it did not drop, why?" =