The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1898-12-03
STEAMER EXPLODES.
nisnster Near stockton, CAL, In
which Six Lives Are Lost-Mnny
Persons Are Injured.


When part of one of the boilers OF the
liver steamer 4. c. Walker, which Left
San Francisco about six o'clock sat
urday night, was blown out, killing SIN
and dangerously wounding ii persons,
while probably Is or 20 were more OF
less badly hurt. The I. {. Walker Is
owned by the California Navigation and
improvement company and ran pc
tween San Francisco and Stockton. lhe
dead are:
John Tulan, captain OF the T. c. Walker
w. a. Blunt, the agent IN charge Of ship-
ping OF sugar bcets from the Moss tract 70
the Crockett factory,
Watson Henry. Of Stockton, engineer OF
the T. &. Walker.
Mrs. Watson Henry. wife of the chief en-
gineer,
Ferdinand Law, OF Seattle.
jerry Daley fireman.
The majority of the passengers we're
in bed when the explosion occurred and
were awakened by the report which
was rs loud as a cannon's roar People
rushed from their rooms in their night
clothes and found the whole forward
portion OF the steamers upper works
blown away. The electric lights had
been put out and the escaping steam
cnveloped the front portion of the boat
till it was impossible to see how much
Of the boat had been carried away.
The screams of the men who were
locked in their rooms near the pilot
house were heartrcnding, Capt John
Tuan mad been blown from his bed
against the door of the stateroom and
so seriously injured that he could not
move. The door could not be forced
open, as he was jammed up against it.
One of the employees of the boat secured
an AK and cut the upper part of the
room away, and finally removed him,
but not until he was virtually roasted
alive. When pulled out the flesh
dropped from his bones in large pieces,
and. although he was suffering eNcru-
tiatingly, he bore it bravely and not a
groan escaped hiia rs he was taken ont
of the steam.
Watson Henry, the chief engineer,
and his wife were in their room near
the pilot house when thd explosion oc-
Cured. Mrs. Henry was blown through
the roof. The flooring was blown up
ward and she was hurled with great
violence n distance of 20 feet towards
the bow of the boat. She was horribly
crushed by the fury of the explosion
and also badly scalded with escaping
steam. Her injuries proved fatal at
1890 Sunday afternoon. She retained
consciousness until few moments be-
fore her death Her suiferings were so
intense that she begged the physicians
in attendance TO end her life, but all
that could be done was to deaden the
pain by the use of narcotics. Mr..
Henry was terribly scalded. He WAS
thrown some distance away, but not
as far as was his wife He died shortly
after being brought to the city.
Mr. Blunt was instantly killed. lie
was standing on the lower deck, as he
intended making landing a short dis
lance above the place where the explo-
sion occurred.
Jerry DAILY the fireman, was in the
fire hold Of the boat when the accident
occurred The escaping steam com
pletely enveioped him. scarcely por-
ton of his body escaping the scorch-
ing vapor. He died at the receiving
hospital.
Underneath the lower deck, where
the deck hands slept, groans and
screams were terrible, for the unfortu-
nate imprisoned men were receiving
the full force of the steam as it came
from the boilers. Eight of them were
almost roasted alive. Those who were
able made their way TO the deck as best
they could, while the more seriously
injured were unable TO get out. Arms
and faces of those near the main en-
trance were frightfully scalded. Dom
inici, who was on the lower deck. was
blown into the water and had TO swim
ashore after his back was horribly
scalded. Louis Brizzolana, in company
with Charles Maggini and wife, were
standing near the pilot house on the
texas deck. The force threw him to one
side. but not until he was badly burned
about the body. Mr. Mnggini and his
wife escaped without n scratch.
At eigh, o'clock Saturday night the
Walker ran into mud bank near Beni-
cia Shortly after the steamer had been
gotten off John Yorke and his wife,
passengers, heard noise which they
supposed to be escaping steam. No at
tention was paid to it, however. What
caused the explosion will probably
never be known. The steam drum burst
with terrible violence. 1t had split
completely across the upper portion
and the whole sheet turned outward.
The four walls of the engine-room were
demolished by the force of the explo-
sion. The lower deck. hurricane deck
and texas deck were wrecked in the
portion directly over the engine-room.
The direction of the flying debris was
upward and outward toward the bow.