The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-08-26
ISLAND CITY NEWSITEMS
Willie Crawford Of Houston Killed in a
Mysterious Manner.
FOUND DYING IN ENGINE ROOM OF A TUG
The saloon Men Propose to Fiaht
Back If They Are Compelled
to Close on Sunday.

Galveston. Texas, August 25.-Willit
Crawford of Houston was killed this morn
Ing on the tugboat Louise in most ex-
traordinary and mysterious manner. The
boat left Clinton with a tow last night and
reached her dock at the foot of Twenty
| first street about $3.50 o'clock this morn
ing. The tug and her tow were made fast
to the dock and steam had been shut of
from the engines for several minutes. II
Is extremely hot down below in tugboats
/ of the Louise class and employees do not
as rule stay there any longer than they
can help. 1t is a rule, however, hat the
oilers shall wipe off the machinery after
each trip, as 1t can be more thoroughly
and conveniently done when the engines
are at rest. Crawford was an oller and
this wiping business was part of his
duties. No one on the boat saw him go
down into the engine hold, but it is likely
he went there in pursuance of his duty.
Chief Engineer Albert Cooper went into
the engine room and saw Crawford lying
between the starboard engine and the
boats side. His head was in between the
high and low pressure engines and the
crank shaft pin of the forward or high
pressure starboard engine had caught it
and was pressing down on him. Engineer
Cooper called out to his oiler to know
what was the matter. There was no an
swer, and Cooper and some others got
down into the hold as soon as they could,
The crank pin was moved off the man
head and he was carried on deck.
At the time Crawford was gasping for
breath, but great gushes of blood flowed
from his mouth nose and ears. Just as
soon as possible word was sent to u SUR
geon and DR., Gambill responded, but
Crawford had expired when the surgeon
reached the boat. The body was shipped
to Houston for interment.
How the accident happened is very much
of mystery. The engines had been stop
ped and there was no one in the engine
room at the time Crawford went below
to be caught by the crank pin. 1t is
fact, however. that sometimes when steam
is shut off from an engine some will re-
main in cylinder. The steam expands
and 1t is not unusual for an engine to flop
over after it had been stopped. 1t is also
possible for vacuum TO be created In the
condensers and the engine to turn that
way without any one meddling with the
throttle in the least. The steam in behind
the piston expands, and it drives the pis-
ton TO the other end of the cylinder with
jerk. This may have happened this
morning. Inc piston was about two
thirds down the cylinder and the crank
pin was pressing into Crawford's head,
Had the engines been working steam at
the time they would simply have ground
the man to pieces. If on the other hand, 4
the piston had been started by expansion
OF steam left In the cylinder 1T would have
gone down to the center and not stopped
half center as it did when the crank pin
struck Crawford's head This is the only !
way to account for the young
mans death. He must have been wlping |
off the engines when the starboard engine
turned over and crushed him.
Crawford has been employed as an oiler !
on the Louise for little over n year RE
was learning the business of an engineer .
and paid close attention to his duties He /
was about Il years old and a son OF Cap /
tain II. W. Crawford of Houston, who is
general foreman of the Direct Navigation
company. He was we'll liked and popular
on the boat, had no bad habits and at
tended strictly to his business. So far
as was known he had no physical weak
ness which would have had tendency TO
put him in the way of an accident
Coroner Barry held an inquest over the
remains, returning verdict in accordance
with the facts of the case.