The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-08-30
FATAL STEAMBOAT EXPLOSION.
Boilers OF a Philadelphia Blow
Up-Seven Persons Killed.

Philadelphia, August 2s.-While the
steamboat City of Trenton. of the VIII
mington Steamboat Company, was on
her way from this city to Trenton, y.
j., this afternoon her port boiler ex-
ploded, killing seven persons and in
juring over a score OF others. -Four
passengers are missing. but as many
the missing may be among those who
did not find it necessary TO go to the
hospital.
The dead are: ]. D. Chew. assist
ant engineer; Miss Elizabeth Green, of
Philadelphia: two firemen. names I'M
Known; one deck hand. name unknown;
w passengers, names unknown
After the explosion the boat too fire
n ran aground. Tonight she lies a
wrecked and biackened hulk in the
marshes opposite Torresdale, sixteen
miles above this city. Her hold is fill
ed with water and it is feared more of
her passengers and crew may ne found
in the bottom of the boa when the
water is pumped out.
a boat belonging to the police depart
ment is nchor a short distance from
the stranded excursion steamer. pump
ing the water from the Inflated vessel.
The City Of Trenton makes daily
trips betwenn Philadelphia and Tren-
ton. She left the company's wharf At
las o'clock this afternoon. fifteen min
utes behind her schedule time. Her
passenger list was lighter than usual
n she carried very little freight. The
vessel was in charge of Captain W. a.
Worrell. There were about twelve fire
men and deck hands aboard.
Nothing of moment occurred until the
boat reached Torresdale. Here the
steam pipe connecting with the port
boiler burst with a loud report. 1t was
followed by another explosion and this
time the port boiler was rent in twain.
Scalding steam and water poured into
the cabin and sections of the woodwor
of the boat were torn away by The force
of the explosion. Three of the passen-
gers who were not scanned and SCARED
by the scalding steam and boiling wa
ter were struck by the flying portions
of the Splintered cabin. Legs and arms
were rok and faces and bodies scald-
ed. The scream Of the injured could
be heard on shore and the cries Of those
who leaped and were blown into the
river were heartrending.
So great was the force CT the eXplo-
sion that a piano in the upper drawing
room Of the BOAT was hurled many feet
away from the boat into the river. This
proved fortunate for many of the Jas
sengers. Thrown into the water, scaId-
GU anu OllSE Wise lIlJuEeu 81 lIty were
rendered helpless, they clunG to the
| piano, which had fallen into shallow
water, until rescued
When the explosion occurred Mate
Vandever and Pilot Curry were in the
pilot house. Both were hurled with ter
| rifle force from the little enclosure, and
| the wheel on the ~starboard side refused
to work. while that on the port side, for
some unaccountable reason, began re-
| volving with lightning-like rapidity. AS
a result of this the rudder turned the
! bow of the boat towards the SHORE n
| she quickly ran aground, fastening her
| self in the mud.
BY this time the vessel had caught
fire and those of the passengers who
were still aboard were compelled to leap
| for their lives. Fortunately the water
was not more than our feet deep and
| many of the victims of the disaster
| were able to wade ashore. Some, how
ever, who was too seriously injured
to help themselves. were rescued by
members of the boat clubsw whose houses
| line the river front at this point
| The captain and crew Of the boat
conducted themselves as heroes. They
rendered all the assistance possible to
the injured and Captain Worrell was
the last man to leave the boat. All OF
the seriously injured were hastily con-
veyed to the hospital at the house of
correction at Holmesburg, about three
miles below T~orresdale.
AS soon as possible word was sent to
this city for the police boats Samuel H.
AShbridge and Edwin S. Stuart and the
emergency corps of doctors. The two
police boats rendered effective service
in eXtinguishing the flames which were
fast consuming h boat and in reliev-
ing the injured.
Chief Engineer Murphy. who was on
watch when the accident happened, re-
ported to h officials in this city last
night-that the boiler which exploded
carried only $50 pounds of steam.
Murphy, along with an oiler named
Bryson, had just left the boiler room
and both are positive hat the boiler
did not carry the limit Of steam allow
ed by law. !
Murphy was slightly Injured and Bry- I
son escaped without a scratch. Assist !
ant Engineer Chew and a fireman who |
were off watch and were IN deck were |
killed.
The boilers of the City Of Trenton |
were inspected in June by federal in |
spectorS and stood a hydroStatic test of |
263 pounds to the inch. She was allowed |
to carry IT'S pounds and her safety |
valve, so the company officials say, was |
so arranged that steam blew off at 16O |
pounds. Engineer Murphy also main |
tainS that there were seven inches of |
water in the boiler at the time of the |
explosion. /
The steamboat City of Trenton was
launched at Neafe & Lewis %shipyard
last March. She was built for the Will |
mington Steamboat Company to ply be- I
tween Philadelphia Inc Trenton and |
was designed for speed in shallow wa |
tiers between these cities. |
Il