The French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1896-1912, 1905-01-12

Boilers EurSt ON Ohio River steamer and
Fierce Flames FOlIow-Her Barges All.
Take FIre-Of Thirty-eight Men and
One Woman Aboard at the Time Only
Nine Escaped Serious Injury.
Huntington, W. Va.-At II o'clock
at night residents of this city were
startled by a terrific explosion, fol-
lowed almost Immediately by a lurid
glare which lighted up the heavens
for miles around. The boilers of the.
towboat Defender had exploded just
opposite the city, and the boat and
a number of the barges in tow We're
in flames.
The work of rescuing the killed and
injured at once began and it was soon
found that the loss of life had been
great. Of the thirty-eight men ON the
boat only nine escaped serious in
jury. Several dead bodies have been
recovered. Five others were so badly
burned and scalded that their lives
could not be saved. Six more of the
crew could not be accounted for.
A partial list of the dead and missing
follows:
Perry Spencer, mate, Point Pleas
ant, w. Va; Horace Wetsel, Pittsburg:
James Cease, lamp trimmer, Pitts
burg; Thomas Duffy and Scott Hamil-
ton, of Pittsburg, and James --, fire
men, of Coryopolis, Pa, supposed to
have burned to death; William Wetsel.
George Kidd and David Adkins, deck
hands, Pittsburg.
Tho da onrO1clu iniI1pnd opns
John Wilson, cook, M%iddleport, o.:
Robert Holland, roustabout: Ira Ellis,
second engineer; John Francis, Patrick
COnley, second cook, and Richard Con-
ley, all Of Pittsburg, and an unidenti-
fed woman.
The Defender was owned by the
Pittsburg Towboat Company and was
n of the largest towboats on the
river. She was n Of the first boats
out of PittSburg on the recent rise,
and tOwed a heavy line of Goa barges
to the Cincinnati market. She was re-
turning to Pittsburg with the Victor of
the same company, and it is asserted
that h two. big steamers were racing
at the time the explosion occurred.
The Victor was about a mile ahead of
the Defender at the time, and her crew
knew nothing of the disaster.
The burning of the Defender was
viewed by thousands of people, many
of whom stood shivering along the
shores, dressed only in thin night
clothes. The wOr of rescue of the
victims was difficult, owing to the
darkness, and only a few yawls could
be obtained to go to the scene.
Captain Woodruff of the Defender
was picked up fifty yards from the
steamer by some small boys, who
rowed in a yawl from the Ohio shore.
and be was taken to that side of the
river. He was not seriously injured.
One victim was found half a mile be-
low the scene, clutching a portion OF
the wreckage and so chilled he could
not speak.
The boat, almost Immediately after
the explosion, sank to the bottom. not
more than sixty yards from the West
Virginia shore. The barges in tow
were soon all aflame. They were cut
loose and fioated down the stream.
They were finally landed and the
flames eXtinguished by the fire depart
ment.
The dead body of Thomas Duffy. Of
Plttsburg, a fireman on the steamer,
was n of the first taken from the
wreck. The body of a fireman known
as James was the next recovered.
Those rescued from the steamer
were sc seriously injured that they
could give no names or information.
1t was believed that many bodies were
blown into the river, and will never be
recovered.