New-York tribune., 1907-08-24
EXPLOSION KILLS SIX.
R1RGE BOILER BURSTS.
Sfu1ent at .SteUens Institute PIC
tim of Disaster.

ebiy fatally injured yesterday when the bollef
I Of a donkey engine on the coal barge Paterson
at the Tietjen & Lang drydocks. 18th street.
rsnbosen. cxploded. The barge. which had sunk
some weeks ago. had been raised and was tied
ND at & drydociz- Cooped UP in the little engine
,oor, the men never had a chance for life. The
dead are:
THE DEAD
DYER John tuenty-sOur years old. machinists help
er. OF No 5o2 I4th street. Hoboken
FrTZsInMoNs. Lawrence thirty-six years DID, OF NO
1881 Park avenue. Hobolzen
orRROSs c A negro, engineer. address unknown
Of 10 42s New york avenue. Jersey City Heights
HOPKINS. N H, Of East Boston, captain Of the
barge
er student at stevens Institute of Technoosy' 0i
10. 3S4 Central avenue. West Hoooken
oliver Breitman. twenty years old Of Win
throp Mass, deckhand on the bargs' was SO
seriously injured that ne is not expected TO hFe'
He is at ST. Mary's Hospital, Hobohen
The coal barge Paterson is one Of the New
York SIsouehanna & Westerns feet About
month ago II went &c Boston There it was
sunk- later IL was raised and taken to the dry
soc,x for a thorough overhauling Captain Hop
ktns besides the crew of two, had with him MS
wife end his sixteen-year-old son. Leroy III
was the boys frst summer on the boat
The boilers of the engine had been tested and
the men went 10 work yesterday morning 10 pun
In an ash pan. They had 70 work in the little
,orehold OF the barge Captain Hopkins was the
last man TO enter. AS he went into the holo
his wife was IN the stern preparing dinner ana
hi. son was sitting deck painting boat
Gibbons. the negro engineer. was running the
donkey engine which was undergoing a test
lust how the accident occurred is mystery
The engine was licensed. according TO Leroy
uontins to carry sixty pounds Of steam III
,,-o,,Ia not blow off under eighty pounds press
,1re The nnachirists employed on the COCKS
believe Gibbons suddenly saw after his IRE mao
been going a while that the boiler had run ory
md Immediately turned cold water into the
boiler, causing the explosion
There was rnuffled report. which did not
etfract much attention Then followed CRY
sro-, one NJ ,be victims Those who were near
The harge saw the figure OF a man rise IN the
air in a cloud of steam and then fall to the
l-seck sImost at the same moment the deck itself
hulsed a bit and the next moment part OF
IT was sent whirling into space as though it
was SO much paper Leroy Hopkins. painting
,,s syoat saw the boat go from him over 'he
x,ee AMI into the water. Then he tried TO get
20 bss feet. but was fe1led though struck an
invisible blow
Tho hov was the first 70 recover his senses.
He ran toward a man on the deck IL "as
greitrnan, the deckhand, but the boy did
Steam poured out Of the hold Of the barge
Then the steam cleared and he looked into
.ba hold II was his cry that alarmed the yaro.
The boy fell into the hold and had TO De car
rses 20 the deck Those VINO followed MN
,stnped through the blood the floor OF the
bo1a- They could do nothing. a glance showed
,bet all in the hold were dead or dying.
r,fbbons. she engineer lay fat on his back,
his hands closed They knew it was Gibbons
C2utain
kfns v-as huddied over in corner he was
burned mast recognition, but his clothing told
who he was.
The n,schirist and machinist's helper lay
where they had been struck down None was
recognizable All were torn end twisted. 1t
vas q ghastly scene
Forty minutes after the explosion the first
hody was carried out in a plain box The COCK
ves rrovded with vrorkmen. The undertakers
had great difficulty in collecting the disrnenl-
hered hodies.
From the Office Of TIet1en & Lang call was
sent for anbulances. Breitn1an received tenn
no~ar-y treatment and was sent to st. Mary s
Hospital
while doctors and ambulances were being
summoned workers in the yards ran TO the
barge to lend what aid they could Strong men
turned away from the sight BY O'Clock 1ie
last af the bodies had been carted away anu
all that remained tell O. the tragedy was inc
bloody floor OF the hold
Three men escaped by miracle One OF ihese
IS = grocery boy employed by Martin Burns OF
,1-h ana Washington streets. Hoboken- he de-
1;xered meat on the boat. went TO the Top OF ti
hold 20 talk to Captain Hopkins and haa ielt
,be hoat FIVE minutes when the explosion came
Charles Evans. steamftter, living at Weeha"-
ken Heights. was ordered to the boat Tor duty
I5e WAS halfway down the dock when the eA-
ulosion occurred =.
John Dyer, one or The men WI" "a' -. -
-. =. ,,;fo and four children Lawrence Fitz-
-. nag also married. He leaves wife
and six children
one of the saddest cases was that OF Clauue
>s,er re was q student at Stevens institute
and was working his way through the lns'ltu-
.ton. re was TO enter his second year IN Ste