New-York tribune., 1911-02-02
Men Loading Explosive on New Jersey Gen.
trail Railroad Pier, in Haste to Get Away
to Dinner, Are Believed to Have
Let Box Drop Into Hold
Of Lighter.
FxPy OSIONFELT OVER WIDE AREA
No, Trace Of the Boat Nor Of Any Member Of Her
Crew Found After the Crash-Men on Other
Vessels and on Pier Also KiIed-Damage
Placed al Over Million.

q
Central. issued a statement last night lin
which he said that though the infornsa-
ton to be had was unsatisfactory by
reason OF those who were directly oon-
cerned having been killed or badly In
jured. II was the opinion OF the company
officials that the direct cause OF the ex-
plosion was the blowing up Of the boiler
on one of the lighters on which the
dynamite was being loaded.
Mr. Bresler estimated the damage 40
railroad property at 100000. The dam
ago 10 other property within tho zone
affected by the explosion was estimated
at from 100000 TO s1.000,0OO.
The railroad company officials said
there were twelve men working on the
end OF Pier Z. assisting in unloading the
dynamite and cement which constituted
the freight In the cars at that point
The lighter Catherine w. into which the
}, explosive was being transferred from
the end freight car on the pier, was
blown literally into atoms.
No Trace of Any Of Crew.
Captain John Healing. OF No. 40 Hud-
son street. Jersey City, and q crew OF
eight men were supposed TO be aboard
her at the time. No trace of their bodies
was found
The second lighter, the Hustler owned
by the Du Pont de Nemours Powder
Company, Of this city, who were said TO
be the distributors of the consignment
Of dynamite to Manhattan concerns for
blasting purposes. was partly loaded
with the explosive and tied UP near the
Catherine w. The force Of the explo-
sion sunk her. and four men who we're
said TO be aboard are supposed TO have
gone down with her.
The explosive was being taken from
freight car loaded with several tons OF
! II, and passed down into the hold OF the
Z 7 Catherine ". by relays Of men, who
handled the dynamite in boxes Of from
forty to sixty pounds each.
The gang had been working about an
: hour in this way and were about to
knock off FOR dinner when the explosion
occurred. All the dynamite in the near
est freight car and on the lighters went
off. The trucks Of the car were blown
up on to the deck Of the big Norwegian
three masted ship Ingrid. which was tied
up at the opposite side OF the pier.
Two OF the crew Of the Ingrid were
killed. An arm and the head Of a mans
body were later found hanging in the
rigging Of the forward mast The man
had been working in the rigging at the
time. His torso dropped into the river.
Another car OF dynamite. separated
from the first by car loaded with cem-
ent. did not explode. The boxes and
sticks Of the deadly explosive were scat
tered along the pier.
The body of a stevedore was found on
Pier 9. blown into the coal pocket Of
Burns Brothers. 1t is Supposed he had
: been one OF the laoorers on Pier I.
, Freight Cars Blown to SpIinters.
. Forty or fifty freight cars which stood
on the four tracks on Pier were
wrecked. Some of them were blown TO
splinters. The ship Ingrid carried thres
large steel masts. Her mizzen mast
broke in the middle, crumpled up and
3 fell TO the deck. 1t struck Michael
e MORO, a stevedore, on the head. knock
ing him through a hatchway into the
, hold and fracturing his skull. lie was
: dead when taken out. Giovanni. his
l brother. was the man killed in the rig
I ging.
. Two sailors. Arthur Rasmussen and
. John Ryan, were in the rigging OF the
T middle mast when the explosion came.
> They managed TO hang on and were not
serious injured. Captain Erick Donnel.
e OF the Ingrid; his mates. Peter and
Thomas Anderson. and the rest OF the
, crew Of twelve men were all said 10 have
been accounted for after the explosion.
8 All Of them were more or less injured by
e dying debris The Ingrid had come from
c Buenos Ayres with a cargo OF bones.
e which were being unloaded. Most Of the
cargo was scattered along the piers and
$ into the river.
y lighter OF the Empire Ligh'erase
4 and Wrecking Company was lying well
% inshore alongside OF Pier !. Her engine
;, house was blown off and the engineer.
5 Charles Mcneil was 50 badly hurt that
he died IN CHRIST hoSIlid4 d SHUT '"o
!. after being taken there.
Z Captain Herbert Sanders and his crew
v of the schooner Hardwick, with cargo
n of lumber. which was anchored at the
o land end OF Pier I. were in the cabin at
i dinner when the shock came The cap
d tain came forcibly In contact with the
I ceiling Of the cabin. and a long gasn in
T.. his head was later sewed up by the sur
eeons. The cabin boy, Murry Sanders.
10 the captains son. also Was badly hurt
2 The wreckage Of the adjoining piers
a was complete. The heavy corrugated
\, iron on the sides Of the long sheds was
81, torn off as II il had been paper, and tho
a closed ends Of the building were blown
- out and the roofs torn off.
re- II was the opinion Of Superintendent
r. Z. Kerwin Of the New Jersey Central
a and Louis Gallaudet. superintendent OF
. the railroad company's piers, that tha
men in their haste 20 knock on for din
net let a box of dynamite slip on the
runway from the car and drop with force
s. Continued ON fourth page