Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-03-08
had seen the smoke issuing from Il
Alum Chimes hold.
Capt. Thompson's Story.

II was warning my men of the dan
ger" said Capt. Thomson tonight. be-
cause knew that the ship was sure to
blow up. had already gone below and
instructed the chief engineer to get up
steam and get under way at once. He
was doing this while had other men at
work pulling up the anchor. | was stand
ing near a yentilator when was tossed
into the air fully six or seven feet. !
turned two or three somersaults: 1 threw
out my arms and grabbed q railing. inis
kept me from going overheard.
I'm another instant terrific shower
Of iron Of all sizes, some pieces as large
as my fist and others as big as my head.
were flying straight down from the air.
saw these pieces go straight through
our heavy plate. The smooth smokestacks
of the collier were filled full of holes
and by the conclusion alone We're mashed
almost fiat
who had been tossed into the air and
thrown back. Many men were cut and
injured by the pieces Of iron. Some were
killed instantly. The dynamite ship was
an iron ship throughout and this made
the damage to our ship all the greater.
The Chine was about 500 feet away. but
the force of the explosion was SO great
that our ship was lifted high up on the
waves.
Firemen Are Burned.
s.Our firemen, ~ho were shoveling coal,
got the full force Of the explosion in
their faces. Many of them We're burned.
I expected to have 100 men in the crew
by night and about one hundred men
were on board"
Immediately after the first shock of the
accident, Capt Thompson. ordered his
men to make close inspection of the
entire ship. They found manholes IN her
side. Pieces of iron went straight through
! her plate, which an spots was three-quar-
tiers to seven-eights of an inch. thick.
One hole was big enough for man to
put his head through. This hole is eight
feet above the water line. Other holes
are near the water line.
j. G. Reese, of Cardiff. Wales, chief
engineer of the Alum Chine. gave a
graphic description of the scramble for
safety from the ship and the EXPLOSION
that followed.
Dashes for Safety.
Il was in the engine room when ] heard
a man on deck cry, The ship is afire!'
looked around and saw smoke coming
from the hold In the bow and made q
dash for the stern. realizing that dyna.
| mite explosion would follow. / didn't
jump. fell into the launch, Jerome. and
sailor after sailor followed me, some II
the same fashion. One man was cut OF
the forehead
when we had all we could carry
| aboard, and no one seemed to be coming
we put on full speed. About five min
utes later when We were about 100 fee
away the explosion came.
Il can picture it now. It seemed lik'
a great column Of fire fifty feet high ant
| twenty feet across topped by another col
| umn Of black smoke 200 or more fee
higher. came up from the sea. completed.
enveloping the ship 1t was several min
utes before the smoke cleared away ant
| the sea became calm, but when it di,
/ there vas no sign of either the ship O
| the barge that was alongside OF 1t. The,
both seemed to have disappeared com
| pietely and not sign Of life was visible.
Fears for Revenue Cutter.
For a time 1t was feared the reyenu
cutter Guthrie had shared the fate o
| the Alum Chine. Peter J.. Curran. tn
boarding officer. assigned to the iii-fate'
vessel. had lett on the Guthrie soon afte
! 8 o'clock. and 1t was Therefore assume,
the cutter was near the scene Of dis
/ aster when the explosion occurred. Col
tuted Inquiry Great was the relief whe
4 1T was ascertained the cutter and crev
| were safe. s.
Inspector Currssn was an eyewitness t
the explosion. the cutter being only three
Il quarters of a mile distant when 1t &C
CURED.
I'VE had left the place of loading abou
an hour before." he said. Il stoppe,
only long enough to get the number o
the Cars, Of which three were still to b.
unloaded. The vtprk was then in progress
i Seven carloads i,ireaty had been stores
/ and 1t was thought the cargo would b,
/ complete by evening.
/ Windows Are Opened.