Year: 1874

SsossAno"ss Va WV Gue eIuCCIs tu0 plICWuu uuu


Several Eye.Witnesses.


Yesterday afternoon, between three and four
O'CLOCK, as the tugboat Lily was towing the
schooner Annie Co:ter through He'll Gate her
poiler exploded, blowing the tug TO atoms, killing
two OF her crew Of Eve men outright, fatally In
jurtng the captain, and badly injurng the fireman
ana deck hand 1t seems that the tug, which
was formerly owned by firm In South street,
was sold to Captain David Havens about three
weeks ago. The Captain, on getting possession OF
the boat. hired four men as 0 crew-Charles War
rem, a. engineer; John Hogan, as fireman. and two
other men whose names could not be ascer tanned,
one 10 COOK ana the other as deck hand. 1t Is
Satd that the tug was by no means new one,
ana that her machinery had been long time In
use. Yesterday afternoon Captain Havens with
bis four men on board went up the East River. In
tending to 60 our beyond He'll Gate to meet some
inward bound sailing craft whose captain might
desire TO have her towed to her wharf, At Nine.
ty-second street the tug was stopped to


s'GEr MORE WATER FOR THE BOILER"


a. the fireman states, and the fact that "more
water" and probably much more than was neces.
sary, was obtained may finally be the means OF
explaining the real cause OF the disaster which
soon aiterward followed The tug on being cast
loose from the Ninety second street dock was ut
once headed up stream, and when Off Riker's
Island, some distance above the point at
which the government workshops are located, met
the schooner Annie Cot.er, loaded with lumber.
The captain OF the schooner engaged Captain
Ravens to tow his boat to the city
and so the tug was turned about, lasned
TO the starboard side OF the schooner and started
1Ur the East River. When just opposite the He'll
Gate works the boiler Of the tug exploded with
loud report, and the eye witnesses OF the terrible
accident state that the scene that followed was
irtghtlul one. There was no premonition what
ever ON board the tug OF the danger The fireman
had just come up from the hold the engineer was
at his post In the engine room and the Captain
was IN the pilot house at tho wnee and
everything about the machinery was apparently In
good working order. The men who were at work
on the Astoria shore state that the report was NOT
very loud one, and that it was preceded by
puff OF steam. which was the first thing that at.
tracted their attention to the tug.


TIE EFFECT OF THE EXPLOSION,


however, was terrific. The upper deck-that part
which served as q rooi to the engine room-was
thrown nigh into the air. the pilot house, which
was erected on the forward END OF 1t, being shat
tered to pieces. The engine roof, or deck,
was constructed OF thin pine boards, nailed
together by light strips OF timber, and as 1t
offered but slight resistance, 1t was the only part
OF the tug above the water line OF the hun that
was Dot torn to splinters. When 1t was thrown
into the air 1t carried the Captain with It, and his
mangled body ana The pilot house debris fell into
the water at the same time. The fireman and en-
gineer, the deck nand and the cook, roo we're
blown into the air, but the escape Of the former
two from death can be accounted ior only ON the
ground that the one was standing on the main oeck
Just opposite the engine room door, and the other
tnslde the room, near the doorway, which was
open. The explosion apparently spent Its force in
Hn upward direction, and 1t would appear that the
nreman and engineer therefore, did not receive
the full shock, but were simply blown or the main
deck over the side OF the boat The pur OF steam
that preceded the report OF the explosion. the re.
port itself, the cloud of smoke which shot upward
1t the same time that the smokestack and


THE DEBRIS OF THE DECK, d.
With the bodies OF the captain, the deck hant and
the cook were nung right and LEFT, high into the
cir, all took place in less than three minutes. In.
deed one Of the eye.witnesses states that the
whole occurrence was over before he had time to
realize what had really happened; but 1t was very
fortunate for three OF the poor fellows on board
the tug that everybody who witnessed the disaster
was not equally dazed. 1t so happened that
the tug Virginia seymour was in the
neighborhood and several small boats, which
at once went to the assistance OF the
men VINO were seen struggling In the water
where minute before the tug had been, for the
null went to the bottom almost Immediately after
the noise made by the explosion was heard. A
young boatman named Henry Halsey reached
drowning. Although good swimmer, the poor
fellow was so bruised about the head and his
rant tnigl so badly fractured that 1t would have
been impossible Tor him to nave reached the shore
unassisted. Hayens. the captain, and Warren,
No one on the strange 10 saw oow.s WAS
injured, and the boat Itself only showed
a.. slight light inaen,a,on on the starboard
lunged violently against 1t when the explosion
took place. The virginia seymour took charge
ot the schooner and the injured men, and iay to
Tor some time IN the hope Oi inding


THE MISSING DECK HAND AND COOK,


poslon occurred. The deck hand, it Is said,
oTsr m Sns ,Se Of s Po
as Hogan, the Ell dreman. ''I styled MIN, e" was
..down below" SO II is more than proha-
BILE BILE the one one was K,lled ~ the lorce Of
70 pieces, and the other IN the midst OF the steam
that must have at once flled the room" where
was unable to help himself and went down with
the hull itself. It's needless to state that


THE GREATEST EXCITEMENT


prevailed at the government works and its imne-
date vicinity, wnere the disaster plain to the
view q every boa, bur, strange as 1t may seem
DID not known anything about the accident until
hours after It had occurred. Even some OF the
the river. bur who heard the report, thought from
its 'mufflea sound" as one ol them described 1t,
that 1t was an ordinary blast at the He'll Gate
works underground. AS soon as 1t became evi-
lent that ne could do no good by lettering about


THE SCENE OF THE DISASTER,


she captain OF the Virginia Seymour started down
Inc river for the Bellevue Hospital dock with all
ipeed, as the wounded men, besides suffering in
Iensely from their injuries, were beginning to
lnow exhaustion from The cold. Warden Bren-
nan, once the dock was reached, was nolined OF
what had occurred, and he immediately had
.fetchers sent down to the boat and mad
ne me- sunering men taken TO the hospital
.here they were at kindly cal ed for.
Al examination of their wounds showed that Cap.
tain Havens was fatally injured. He had COM
Pouha fracture Of the rignt ihign, the leg was
proken IN two places below the knee. both his
arms were irightiuiiy scadcd, we'll as his face,
ana the lower portion oi the person was learfully
ACerAtcl. ava. voa kvata