Year: 1871

NEW YORK, July 3l.-Coroners
Keenan, and Young visited the scene
/ Of explosion last evening. Coroner
keenan, viii hold an


INVESTIGATION,


which viii not begin for several days,
perhaps not before next week. 1t Is In
tended that it shall be searching and
thorough, and the opinion of several
experts, with reference to the cOndl-
ton of the boiler material OF which II
was made and the amount Of steam 1t
carried at the time, will be obtained.
The Jury will be composed of business
men, or practical mechanics, able to
render an intelligent verdict accord
ing to the evidence and to place the
blame where it properly belongs.
The Jury will view the bodies at the
MOrgue, and permits will be given by
Coroner keenan, for their removal by
relations or the undertaken. By order
of the Coroner, no permits for remOv-
al were granted yesterday or last
night.


NO THEORY Is OFFERED
by the officers of the company for the
disaster. The engineer of the North
field says that when the Westfeld
steamed from the island she had four
cocks of water, and from the fact that
only slight report accompanied the
explosion, he thinks there could have
been but a small head of steam on.
Mr.. Stevens, secretary of the Staten
Island Company, says that there was
a government safety valve attached
to the boiler. The collector asserts
positively that there could not have
been more than two hundred and If
ty persons on board the boat. The
WestteId being an extra boat and but
a few persons aware that it had been
placed on a line, he holds that it was
not possible for 80 many to have been
on her, as though she had been on
the regular trip.


MAYOR CARROT L, OF SYRACUSE, SAYS:


was standing on the main deck,
leaning against the rail, reading a
neWspaper-Mr. Sherlock standing
beside me, and Mr.. Phillips On and
Mr.. Levi sitting in the forward cabin.
Suddenly there was terrific eXplOs-
lon, the violence of which hurled me
out into the air, and / fell into the
hold, among a confused mass of dead
and diving men, women and children.
l was nearly covered with debris, and
almost blinded by dust and dirt. Re
covering in a moment, l grasped my
way through the darkness and clam
bered out without assistance. It
seemed as though everything took
hold of was red hot; my hands were
dreadfully burned. Jets OF steam
struck me on the forehead, and some
falling pieces of wood or iron bruised
my ankles as l was e asping my way
cut. The scene was frightful. The
grOans Of the wounded was appalling,
and the air seemed rent with shrieks.
finally made my way through the
debris, and, as the cloud of dust
cleared away, gained the deck and
was assisted to land. There was no
premOnitiOn, no sound of escaping
steam; but while all were gaily chat
ting or looking about the explosion
took place with a heavy rumbling
sound, like the blasting OF rocks. l
saw people hurled hither and thither,
and then with me all was darkness for
the moment. hope never to behold
another such fearful scene.


Mr.. SherlOck's statement: 81 was
standing alongside Mayor Carroll
smoking a cigar and watching the
people, when 1 was suddenly hOisted
into the air. 1t seemed to me that l
never should come down, but did
and fell headlOng into the water, sink
ing l know not how many feet deep.
The splash into the water brought me
to my senses, and being an excellent
swimmer, l rose to the surface. My
head came in contact with something
hard, and believing that l had risen
under the bottom of a boat, 1 held
nv breath and struck out toward
light reaching the surface. l was
helped out OF the water by the people
on the wharf" The Mayor and his as
s0ciates, making their way through
the dense crowd, were driven to the
Grand Central Hotel, where their
wounds were dressed by DR.. Fisher.
When visited by the reporter last
evening, they we're comparatively
comfortable, and hoped to be able to
endure their journey home by to-
morrow. Mayor Carroll was boil
stored in a large arm chair, his hands
enveloped in cloths which were con-
tinually moistened by soothing
liquids. Their associate alderman,
Bradley, was all attention, doing all
in his power to alleviate their suffer
ings. If One.half the reports be true,


THE EGoVERNAIENT INSPECTOR
should be indicted by the grand jury
Had his examination of the boiler
been thorough, the disaster could not
have happened 1t seems that the
engineer apprehended an explosion,
for he says that he looked at the patch
on the cylinder last Thursday. An
examination of the cylinder which
was blown out shows that the iron
had been eaten out srOund the rivets
till it was as thin as four sheets of
letter paper.


Graphing for dead bodies was kept
up all night, and is still going ON.
Shortly after midnight warden Bren-
den reported that there were over


FORTY DEAD BODIES


in Bellevue, and about sixty most
horribly scalded and bruised, many
Of whom will doubtless die. He said
that over 1000 persons visited the hos
pital after dark, and that the whole
force of surgeons and assistants were
completely worn out.


Late yesterday afternoon the West
field was taken In tow by her sister
vessel, the Northfeld, and is to be
taken 10 the foot Of Eighth street in
the river for repairs.


The character of the explosion was
such as to tear away and entirely ruin
One-half Of the vessel. Nothing can
be seen but one mass of iron, timber,
hats, shoes, parasOls, umbrellas, and
pieces of torn clothing of every de-
scriptiOn. Windows and doors aft of
the boat, had been torn from their
hinges, and benches and settees were
lying in confusion. The company es-
Inmates


DAMAGE TO THE VESSEL


at twelve thousand dollars, the prin-
cipal loss being the wreck of the boiler.
The boat is known as an extra boat
and used Sundays and holidays or at
hours when the tide of the travel sets
strongly to Staten Island. She was
accustomed to make three trips on
Sundays, starting at one and a half
O'Clock, at three and half O'Clock
and at seven and half o'clock in
the evening from Whitehall landing,
coming between regular boats which
make hourly trips. She was about to
start on her first trip yesterday and
WIS two or three minutes behind
time. When the boiler exploded
there were from two hundred to two
hundred and fifty passengers on board,
according TO the statements of her
officers and the ticket-taker. Most Of
the passengers were congregated
almost Immediately over the boiler ON
the sOutherly part Of the boat in order
to catch the fresh breeze blowing from
the south. Thousands of people are
congregated around Bellevue hos
81 tl,ir rrnnrrn srlor aanar fn hear anrno-