Submitted and transcribed by Dee Gabler [email protected] <A HREF="http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chesapeake/">Dee's Chesapeake Genealogy</A> http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~chesapeake/ Transcribed by Dee Gabler on June 4, 2002 Source: Microfilm held at Enoch Pratt Free Library, Cathedral Street, Baltimore, Maryland. ____________________ The Sun, Baltimore, Wednesday, April 20, 1842 Page 2, columns 2 & 3 MORE OF THE MEDORA Cragg's affidavit: - The cause of the recent disaster to the steamer Medora will, we imagine, in a great measure, be explained by a narration of the following circumstances, which we have on unquestionable authority. That which we received relative to Cragg's agency, will be found in his affidavit, giving below. Mr. Thomas Smith states that he was on board at the time - was standing near the steam guage - saw Cragg run out the weight to the extreme end of the lever - the steam being then at 20 or 22 inches. In a few minutes he observed the steam rise rapidly, and finally saw the stick fly out, followed by the mercury which was in the guage. This alarmed him, and he turned away, when the explosion took place. The following affidavit referred to above, and which will correct the error into which we think our informants believed to be correct: [COPY] City of Baltimore, Set - On the 19th day of April, 1842, before the subscriber, one of the Justices of the Peace of the State of Maryland, in and or said city, personally appeared, Joseph Cragg, one of the persons engaged on board the steamboat Medora, on Thursday last, at the time of the explosion, and made oath on the Holy Evangels of Almighty God, that he went on board said boat about three o'clock, at the request of Mr. John Watchman; immediately after arriving on board, was engaged in conversation with different persons on the after part of the boat, until about ten minutes previous to the explosion, when I went forward to speak to Mr. Ferguson, the chief engineer, and requested him not to start the engine until after the return of a person who had gone on shore. I remarked to Mr. Ferguson that I thought the weight of the safety valve was too light; Ferguson stated that it had been pushed in toward the valve, and requested me to open the door and push it out to its proper place, which I did; I then went aft to see if my friend who had left the boat, had returned, waited there until I discovered him on board, and immediately informed Mr. Ferguson that he was on board. As I had nothing then to attend to, the engine being altogether in charge of Messrs. Ferguson and Ramsay, I walked slowly to the forward part of the boat and examined the water in the boiler, and found water flush in the three lower cocks, and steam in the fourth; as I walked slowly aft again taking a glance at the steam guage, I found there was as near as I can recollect, about twenty-two inches of steam, by the showing of the guage, being about two inches more than when Mr. Ferguson requested me to remove the weight; I here stopped a minute of so to wipe my hands, having got some paint from them from off the door, whilst opening it to remove the weight. In about two minutes the explosion took place, when I knew no more until I found myself at the bottom of the water in the basin; when I came up I found myself under the wood and lumber from the wreck; got clear of the wreck and then got on the lumber until a boar came along and took me to the shore. Having read a publication in the Sun of Tuesday, April 19, 1842, in which it is stated "that Joseph Cragg had confessed that he caused the explosion by removing the weight on the lower end of the safety valve, to its further extremity, and then putting on additional weight; and that Ramsay and Ferguson were cognizant of his doing so; that it was in fact the act of all three by agreement, though actually done by him," deponent now positively denies ever having made any such confession, other then that of removing, by order of Ferguson, the weight of the safety valve. As to an agreement between Ferguson, Ramsay and himself, during that time he had not spoken to Ramsay, nor at any previous time, in relation to the subject; and that as to Ferguson, no other conversation took place than what is already related, in regard to the engine, I did not put any additional weight on the safety valve, nor do I know of any having been put on. I cannot imagine any cause for the explosion, having considered that every thing was correct and safe about the engine and boiler. Signed Joseph Cragg. Subscribed and sworn before A. H. Pennington. ______________ The Wounded - We yesterday heard from most of the survivors of the explosion, who had received injury by it. They are represented as all doing well in different degrees, and we learn that none of them have yet been despaired of by the physicians. There is reason to hope that none of the cases will prove fatal. The Wreck still remains in the basin; and though some search was yesterday made for the body of McAlear, it had not yet been found at the time of our latest information. Generosity - We learned yesterday that a gentleman of Baltimore handed over to the mayor the sum of $20, to be employed in the relief of the sufferers by the ill-fated Medora. Another gentleman, formerly a resident of Baltimore, but now of Washington city, transmitted to the mayor the sum of $10 for the same noble object. Worthy of imitation. ~ In our appeals to the sympathies of the public in behalf of those who suffered from the recent disaster, we neglected to mention the destitute widow of the late John Speedy, Lombard street, south side between Bond and Market streets, Fells Point. ______________ STEAM MACHINERY, &c. - Since the explosion of the boilers of the ill-fated Medora, we have received numberless communications upon that particular case, and the subject of steam machinery generally. Among the rest, we have been favored by a scientific gentleman of Washington, with a series of articles, which originally appeared in 1838 and 1840, in the Washington and Philadelphia papers, with a desire that they should be republished at this time, while the public mind is alive to the importance of the subject discussed. With the greatest desire to gratify our correspondent, we must beg to decline their publication. These articles which would be rather more than we can at present stand, seeing that so many matters of immediate current interest are constantly forcing themselves upon us. We have reserved the papers, as desired, subject to his order.