Drowning Incident - 1892

When the summer’s heat was up, it was not unusual for a large number of people to be encountered in the waterfront area of James Street North.

Especially in the vicinity of the dock of the Hamilton Steamboat Company, there was usually a crowd when the passenger steamer, Macassa, arrived back in the city after a trip from Toronto, or when the Macassa set off from Hamilton to her outward destination.

During the morning of Thursday, August 12 ,1892, passengers for the trip to Toronto had embarked on the Macassa. Friends, family and general onlookers watched when the big boat started to move out towards the bay

Those people saw something that afternoon which many would not soon forget :

“A young man named Harry Brothers was employed on the steamer Macassa as a kitchen helper, and while the boat was at the dock at the foot of James street, he was working in the cook’s gallery cleaning vegetables, and just as the steamer was leaving and when she was about 200 feet from the dock, young Brothers appeared at the lower gangway and threw a dish panful of dirty water overboard. As he leaned against the gate of the gangway he was seen to totter and fall overboard, carrying with him the gate.”¹

¹ Hamilton Weekly Times.    August 16, 1892.

Only a few people actually saw the fall, but everyone could hear the cry, ‘Man overboard’ and all rushed to where the young man had hit the water:

“Capt. Zealand and the mate of the Mazeppa saw the accident, and as no attempt was made from the Macassa to rescue the boy, they quickly put out in a skiff, but before they arrived on the spot where the lad had been seen to fall, the poor fellow had gone down for the last time.”¹

Several men in the vicinity were able to access some grappling hooks, and it did not take long for the body to be found. It was taken to the nearby Roger’s boathouse where it was covered by a canvas while attempts were made to find out who the drowning victim:

“Some hours had elapsed before the body was identified, but finally some of the crew recognized him as Harry Brothers, of Woodbridge. He joined the steamer at Toronto and had been on the boat but a week. He is evidently about 20 years of age. Eye witnesses of the accident say that he did not struggle any after striking the water, and it is thought that he was stunned by falling against the heavy gate of the gangway. The idea is strengthened by the fact that one side of the victim’s face is badly bruised.”¹

The police arrived with the patrol wagon and took custody of Brothers’ body. P.C. Campaign was given the duty to assemble a coroner’s jury and set up a hearing to be held that very afternoon:

“At 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon at Reardon’s hotel, on James street north, an inquest was opened on the death of Harry Brothers, the lad drowned off the steamer Macassa. Coroner Woolverton had charge of the inquiry.

 “J.B. Griffith, manager of the Hamilton & Toronto Steamboat Company was the first witness. He stated that deceased had been employed by the Canadian Railway News Co., which did the catering for steamers’ passengers and crew. A telegram received by him in the afternoon stated that the lad’s father lived near Woodbridge, and that an uncle with whom he had lived in Toronto had recently moved to Buffalo. Witness had made arrangements to have the body embalmed and sent to Toronto on the Modjeska this morning.

“George Guy, mate of the steamer Mazzeppa, who saw the accident, was called. Just as the boat was leaving the dock, he noticed deceased come to the forward port gangway and throw a pail full of something overboard, and immediately the shutter of the gangway fell forwards, and the lad with it, into the water. He saw him rise to the surface once, and then he and Capt. Zealand shoved a skiff off the dock into the water and pulled to the rescue, but were too late, as deceased did not come up again. Witness shouted to the captain of the Macassa, and the big boat stopped for about five minutes and then went on to Toronto.

“A Juror – ‘Did the gangway strike him in falling?

“ ‘No. I think he must have struck it.’

“Juror – ‘No gangway in God’s world could have given the boy such a bruise on the face by his falling on it.

“Another Juror -  ‘Is there any rule observed in these steamers regarding the closing of the gangways?”

“ ‘The mate is supposed to see that everything about the gangway is secure, after the boat leaves the dock.’

“P.C. Duncan, another eyewitness of theaffair was the next witness. On hearing a cry just after the boat left the dock, he walked in the direction from which it came and saw two hands upraised near a floating gangway shutter and a pail. Steam was immediately shut off on the boat, but no attempt at rescue was made from it, nor were there any inquiries made by the captain regarding the accident. “In fact,’ said the witness, ‘the steamer did not seem to stop at all because she had considerable way on and the engines were not reversed to bring her up, nor was anything that would be of use to a drowning man thrown from the boat.

“Frank N. Rodgers, who recovered the body, gave evidence, stating that he found it in about 20 feet of water about 200 feet from the dock. It had been in the water about 35 minutes.

“Capt. A.W. Crawford, of the Macassa, was the next witness. On hearing the cry ‘man overboard,’ he stopped the engine but could see nothing in the water but a pail and the shutter. He waited around the spot about eight minutes and finding that nothing could be done towards effecting a rescue, he gave orders for the boat to proceed on her trip. ‘If the shutter is properly secured in the gangway,’ said he, ‘it can’t give way. The mate is supposed to see that some of the deck hands make it all secure.’

“Fred Overill, sworn, said – ‘Am night watchman on the Macassa; it is also part of my duty to fasten up the forward gangway on leaving the dock. Just after leaving yesterday morning, and while I was screwing up one side of the shutter, Harry came running up behind me and dashing against the shutter, while throwing out a pail full of potato peelings, he went overboard carrying with him the shutter and the pail. It was all over before I could turn around. I ran upstairs to see if anybody else on board had seen him go over, and hearing some of the passengers say a man had fallen into the water, I ran downstairs again and over to the edge of the gangway, but could see nothing of Harry. It takes several minutes to fasten up the shutter.

“Walter Crewe, the steward, stated that he had engaged deceased on Friday last merely as a substitute for a newsboy who was off for a couple of weeks. He did not see the accident.

“Dr. James Rodgers, who examined the body, stated that the only mark on it was a large bruise on the left cheek, which could easily have been made by the boy falling on the floating shutter, and deceased had probably been stunned by the blow.”¹

There was a need to adjourn the inquest before all testimony was heard. It resumed the following evening:

“In opening the proceedings, Coroner Woolverton read the evidence given before him at his office by Capt. Campbell, which was to the effect that that the captain was sitting within a few feet of the gangway when the accident occurred. He saw Overill, the nightwatchman, putting in the shutter, and just as he was screwing up one side of it, Brothers came running from the steward’s room and dashing against the shutter, knocked it out into the water and pitched headlong after it. Overill was almost knocked overboat also. Witness ran to the side of the boy, but saw nothing of the boy. The shutter had been put in place as soon as the boat left the dock. No help could be rendered the boy from the steamer.

“E.H. Dunnett, a clerk in the post office, was then called. He was standing on the lower deck just opposite the gangway from which the boy fell. He saw the accident just as described by Captain Campbell.

“J.W. Maddick, mate of the Macassa, was the last witness examined. He stated that it was part of O’Neil’s duty to attend to the gangway, and he had always been faithful in the performance of that duty. Deceased was under his control and he only knew him by sight. He understood that earlier in the morning, Brothers had fallen down the forward hatchway which would perhaps account for the bruise on his face. The lad had a narrow escape from going over the gangway on Monday morning and would certainly have done so had not one of the deck hands grabbed him.”¹

With all the testimony completed, the jury retired to come up with a decision as to how Harry Brothers died and if anyone could be held responsible.

The ending was definitely not a smooth one :

“The jury then retired to wrestle with a verdict, and after being out about an hour, arrived at a decision which the coroner refused to accept at first, claiming that it was not explicit enough.

“It was as follows:

‘In the opinion of the jury, the verdict is that Henry Brothers came to his end through the neglect of the officers of the Steamboat Company.’

“Notwithstanding the coroner’s intimation that the public would generally laugh at such a verdict, the majority of the jurors insisted on his accepting it, and this was eventually one, four of the jurors dissenting from it. There was an interesting wrangle between the coroner and jury before the latter would sign the verdict, but this was done after a heated argument.”¹