Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1837-05-25

. Deck passengus.-Sumuel Squinnes, Asa
Gates.
John lIobrlns, and six more taken up ny
steamboat Statesman.
From The Iitr0M
fine gentlemen. Mr.. Cook, foated down
the river some miles before he was picked up.
lie hailed a wrciched and desplcable charac-
ter who bad pui ofi' in yawl from the shore,
and bcpped his assistance. The Infamous
scoundroI. who was intent only on picking up
boxes. &c. asked with the utmost sang fFoh,
allow much will you give me!" To the en-
treaties Of others for help, he replied. ION,
you are very well off there. Keep cool, and
you'l come out comfortable" Whether the
captain Of the Alton deserves the censure
that has been hcaped upon him we know not,
nor will we pretend to say positively until we
have seen his state ment; but it does appear
to us that if the captain OF the Columbus had
acted in a similar manner to that OF the Alton
there would not have been half a dozen souls
left to tell the tale of the calamity.
Poor Davis the pilot, who wns at the wheel
during the fire, was coBversing with friend
of ours Just before he left this city, about the
burning of the ST. Martinsvilc, and the burn
ing of her tiller rope three or four years since;
"If ever I'm in boat that takes FIRE, (sald
Davis) if | don't run her ashore, 1T will be be-
causc shall be burnt up in her." Poor fel-
low, his statement has been verified; he was
burnt up in the Ben Sherrod.
Out of nine ladies' that were on board, only
two have been saved, the captains wife and
Mrs. Smith. of Mobile; their husbands threw
hen coops into the river, r,jnmped off the wheel
house, the ladies followed their example and
were saved.
One scene was distressing IN the extreme;
a young and beautiful lady, whose name at
present we cannot learn, on hearing the cry
of fire, rushed ont of the ladies' cabin, in her
loose dress, IN search OF her husband, ut the
sanir time holding her infant TO her bosom; in
endcavoring TO 20 forward. her dress caught
fire, and was torn from her back tOsa her
life; after seeing her husband fall into the
flames in the forward part ot the boat, unable
to reach him. she leaped with her child into
the water, seized plank and was carried by
the current within 20 yards of the Columbus;
but Just as she had seized a rope thrown from
. the steamboat, both mother and child sank to
rise no more!
!, Our limits preclude the possibility Of emu
merating the various heart-rcnding sights
that this calantous affair occasioned. The
captain, for instance, saved his wife, but sa W
his two children perish. Mr.. Smith saved his
wife and one child, and saw the nurse rush
madly through the flames with his daughter.
and both pershed. Mr.. CANDLES wife, we
unde erstand, was burnt to death; he escaped,
although very badly burnt. One young man
who had reached the hurricane deck in safe
", heard the cries of lis sister, rushed back
Ia the cabin, clasped her in his arms, s,and bO,l,
were burnt TO death. One of the clerks. one
of the pilots, and the first mate, were burnt
! up. All the chamber. maids and women en-
/ ploycd on the boat pcrished. Out of 30 ne
j. prOrs that were known to have been on board
only two escaped alive. The Ben Sherrod
! had the largest crew of any boat on the river
and by reference to the above list of names, II
will be seen. that out the 80 saved, over ~
belongs To the boat; and out Of the 60 or Il
7 cabin passengers, there are but about 10 oI
r ~ left alive. One of the officers of the boa
assured us, that in addition to the cabin pas
: sengers, there were at least GO or more dccl
: passengers, Of whom scarce six are saved.
/, Altogether this has been one of the mos
serious disasters that have happened ~ ih'
annals of Mississippi steamboats,; there being
at least one hundred and fifty families de
prved by il of some dear and beloved membc
} over one hundred beings hurried by it on
of time into eternity, with scarce moments
warning. And among those who are saved
many are said to be severely burnt; some, $,
nnch so, that their recovery is very doubtful
We understand that eight different explo
sions took place on board the boat while burn
), ing-irst, barrels Of whiskey, brandy, &c.
! then the boilers blew up with a fearful ex
plosiotr, aud lastly, 3g barrels of gunpowdc
: exploded, which strewed the surlncc OF thu
, river with fragments.
A large quantity of specie was in the boa
on its way 10 the Tennessee Banks; this wa
| lost. One gentleman placed his pocket boo
+, containing S3S, 900 under his pillow, an
| though he escaped with life, he lost all hi
u money. A great many more persons @
d board had very large amounts Of money wit
g them, the most, or all Of which, in the CONT
Il sion, was lost.
z NIB. We have since learned that til
Il four left at Fort Adams, are Mcssrs. Jane
:. p. Wilkinson, G. Stan6eld, Gamble and Ia
e son. Mr.. Francis was burnt to death.
J., TWO DAYS LATER FROM ENG