The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1840-02-26

CuRIoUs Law CAsE.-Tbe CbanceIlor ol
South Carolina recently made a decision in
which the descent Of certain estate depended
upon the question. whether Mr. or Mrs. Ball.
both Of whom perished in rhs wreck of the Pu-
iaski lev years since. had survived the other.
case sili more curious is mentioned in one
OF the notes 10 Blackstone's CONNIE entaries. in
Illustration Of the doctrine that If land sbiles in
husband but for a single moment, the wife be
comes possessed Of her right Of dover. He
says that in Wales a father and son were both
hanged in one cart. bat the son was supposed
10 have survived the father by appcarins 70
struggle the longest whereby ne became seiz-
cd OF an estate in fee by survivorship. In the
recent case, il appears from the testimony col
lected by the Chancellor, that the steamboat
Pulaski left Savannah on "Wednesday. the
18th OF June. 1888. with many passengers and
arrived at Charleston the same evening The
next morning, Mr.. and Mrs. Ball. having gone
on board at Charleston, departed for the north
The vessel pursued her course. until about ii
O'Clock of that night; when, most of the pas
sengers having retired to their berths, the star
board boilor exploded. BY the explosion
an extensive breach was made on the starbo,yd
side of the vessel. Her main deck was blown
OF, destroying communication between the for
ward and after part OF the steamer. The for
ward part Of the upper deck, (cslIed the bur
ic.ne deck, in contrsdistinction to the upper
part, which is called the promenade deck,) was
blown off. carrying with it. the wheel house. in
which the commander Of the boat, Captain Du-
bois, was sleeping al the time. The gentle
mans forward cabin was much torn; its floor
ripped up. and its bulkhead driven in: and
there is reason TO suppose. that many perished
in that pant by the explosion. Soon after the
vessel was broken in two. the forward and after
parts pitched into the water, towards the centre,
at an angle Of nearly thirty degrees. The cen
tiemen's after cabin was entirely filed. and the
forw ard cabin was certainly in as bad a coudit-
ion. There we're some persons on the for
ward Of the vessel, nearly all Of whom speedily
persisted; but the greater portion were in the
after part. including one or two who had passed,
by swimming. from the forward 10 the after
part. OF those on the after part, as many as
could climbed to the promenade deck, but
there were maay. mostly ladies. among whom
vas Mrs. Ball, who remained on the main deck.
These. as the main deck sank deeper aud deep
er. retreaied along the gsng-ways, by the la
dies cabin towards the stern. The promenade
deck. by the action Of the waves. was burst
from the top Of the boat. and was submerged
with all that were on it. Whether the stern
Of the boat was submerged at or after this time
is uncertain. Some of the witnesses think il
wsssubmereed even before the promenade deck,
others that il was not submerged at all. All
these events had taken place, according TO most
OF the witnesses, in about from forty to fifty
minutes, according TO others in less time"
After the explosion. nothing WAS heard or
seen Of Mr. Ball but Mrs. Ball was observed
TO have come out Of the ladies' cabin, and call
upon her husband. She ran forward to the
ehasm caused by the explosion. retraced her
steps, and continued to traverse the starhoard
ganeway in search Of him. altering his name in
tones so raised by her agony, that they reached
the most distant parts of tho vessei.-tpon
these facts the Chancellor establishes his de-
cision. Mrs. Ball was heard by all and seen by
many, but no response was heard TO her cries,
nor was any one seen TO approach her, for her
protection or consolation. Two witnesses, who
knew Mrs. Ball. saw her bu, did not see her
husband. He was neither seen nor heard, un-
less he was the person referred to bv two wit
nesses. who stale the following circumstances.
Very shortly after the explosion. boat was le,
down on the starbosrd side Of the steamer. in
10 which some persons descended. As the
boat was lying below, some gentleman came 10
that side Of the deck, and throwing . coat into
the boat called those in il to hold moment,
and instantly disappeared. He never resppear-
ed. but the next day the coat was found TO be q
black dress coat. OF 4 large size (sueh was
the size Of Mr.. Bsll.) aod in one Of the pockets
was discovered q shirt .eoll,r. on which was
written the name Of Ball, with some iniiisls,
which the witnesses have forgotten. On the
whole, the Chancellor concludes. the evidence
goes TO show that Mrs. Ball vas no doubt the
ssrvivor.-N Y. Erg. Post