Bloomington herald. [volume] (Bloomington, I. T. [Iowa]) 1840-1849, 1843-10-13
TO THE PUBLIC.

My attention has been called to statement
Of steamboat collision published in the Ga
lena Gazette and Advertiser Of the Sd instant,
by certain passengers, who were on board the
steamboat .Potosi, in the last trip to Galena.
The statement professed to give an account Of
Of 'diabolical occurrence which took place
between the steamboats, Potosi and St. Louis
Oak, on tho 30th of September. on the Missis-
sippi river little above Savanna, in which j,
is represented that the Oak had been guilty Of
great outrage, in. wantonly running into the
Potosi, thereby disabling her, and endangering
the lives Of the passengers. The passengers
wind up their manifesto with the flourish Of
trumpets about the GOODNESS and gen,leman'y
department Of the officers Of the Potos, and
graveIy caution the public against enirus,ing
their lives or property to the control of the Of.
6cers Of the Oak. The charges made in the
statement are Of a serious nature. and, If true,
the officers Of the Oak are justly obnoxious TO
the censore Of the public: but il, on the other
hand. it can be shown that the passengers Of
the Potosi, under the influence Of the excite
ment OF the moment, have been betrayed into
a misrepresentation Of, and giving false CO.
lof 10. the whole transaction, to the injury Of
the officers Of the Oak, and the boat herself,
the same public will not fail 10 bestow their
reProbation whore it SO justly belongs. ! will
NOT. here, charge the passengers with know
tngiy and wilfully misrepresenting the fact, in
relation to the collision, but what would say
is. that, in all such difficulties which occur
between boats, passengers, invariably parta-
king OF the excitement, and espousing the
cause Of the boat which they are on, are liable
10 have their feelings SO much warped and pre-
JUDGED, and their mental vision so much OBJ
scured. as TO be able to see only one side of the
question.
In Justice 10 myself and the officers Of the
Oak. feel bound to submit to the public
plain and unvarnished statement of the facts Of
the collision, and precisely as they occurred,
and as they can be made to'appear in a court
cf law. where am determined, an investioa.
ton shall take place -
The Oak, with barge in tow started from
the Lower Rapids, for Galena, about four or
Ave o'clock on the afternoon Of the 28th ult..
leaving the Potosi at the head. pursued nv
trip up as usual, and never saw the Po,osi. un.
iii We GO, two miles above Bloomington where
i discovered her two miles below Blooming.
Ton, On her way up the river. then conclu-
dsd that il was the design Of the Potosi TO
ovr.aul and pass os, having heard that her Of
fcess had made threats, before starting, that
they would give US -- before we got 10
Ga'e"al When approaching Drury'SH .and-
ing, one of the wheel arms was broken 6 $ We
We're obliged 70 stop, and put ID an6sa,er !;
while al Drury's. we took in wood enough 10
~" Us oss the Upper Rapids, and while there,
also. the fotosi hoye in sight, and landed a.
bout haIf . n.ie below US, where, suppose.
she also wooded. After completing our ,e.
pats. which was about Ave o'clock, P. M. y.
resumed our trip, and Immediately saw thr
Po,osi after us. We continued ahead Of he,
u"',l abou, OF 8 o'clock in the evening, when
the Po,csi overhauled, aud passed us. The
Passsn gess assert in their statement, that, du-
rug the day Of The 9th. tho Potosi overhaul
ed the Oak, and many Symphonic were maui.
tested BY The Oak 10 pass The Pososi. but fail.
% 10 the EFFORT, without any disposisioa being
manifssi1S By BE P9,osi to rscs."