Bloomington herald. [volume] (Bloomington, I. T. [Iowa]) 1840-1849, 1844-01-19
From the st. Louis Ariel, Jan.
Terrible Steamboat .9cctdelat.

The steamer Shepherdess, Capt. How>
ell, from Cincinnati to .his city, struck
a snag in Cahokia bend, about three miles
below town, on the Illinois side Of the
river, at half past IL o'clock last night,
and sunk in a few minutes. The state.
ments Of several persons who were on
board vary SO materially, that it is impos-
sible for us to give with accuracy the par
,iculars Of this awful calamity. Some say
there were not more than $50 passengers
on board, and tina, but thirty or forty per.
ished; others assert that there were nearly
three hundred, and that from fifty to one
hundred must have been lost.
When she struck, an attempt was made
to back her off, for the purpose OF running
her ashore, but she hung upon the snag
She then commenced filling, and in few
moments swung from the snag and hoated
down the river, but she had already sunk
so low, as to be manageable. The Pilot
threw his lead line Immediately after the
accident and found no bottom with four
fa,homs out. He says the water then
burst up the matches and he endeavored to
cut some horses loose on the deck, but be.
fore he could succeed, the hull sunk SO
rapidly that the water rose to his neck and
he was compelled to swim 10 the boiler
deck.
After she hoated off, the wreck careered
from one side to the other, and large
number of passengers who were crowded
on the after part of the hurricane deck
were rolled together into the river. OF
these very few, if any, are supposed to have
been saved. A few swan to the shore at
the time of the accident, but many in at
tempting to do so we're drowned. The
lower deck was crowded with passengers,
generally asleep, and filling i. 10 the front
of the boilers. There were also large
number of passengers in the cabin, many
Of them ladies, all of whom are supposed
to have been saved excepting one who
was suffering from pleurisy and rolled
from the hurricane deck into the river
The cabin floor parted from the hull, and
foa.ed about throo miles down the river,
and the passengers who were saved, clung
TO the hurricane deck which sunk to the
level of the water. Several ladies were
extracted from the state room doors open
ing on the guards after the cabin had part
ed from the hull. Fortunately the Henry
Bry was laying at the shot tower, ard i'm
mediately despatched her yawl to the
wreck. And after she had made four
trips to the shore, the ferry bart Iceland
err, bound up from Selma came along side
and rescued the remaining suffers. 4
number were also taken ashore by ferry
boat in the vicinity and few in two ca>
noes. The last seen Of the Captain he
was endeavoring to ring the bell, and was
thrown overheard by the falling derrick.
He is supposed to have been drowned
Five or six young children were frozen to
death. The ladies were saved in their
night dresses, and protected from the wea
ther by the clothing of the gen,lemen.-
One gentleman physician of St. Charles,
lost about $4,000, i'll gold another from
Virginia, who had thirty slaves on board,
had found but one of them when our in
formant left.
DR.. victo. J. Fourgeaud of St. Louis.
was on board, and made narrow escape.
Among the survivors there must be con-
siderable number vino have been left en-.
tirely destitute and immediate measures
should be adopted for their relief.