Washington telegraph., 1850-05-08
From the Louisville Jouruol o..
TERRIBLE STEAMBOAT oAy .v,N ~N
GREAT LOSS OF JJEr

~'y w record Ole x
the most distressing steamboat accSst Is o.
that have ever occurred on the Ohio
On Monday night, about 12 o,o,N;t ,Ivet
the Belle Of the West, bound from DUCK p:3.
burgh to St. Louis, was discoverea "s-
on fire, little below Warsaw, in -: oe
State, about 100 miles above this c;.. 'Hs
She had large number of passen~a..
board, full 100 in the cabin ard an oa sa
number OH deck. The fire orirna,sJ5uaa Jual
the hold. When it was discovereS u, N
boat was turned to the Indiana she We
about half a mile below Florence ana
to the land, whilst the captain proceedos.u
arouse the passengers from sleep, sa"'
at a time, not wishing 10 create a oos'
sternation, lest general panic and ,0"r 'a'
might involve an unnecessary loss os rsn rsi
The progress of the fire was rremeudons ,,s
Within five mintes after its discover ~
entire boat seemed wrapped in aamas as
A large proportion of the passengers wos.
still on board and the scene was now =.
rible beyond description. Men, wona.
and children were running and sbr;at;n-
over cabin and deck, some in Their lug
fusion mistook their way and rushed inv;
the midst of the raging of the fire. al
three or four passengers were daneeropsIs
scalded.
The sights and sounds upon the sbo,.
was indeed awful. The multitude w0.' WV
rushing in all directions in search Of bn.
bands, wives, fathers, mothers. bro,bo,.
sisters and children, and the shfiek -
doubt and anxiety, the wild scream of,n
prehension realized and the cry of ioy :,
the meeting of relatives and friends 6Iei
the air.
We have heard some thrilling ncidep,,
attending this great calamity. A 6,s
brave boy, IL years old, leaped into n.
river, and whilst swimming towards The
shore. saw his mother upon the boa, s,rug.
Cling TO make her escape, overburdeped
by the weight of two little children
Lifting his right hand from the water he
beckoned 10 her to throw one of the cha
dren to him and she did So He swan
with the child to the shore and the moth.
er escaped with the other, and thus the
whole family were saved. Many other
families were less fortunate OF the fam.
lily Of man named Anon Waggoncr, of
Virginia, consisting of himself, his wife
and eight children, three children Were
lost, a daughter of II, another OF IS, and
a little son of4. They were on theirway
to Iowa and lost everything they had
About so German Moravians from near
Lancaster, Pa, were on board and manv
of these lost children and other relatives.
We have heard some painful rumors in
regard to the possible cause Of the fire. A
family was put on shore al Cincinnati on
account of having the smallpox. Some
of the relatives of the family on boand
were very indignant, aud one Of them, it
is said, expressed his belief that the boat
would never reach Louisville. Another
according TO the statement of woman
who processes TO have heard the remark,
said that the boat should not reach Lon.
isville. The matches were down when
the boat left Cincinnati, but, al the break.
ing out of the fire, they were missing, aud
could not even be found, and two or three
persons at least lost their lives by falling
through the hatchways into the burning
hold. During the conhagration trunk
belonging to one Of the passengers, a
young man, was taken a considerable dis.
tance from the shore and rifed OF 5000.
The number of persons who lost their
lives is variously estimated-some say
thirty, some forty, and some fifty. Among
the survivors not more than four or hTe
are supposed to have been dangerously
wounded by fire aud steam.
Early in the afternoon the mall-bOai
Ben Franklin, Capt. Summons. arrived
at the scene of calamity, and, large
number of the survivors still remaining
on the shore, Capt. S. landed his boat TO
offer them relief.
A telegraphic despatch which we re-
ceived from Cincinnati last night, say:
Capt James, of the Bell OF the West,
has arrived in this city from the scene oil
disaster, and states that he Knows Of but
twenty-three who are lost. The caOlA
passengers were all saved. The boat
was owned in this city, and was insured
for SS,00O
A telegraphic dispatch from Madison
gives the following further particulars oi
this calamity: "As soon as the hre was
discovered the boat was run ashore, mace
fast, and stage plank run out. UP'o thl'
moment the flames had no, burst ioTlh'
The after hatch was then raised iol lne
purpose Of getting water into the hOl1'
but all efforts to quell the fire were u',eh!
fruitless, and in few minutes the pOS'
was wrapped i'm flames. The total num-
ber of passengers on board is estiiha'su
at four hundred, amongst whom ~
two California companies and aOIu'
thirty families removing west. From .ns
register it is ascertained that over sA!
has perished, and the probability i' 'na.
many more have been lost whose n'~.-
were not enrolled Such was the p"
gress of the fire, that, before :he Passea.
gers could get out of the state-rooIls s,.S,
/ lSl - on