The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1850-07-10
Incidents of the Burning of the Griffith

LtcKy-C. F. Holly, of Savannah, Missouri
in swimming ashore, lost belt containing all
his money, 1900, twice and recovered it again
Losing it a third time, he was SO much exhaust
ed that he concluded to let it go, and content
himself with saving his life AS good luck
would have it, Il man Immediately behind him,
picked it up and brought it safely to the shore
He offered the man 5000, however, which was
accepted, the finder having been left by the acci.
dent entirely destitute.
CooLNEss.-A man by the name of S. Coop
err who from his appearance, we should call a
Scotchman, just from Scotia, had in his care a
young woman named Mary Murry, and girl
about IL years old. When he awoke and got
dressed, after the alarm, the girl was missing
and by dligent search he was unable to find her
After the boat struck, and all hope of remaining
longer on board was over, he took off his thick
coat, and put on linen one, threw Miss Mary
overheard, and jumped in after her, and swan
with her to float sufficient to support her, at a
distance from the burning boat far enough to be
out of danger from the fire, and then started fol-
shore himself, confident the young lady would
be safe till a small boat could come out. Re.
fleeing that he had lost his hat when he Jump
ed overheard, and that he was liable to the head
ache if he remained in the sun without it, he
deliberately swan back to the burning boat,
found his hat, "a white round crowned wool one, }
and then swan ashore. Very soon after he rea-
ched the shore, Mr.. Stebbins arrived with his
first skif load containing Miss Murry.
MORE DEVELOPMENTS ABOUT THE GR1FF1TH
Cause Of the fire "A man who lives on the
bank nearest the wreck says, he saw the boat as
she was approaching shore, and SO enveloped in
smoke and flame that her pipes were invisible.
seem to have rushed overheard in a body. He
says she did not stick minute after losing her
deck load, swung round and came up stern fore
most, so near shore that by wadng in up to his
arms, ne reached her ruddcr and took off little
child that was hanging it, dead. He said
mat forward and att her decks were on fire, but
her after cabin was not; that he looked into the
windows, saw no flame and but little smoke
ms was some sixty rods above where the
wreck now lies The wind soon blew her out
from shore, and she was floating towards Buffalo
when the Propeller hitched on to her.
Facts have come to light that renders it pref
ty certain the fire caught from the oling of the
engine The engineer states that he had lust
oiled the engine, that his first discovery of the
ire was through holes in the deck, and that the
flames seemed to be OH the under side of the
deck. 1t Is also stated the oil was new kind, a
cnemlca! preparation and highly infammablc.-
Ii this be so, no further causes for the origin of
the fire may be looked for. "
BURNED AL1vE.-This horrible fact is at last
revealed that there were many of the cabin pas
sengers burned alive. better fate was hoped,
but the bubbling stencil now arising from the
stern part of the wreck from the bodies now in
rapid decomposition there, show that fire has done
its share of this terrible work Parks says when
he arose and rushed through the cabin, he met,
ran against and ran over, men, women, and chill
dren, who were then suffocating with smoke and
in the greatest confusion. He escaped not
without some burns, and almost Immediately af:
forwards the cabin fell in, so rapid had been the
flames. He thinks 90 or 30 must have persisted
there.-[ Cleve. Piaindcalcr. 22d. ..