Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1852-08-07
THE HUDSON RIVER DISASTER.

tragedy tends to confirm the previous accounts and
swell the tide Of public indignation to prodieious
degree. Some ninety bodies have now been found.
of mothers, fathers, brothers, and sisters who ne
irished from the criminal recklessness and their
blood, (says the Newark DAILY Advertiser mingled
with the voices of hundreds whose heart-strings
have been ruthlessly torn asunder, call loudly for
summary administration of justice from the authQ
rites whose duty it is to protect the persons and
property Of the people. Neither the law nor the
bitter remorse OF the guilty parties now restore
their Ifeless victims, assuage the lifelong grief
OF bereayed relatives and friends but an awful ex-
ample worth sacrificing something for, can be made
to impress fearful lesson upon the living, and pre-
vent equal OF greater caamities for the future The
catastrophe OF the Henry Clay has not merely taken
away lives, and destroyed forever the peace of many
men as A. j. DowNING, Hon. STEPHEN ALLEN,
and others, whose lives have been devoted to phi
lanthropic enterprises society generally is wantonly
deprived of services it could i'll afford to lose.
The New York Commercial Advertiser of Saturday
evening gives the of foryour persons in addition
to which six bodies that have not been identified
The Journal Of Commerce says:
The horrors of this calamity have been greatly in
creased by the cupabe neglect provide suitable
Der OF boats by the failure have fixture applied to
the engine by which water might be thrown ;by the
OF re buckets, filed the old line boats were with wa
ter under the charge OF man always in attendance by
going ashore head on instead Of diagonaly and by the
want OF all effort the part Of officers to direct the
nshed passengers to how they should proceed On the
immediate happening of the fire. all persons should have
neen forced need be- under direction Of officers and
hands, forward. few after she had struck walked
around the side houses and wheel houses guard or
wearing piece "a rim around the vessel and were saved
Perhaps all might thus have been conveyed the beach
on which her bows rested Those who jumped overheard
waited until after she had struck such was the nforma
ton from the station on the Hudson River Railroad
who from near point observed the whole accidents and
it is probable, therefore, if man of high courage and
presence of mind had commanded her the passengers
might generally have been saved"
The Boston Transcript publishes the following extract
of letter addressed to the Hon. ISAAC LIvERMoRE by his
son. who was passenger board the Armenia, by which
it will be that the that the boats were
racing is substantiated and moreover that in order to
gain the victory the Henry Clay Intentionally run
into most hazardous collision with its rival 1t is dated
from New York the Goth July:
"AIr DEAR FATHER: hope again to be obliged to
witness what yesterday afternoon. left Catsk yes
erday morning in the Armenia, which took the place
the Reindeer, the regular boat while she is repairing We
were ahead but having stop at Bristol the Henry Clay
opposition overlook and proceeded for several miles
side by side until finding that she could pass and
the landing Kingston first she bore down and crowded
us in towards the Shore until could go no further and
then she into svng in the works just forward of the
wheehouse Our boat was stopped and the Clay allowed
to first and land at Kingston My wife and sister
much alarmed that went ashore at Kingston crossed to
Rhinebeck and after waiting there hour and hreequa
tiers, took the for New York. When miles
this side of Yonkers found the Clay bow first the
Shore her bow within feet Of the beach, The train
afforded.
"The of the boatlay in deep water she all
on fire amdshps and in the after part The filed
with women and children cngng TO stools and other floating
Objects and the beach covered with the and the
drowned and others whom they trying resusctae
with and others who too far gone
vive Women were utterng agonzng shrieks for lost chill
dren husbands bewang the loss of their wives and rescued
and children, with their clothes drenched and torn,
looking in vain for losthusband and parents One little boy
five years old small to jump from the boat
railing and he was to burn to death board without
any Of saving him. The awful that could
not fail to move the stouest heart
eve remained by the burning boat for hour and took
board of the sufferers train could
date leaving the remainder train which
was due a few minutes later
The following testimony given before the coroner by
JOHN L. THOMPSON, ESQ.,, of Pennsylvania is many
similar tales of the suffering brought upon families by
this great calamity:
noticed nothing unusual in the speed of the boat she
crowded. should think 500 people; dinner
between and 2 o'clock then Deck and passing
the engineers remarked TO him, suppose you
good head of steam he made reply but looked very
cross then said hope you viii not blow all out a the
water; he sepcd, much for my life any
body; turned away, replying trust in God you do
spoke because the appeared going heavy
stran and thought there necessity for it. the Ar
meha was not IN sight ms was when we were near West
Point did not the Armenia but heard by the ticket
sellers at Newburg that there great strife between the
boats and when they sight Newburg they cheered
the Harry of the West The tickets selling hil
ling When the Armenia found to be behind those SELL
ing her tickets offered them at sxpence. The Armenia
about 10 minutes behind indication that the boats
had been racing spoke to Of the hands, telling him
had heard there had been racing and he replied that the
Henry Clay raced.
81 know nothing OF the origin of the fire. At the time
myself my wife, and children the guard of
the boat the ladies' cabin The and baby
the cabin The first cried out My God the boat is
fret looked forward and seeing the smoke, said Pooh
it is but the dinner cooking Then, there simultaneous
movement and general cry that the boat fire. The
CONSERVATION errifc and myself and several gentlemen
sndeavored to keep order think that time
neced with the boat directed keep the stern, the
in the of the boat That the fatal
consequence that advice and my family went as far
aft could get The boat had then turned
dense that the thought that the child s
fling. When the boat struck went back TO where
passed the cabin 10 the south side of the boat
owe reached there together but then lost sight Of my
children, John and Mary had been directed go
forward all, doubt would have been saved. There
then smoke to prevent doing do not know who
gave the direction to aft it seemed TO be official order
and promptly obeyed No notice given. We
standing together when 1 heard Mary slrek, Help me-
father shall drown. tried to get her. and while
my wife, and imagined that she had jumped overheard from
that time entirely lost sight Of the boy, neither did
Mary after that shrek jumped sank to the
face thought recognised my wife, who sinking and
down seized her by the hair, and said don't give out
you catch around the wast buthe caught
around the neck and sinking called to her TO
change her grasp, and she did
"When turned nothing more Of her. then got
hold Of the braces finally and got about four