The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1853-11-09

ttt'' u i.t'| t u ,.'+i OBJ fs-''f-
dag = an ariisl, il ycng sasr, aa@ more par
tcu!ary another III nc iita&; the itr:n + i;a-
plicdly, and tn lat cr directly siiareina those
who have The nlnnagrnen,4f he ~. am Ferry
Boat Utah, with the death % Mr. Walsh, which
resulted from The Unfortunate collision on Mon
day last lnd'cd, 10 such pitch If excitement
have the feelings Of portion of the community \
been wrought against me, that some Of my
friends felt serious apprehcnsions for my safety
should appear on the streets Of Dubuque -
Lies the most astonishing, have been indus;r
ously circulated with view TO injure per-
sonally, and ais the reputation o; the owners
aad ether officers OF the Boat II is due 10 the
we'll disposed portion OF tha community that q
denial of these injurious reports should appear
at cncc, and measures arouid have been taken
to this effect before now, had been aware that
the least blame had been attached either to my
self or those who are my assistants, in the man
agement Of the Ferry Boat. And here state
without fear of truthful contradiction, that it
has always at all times, and upon all occasions
been our special object aud desire, to extend
every accommodation and facility to the travel
ing public and that we are not the abandoned,
heartless, and dcpraved wre,ches that some evil
disposed persons, for sinister motives, would
make US out to be. The following is state
ment of the unfortunate occurrence, so far as il
came under my observation, which herewith
send you for publication, accompanied by the
aiidavits of quite number Of respectable citi-
zens, acAo ,cere all on board of the Utah at the
time Of the accident, and leave it for yol and
an intelligent community to say how far they
justify the communication in the Herald of yes
terday, and the slanderous reports going the
rounds against me individually:
| On monday last at about o'clock A. NJ the
Steam Ferry Boat Utah, was in the act Of
STRENGTHENING up in the river, after getting out
of the Slough, on her trip toward the Illinois
shore. | was on the stern Of the boat for the
purpose of collecting ftrriage, there being quite
a number Of passengers and teams board,
both forward and aft. | was conversing with
| Mr.. |. E. Wootton of this city. Suddenly the
Engine bell was rung to stop, aud the Engine was
Immediately stopped stationary. ran forward
as fast as possible to enquire the cause of the
stoppage. Somebody, knownot who, answered
there was man gone under the boat with skitf.
The Engineer was ordered by me not to move
! the Iarboard engine, as | was informed the man
was under the larboard wheel. My order was
| obeycd We soon discovered man whom |
suppose must have been the deceased, floating
i al, T. l.,. hon III
| yards below the skitf which had turned bottom
up. The skiff soon fl 'acd down toward him,
J. e la d hold of it, and leaned his breast appar-
emily on the bottom. | then hallooed for rope
to be thrown him, but in the hurry and excite
ment none was procured, until he had foated
too far past the boat down the stream to rem
der it of any service. we then rang our large
bell to warn the people on the Dredge Boat,
which lay about 100 yards below US in the slough,
that there was man in distress. They appear
ed to understand signal. but the deceased
had foated some distance down before their
yawl could get started | myself stood OIL the
upper deck and directed their attention to the
man in the river, halloong a, the very top OF
my voice, which is none of the weakest, and by
motioning with my hands in the direction Of the
deceased. BY signs they notified me that they
were aware of his location, and it was source
of qualification to all Of us on board the Utah,
feeling as we did, confident Of his being rescued
This being done we started on our trip across the
river. On arriving on the other side that morn
ing, business called me into Wisconsin some 40
| A. 4. 4 Z ~ a.
day evening, when to my utter surprise and NOR.
tifcaiion, Qor i, does mortify me to lose the
good opinion Of respectable men, learned
that was blamed for causing the death Of the
deceased. 1t would pain me exceedingly if
felt that had omitted to do any one thing in
the premises which humanity would requ;r',
but my conscience is void Of all wrong
No person regrets the occurrence more than
do, but truth compcls me to say that the fault
does not lie with the officers Of the Utah, and
the surviving brothers, who the Herald says
are so much incensed, when they make the
statement they do, either wilfully misstating
the truth for the purpose of injuring an innocent
man. or they are the tools Of designing men
1
them to make charges which not be ID
stantiated by a shadow Of proof. One thing
appears very strange to me, and has been the
subject of remark by others who were on board
at the time it is this, that the surviving broth
ers never expressed any displeasurc at the time,
Of the accident, but appeared perfectly satisfied
with the course pursued by the officers of the
boat, but on reflection, they appear to recollect
circumstances which are not corrnborated by a
single individual Whether their statement or
mine is entitled to credit, | leave to The public
to decide. | have prepared this letter amid
the pressing calls of an arluous vocation, be-
lieying it due TO the public, to the owners and
other officers Of the boat, and to myself; and
whatever errors it may contain, it does not lack
one important ingredient,-TnE Truth.
Respectfully yours,
CHARLES BOGY.