The Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, Ohio) 1853-1861, 1854-11-25
THE PERRYSBURG JOURNAL.

forward deck. The pdrser prepared to save the
ships papers and valuables in his possession
belonging to the passengers, which would
have all been safely delivered to their owners
But, on going below ten minutes after the
ship struck, he found the specie covered with
five feet of water, and SO rapidly was she
filling. that the water rose in the stern six
inches per .minute-consequent no one
dared to descend to the vault, which he
locked and returned to the deck to save what
he could of the Express matter.
Night coming on, and the fog, which had
for short time, Disappeared, again set in.
able to find the shore, and the terror of our
situation began to stare us in the face
There arose the loud accents of ardent and
despairing prayers /; confusion in the widest
sense prevailed, for there were those who had
prepared to swim ashore, stifftned with the
cold those who had sought to drown their
fears in the frequent libations of the ardent
while some, with calm resignation, had pre-
pared themselves for the worst, and awaited
their fate in peace. Thus we passed the dis
NAL night, made still more solemn by the
church-like tolling of the bell, which seemed
to beck us on TO our funeral. .....
The scene on shore was equally painful
The boat the first officer commanded, with
thirty souls, mostly females, was strand
ed, and all, with the exception of himself
and three Others who were thrown on the
beach apparently lifeless, were lost. Here
would record an instance of female energy
seldom equaled even in the annals of the
revolution. A Mrs. Jane Elwell, who had
exerted herself by going into the water along
side of the boats and carrying the ladies
ashore, saw the almost lifeless bodies of two
ladies, and said to young man. "you take
one and I'll take the other, she picked up one
of the bodies and placed it on her shoulder
and carried it up an almost perpendicular
bluff, to a spot where they had found camp
and built fires, and afterwards. together with
many other ladies, stripped off all her under
clothes and gave them to the exhausted men
During the night number of bodies wash
ed ashore, among others a female with
child clasped in her arms, the wife Of Mr.
Brennan, who, as an extraordinary instance
of devoted love, went on shore with spade
in hand-dug up his wife and child-kisset
them-prayed over them and then re-buried
them.
~ VIC NCIC oS5dlll III
Before leaving the wreck we sent on shore all
the provisions to be found, awning and poles
for tents, beds, bedding, clothing, &c, fol
the use of those that remained. But it is tc
be regretted that the actual suffers never re,
ceived the provisions sent them, for party
composed mostly of firemen-insensible tc
humanity-and holding the advantage by
having in their possession large quantity
of firearms and ammunition, took for them.
selves almost everything that went ashore
and money was seen in their possession
which they could not have obtained hon
estly. .'- A. itI t-
STATEMENT BY A PASSENGER.
There were no passengers drowned on the
wreck, and our informant believes that not
more than fifty in all have been lost Those
that perished in the attempt to land were
confined to the first day. When the Cap
tain left the ship in the first boat, all on
board was confusion, and not five minutes
had elapsed before the he'll hounds were at
their work. A band Of robbers seemed Or
ganized at once, and began plundering the
cabin. They were armed with revolvers and
knives, and proceeded coolly to open carpet
bags andtrunks, which they ransacked with
all possible dispatch, as it was necessary to
hasten through their job in that portion of
the boat, where the water was rapidly COM
ing in. In the steerage they had full control
all nioht and no one dared to enter or to in