Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1856-10-04
: IlIll,n-Io-1. olF THIs NIAefARA.

the burning StcstnSt. ,r
and Mrs Hamilton Chalmers, ofGloueester coun-
IL. New Brunswick. They had, by great indus
try and economy, laid up few hundred dollars
and were morning to Minnesota to buy small
farm, and lost everything they had IN the worid
on the boat but few shillings IN their pockets
Bnt they say they care nothing for that; II they
had their children they could begin life again at
the bottom of the ladder with good heart
Mrs Chalmers SAYS that when the tire broke out
she was outzide the steeTage cabin on the main
iael. with her husband and children. She saw
the stern boat lowered, and observing IN 1t 4 NO
men whom she knew, she thought II the boat
reached the ahoTc, and she hers.ll dld moi, that
woman would be like mother To her children,
:, I,r commenced throwing her smaller children
into it. intending to keep the baby by her, be-
cause she could the easier support II IN the wat
- Than the others She had thrown two into
the boat when it showed off She bad one IN her
hands to throw, hut it was too late TO throw 50
large one TO the boat, accordingly she seized
the baby supposing she had strength 10 throw 'NI
If 10 the retTeatinE boat. She had not, howeT-
er. the baby fell into the water loot rom Inc
I,rat. she screamed to the women IN the boat TO
save II and had the satisfaction Of seeing her
reach out. grasp It, and draw it into the boat.
She then directed her efforts to the five chill
dren about her pushed the oldest boz oil twelve
years into the water with direction to swim al
lef the Small " ~ "a
not take him in She thinks he did actually
reach il. but cannot be certain She then pushed
her oldest child girl of fourteen, INTO the water
in hopes she could cling to something. She has
heard since arriving here that girl of that age
was rescued, and thinks maybe 1t was thls one.
She then had three small children remaining
Her husband got into tine water and she passed
.b,m down to him, and he placed them on one
of the capsized boats floating near. She then
got down by a rope. On reaching the water she
found the waves had washed two OF the children
! of the small boat. She managed to catch them
both with one arm an hold them up, still cling
ing TO the rope with the other hand, and main
tanning her hold in the midst of all the desperate
struggles around her At last the rope burned
ofF hove and she sank down, down, down, with
Others who had been clinging to the same rope
When she came up again, she had lost one child.
/ She managed TO throw her disengaged arm, ov-
er stick and hang on to it with tho child IN the
other.
She then looked for the child she had lost,
| but although many heads were around her, ana
some of them chiidrenS heads, they were all SO
! begrimmcd with the oil and ashes and SCOT on
the surface of the water, that she could not dis
| tinguish their features, and they sunk one after
another without her being able to recognize her
own. She then directed all her efforts to save
the one in her arms, and she feels confident she
could have done SO, but pulled her arm oil from
/ the STICK when suppOTIpu uSI- Cuc ICSnlhEu
/ her hold and her hand was again pulled oil ana
herself pushed away by the man. Then She
sunk down, down, down, again. She struggled
to rise, and finally did rise, but the last child
was gone, though she thought until she reached
! the surface and saw TO the contrary, thot She
had it still in her arms.
! She was then on the water without support
She had fioated some distance away from the
steamer but she saw her husband upon the cap
sized boat, holding one Of the chlldreni that
lsirht insured her with fresh courage Alas
she kne.s not at that moment that the little one
ihc held il his arms was already llieleSs, Dut II
was even so. At that instant plank struck her
breast; she threw her arms around 1t and tileu
to reach her husband but con'd-not PTopei her
lsaIf in the water. She felt her strength now
rapidly failing; she was entirely alone; she saw
the schooner and the Traveller, but saw also
that tey were far, far away; she knew she
could not hold on to her buoy until they came
up but she remembered that persons drowning
ALWAYS shut their teeth firm she therefore seiL-
cd her dress at the bottom in front, brought it
up around the plank and put it between her
teeth so that it held the plank fast across her
breast. She found it would support her thus
and settled calmly back to await the result
She remembered nothing more. She was taken
TN by the Traveller, and when she was restored
to consciousness had the happiness Of finding
her husband at her side, and her children
lWhcrc were theyT
The presence Of mind and hcTOsm this poor
mother displayed under the circumstances, are
indeed remarkable. She related the circum-
stances to US yesterday without any apparent
conviction that she had done more than Others
but with the evident wish that she could have
done vet more for her children. She did not
weep: hers was beyond the grief that finds re-
lief in tears bat when the rescued of her little
flock are clasped in her arms this morning, her
eyes will burst, or else her heart will break.
The Chicago Press Of Saturday gives some
further particulars 1t says that Captain NIL
Her was not awakened in time to assume any
command.
The mate was ut the wheel when the fire
broke out He Immediately proceeded to the
quarter deck to launch the boats, but could not
find hand to help him from the crew. With
the assistance of passengers he launched one OF
the quarter boats, which was the only one safe
liz launched, aud which saved over twenty per-
sons.
-Four children of the heroic Mrs. Chalmers
we're saved in this boat; the three that she
threw in and the oldest boy that she directed to
swim after it. Mr.. Martin HOughton, wife and
two children, of Westport Rideau Lake, were
also saved in this boat
! There were Eve boats on the Niagara, which
liz they had been properly launched and handled,
could have saved every person on board. One
Iof the lfe-boats on the upper deck was launched
without any line being attached to it, and driftcd
off so far that no one could reach it.
While the stern boat was launched nearly fill
cd with people, a man jumped into it from the
hurricane deck, striking it with such force that
the rope broke at the bow, and the people were
all spilled out and drowned together, while the
boat was swanped and rendered useless
While Captain Mitchell men were out in the
small boat, and he was alone on his veSscl-the
Mary Grover-drifting with the wind, he saw a
man and woman, one at each end of plank
struggling tomaintain their hold AS the swells
rolled by, one would go under and then the 9TH
err, and when their heads were above water they
would cry for help. The long hair Of the woman
was floating out upon the water. Before the
small boat came back they had sunk to rise no
more, and the Captain was compelled to witness
their struggles and hear their suPP!ications with
out any power to aid them. The scene will new