The Davenport daily gazette. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1856-1869, 1857-07-04
THI DISASTER on rHE ST. LAwRIScE.
TERRIBLE DETAILS OF THE LOSS.

ships, Immediately over the boiler room;
smoke was first seen 10 issue from one of
the state rooms; IL was very dense, 20 dense
hat In less than five minutes IL was impos-
,iblc To see any thing ~ the saloon. In ten
the flames burst out, AMI filled the
saloon, and burst out on both sides; | wa,
In the saloon when thi. occurred; lowered
myself down by the side Of the vessel and
while was doing 10 ] saw one man trying
To get boat oil tie upperdesk. lie culIcll
mc to his assistance, he looscne the = :,
Of the boat and held enc end and the 9th
CT, and together we lot her down. | slid
down the rope. In less than live minutes
the boat was under water, with the crowd
that rushed into IL. Tho flames soon became
80 intense that jumped out Of the boat in
to the water, and swain towards another
boat ] saw coming 10 our rescue, but ID shot
past me and made for boat al the side Of
the Montreal, swan back and got under
the boat that came 10 our ass stance. There
were n number Of females in the water, and
seven OF eight Of them chung To inc; these
were taken one BY one, and wa, di.cntan
glcd.
Tho boat took its load to Napoleon, and
immediately ! saw a number Of small boat
from the Napoleon reach the Montreal, and
understood that the boat which reached
the Montreal, did not belong to the Napo-
leon but to q passenger On Lizard. II was
only after violent alteration, and the pas
scngcr, insisting on it. being sent. heard
the captain of tie Napoleon cur.ing the
owner II tho boat. In my opinion the
whole affair was very badly managed. l
think fully one quarter uf an hour elapsed
before assistance came from tile Napoleon.
II was between 20u aud so0 yard oil from Us
when the iirc broke out. The Montreal
wa, 25J yards from the shore the Montrc
al was headed for the shore in about ten
minutes after the alarm was given, and the
lame, had broken ont in the manner already
stated. l think she ought To have been
headed for the shore sooner. She got
aground in the attcmp, 10 reach il, and
stuck last, nearly a, Tar of the shore "A.
when the lire broke out saw no On. give
or take direction. or command On board OF
the Montreal, all was ia utter confusion
| think she might have got nearer To the
shore with proper management, and the de-
strnctlon Of lille have been made less. No.
body saved anything v ha'e,cr except wLa,
h'- VII 'htb PNtNbii-. WIS ITO Ii1llt
10 look back. The Montreal is burnt to
the water, edge The boiler exploded
some time after flames broke out heard
the Montreal had been ON fire twice pi,yi-
o'is during tue afternoon ~ tl. same day,
and that IN cons equcnce they had u person
60 watch. ! understand the furnace, were
badly secured, and the wood work not prop
erly protected by metal skirting. | Lad
this from the captain of the Napoleon.
The scene wa, appallingly terrific beyond
description on board the Montreal and on
the Napoleon afterwards, the scenes II dis.
trees were most heart-rcnding. Here and
there one saw persons seeking Tor their chill
dren, and children seeking for their parents
with terror and dismay depicted on Their
faces, anxious to catch iiIings Of those the,
loved. saw good many bodc. badl,
burned and disfgurcd, and many pcrsons in
intense suffering, which those ON board tried
TO assuagc NY means Of scrnpcd potatoes, &c
There were from 45O to 5OO passengers on
board 80 Of those were cabin passengers ;
l25 bodies living and dead were taken out
ii the water.
ANOTHER ACCOUNT.
The number saved IS from LIS 70 100 pas
sengcrs, but their baggage and effects are
lost, and sosnc oi the poor creature. brought
up by the steamer Napoleon, were almost ia
state Of nudity. The passengers wer,
principally cmigsAnts--Scotch and Norwe
.ians. The former arr tic larger proper
ton, and most vi the saved have to lament
the loss of their nearest and dearest relatives
Many of them arr women and children
n (sx. I..sg = 81 ...E.
about a year Old, who was picked out u ia,
water, hut whom nobody claims. Several
Il those saved are slightly wounded, bu,
none u them dangerously.
The steamer, ON the breaking out Vi the
lire, was Immediately headed towards the
shorc, but the water l. shallow and she ran
IN rock within 40 yards Of shore. We
are sorry t. record that the people showed
srcat inhumanity in not attempting To res.
cue the sufferers, hut display cd great activi.
~ in stealing their effects. The passenger
were trcatcd with the utmost Kindness and
Supplied with every comfort possible, OF
board the Napoleon.
One of the passengers, Mr.. IIavs, says:
While in the water, either hanging to ths
steamboat or 10 the smallboat. by which b,
nas eventually saved, he was repeatedly
-rappled by unfortunate persons in tie act
~ drowning, anil III the moment when he
laid hold oi the hoai's gnnncl. he believes
that six persons, chiefly women, had hold of
garments. These the boatmen rescued.
During this his final struggle for life, his sui
.rings Of mind and body were intense, and
were increased by the dreadful cries and
dcath-shricks Of drowning pcrsons ON every
side around him. These he described rs
being awful in the extreme.
Men, women and children were suffering
tho torturcs Of tirc and drowning. On one
hand poor creature would be seen on All
outside part Of the steamer, where resting
place could he obtained only by the closes
hold with hands and feet, and there hanging
IN torture till driven by the smoke aud
flames he or she had to take the fatal plunge
nto the cold river below. Tn another III
fcctian stalwart men might be- seen seeking
10 secure themselves about the iron Of the
Guards or paddles Some IL them lost their
hold, and sunk nj once. Others managed
10 hold ON Cor space, but at last they had
to give up from sheer fatigue, or by the
pressure II other sufferers seeking u secure
the same refuge. Here iamilie, were pre-
P"ihh anu aeteiHaihur W ue to-iHtr
there the husband or the wife Jaw his or
aer partner Forever separated. Women
with children in their arms leaped into the
water; Others held ON 10 the bnrnin. wreck
until losing their footheld th.s fell and
were lost forever.
Besides those who were taken ON beard
tic Napoleon, q Few persons, Mr.. Hayes
thinks not more than twenty, succccded ia
swimming an shore or To the rock. in the
immediate neighberhood Of the beach.
Only three cabin passengers arr reported
"a be saved out o. the whole number.
Mr.. llaye, himself, after remaining. as he
believes, nearly half nm hour, hanging ON 20
the vessels eide, found il too hot 70 remain
lher any longer, and struck cut boldly ior
\ boat which was approaching. Ito swan
TO the boat, but a the men on board saw q
nuch larger number Of persons in jeopardy
II their lives, hanging round the wreck, they
neglected Mr.. Hayes calls 10 be taken in.
and it MAS not until he succeeded in clutch
ng tho boat and raising himself UP by his
,wn muscular force that he felt himself
.alc.
Mrs. MAJOR General John 3. Cano.
ha ..c l. l.