The north Iowa times. [volume] (M'Gregor [i.e. McGregor], Iowa) 1856-1857, 1857-10-07
The Central America Disaster,
STAT MENT or MINER AND HIS STRUGGLES.

About three minutc before the vessel lurch-
cd down stem foremost. / was swept off the
dc ok 10y heavy sea, bat as / was going down
| was caught at by three or for men W he were
in the water, who pulled off my life prcscrver
in the struggle. | rose up. and hcn, a good
swimmer. kept afloat. When the vessel went
down, just laid under her bows-her bowsprit
hit me Oh the shoulder, and should have been
carried down, hut she went little at and
cleared me.
a fearful noi.c followed her going down. 1t
continued for some ten minutes then all was
still. Every one on board knew she was bound 10
go down Immediately. Fifteen or sixteen lock-
cd themselves UP in the st t. rooms, saving they
would rather die there than 90 down strug-
Cling with death in the waters. Five or
six were sick in their bcrths, and persisted that
way.
! was fortunate enough to srize a piece of
board abo:t three feet long and fourteen inches
wide and this. " it'll the aid of swimming kept
me afoat. In the heavy sea, | was three Or
four times separated from this board, but recov-
cred it each lime. ! remained nine no; rs in
the water.
/ saw many floating around me-some of
them dead, the result of cold, fatigue, and hun
ger. for there was scarcely time to eat anything
during TIL tllirtv-siX hours we were lun ping.
the water dashing over and a, oand me, bit used
every effort not to yield.
About six o'clock on the morning of Sunday,
the 18Th, l swan to the Norwegian bark Ellen.
l had 81 en- Ter an horr before. When ! was
washed overheard had no coat On.
After the vessel went down, and had got
out of the crowd l pulled off my boots in the
water, (and difficult Thing it was by stand
irg in the water, which co;.ld do, as swan
well.
had about me in coin and dust, alb lut TWEEN
ty pounds weight of gold. 1t was in belt
bucklcd round me ; SO that could loose it
and throw it off in moment if found it likely
to bear me down.
belong to Phillips, ort, Sullivan county,
State of New York, and had been three years
and quarter in California, where worked as
miner, and met with success.
With the exception of being little sore and
stiff fora day or two, felt no harm from what
l have Undergone. Many Of the rest were
much battered and bruised in the water BY be-
ing Knocked about against spars. broken timber
and such like.
gratefully and humbly acknowledge my
deep obligation to Providence for having
brought me safe out Of these great pcrils under
which so many sunk.
SrEruEN CALDWELL.
Capt. VIM. L. Herndon. the commander of
tie Central America, and who is among the lost ,
was an experienced ard gallant Off Ger of the
L. S. Navy. BY birth he was Virgnian, and
WAS in his 70: tieth year. 1t was he who con-
Quoted the famous exploring expedition to the
Valley Of the Amazon River, in 1852. His
family. consisting Of his wife and daughter, re-
side in New York city. When the first news
Of the melancholy fate Of his vessel was re-
ceived i'll New York, his wife SAID that she hid
no hope of his escape, "for he would stick to the
ship TO the last. and would save everybody
else fore he woald attempt 10 save him
SELF
The roahlessness Of Gold.
1t is stated by many of the surviving pass
engers that there was seldom so lrrgc an amount
of money owned by JassenSeis us was in the
case of those on the Central America. Many
were persons of large means, end there were
but very few whose immediate wealth did not
amount to hundreds, while numbers rec koned
their gold by the thousands of dollars. The
greatest portion of the passengers were r,t nm
cd miners, some coming hither to invest the
capital they had realized in hopes to live life
of greater ease as the result of their ind stry,
and others to get their families and once more
60 to the land of gold. Bat as the storm con-
tnucd TO rage, less and less of gold was thought
of, and when. on Saturday, il became evident
that they were likely at any moment TO be buri-
ed beneath the waves, wealthy men Invested
themselves of their treasure belts and scattered
the gold upon the cabin floors, telling those to
take it who would, lest its weight few oun
ccs or pounds-ca;ry them to ,heirdeath. Full
purses, containing III some instances $4,000.
were laying untouched on sofas. Carpet bags
we're o. eHed by men and the shining coin and
the shining metal was POURED out on the floor
with the prodigality of deaths desIair. One of
the pass; gers who has fortunately beenrescued,
opened Il bag and dashed about the cabin floor
500 900 in gold dust, and told him who wanted
to crafty Lis greed for gold to take it but it
was passed by Untouched as the veriest dross.
A few no re before, he would have struck down
The MN who would have attempted to take
grain of that which he now sp rnsd from him
X. r. County BoNDs.-The Executive CON-
nitee of the McGrcgor r. Road, John Thomp-
on President, l. f. Mack Secretary, have held
meeting at St. Charles. Floyd Co., and have
Received to release the county of Chiekasaw
rom the payment Of a portion Of her SIT 1000
bonds voted last spring TO the Road on condi- |