Worcester daily spy., 1858-03-13


logue of the agricultural library in the Secre-
tary's office. The document will Of course be
sought for by farmers, who will find much inter
esting and profitable reading in it. The volume
is handsomely embellished by some dozen or fif-
teen portraits of the most noted stock in the
State, which were expressly engraved for this
work. The portraits include those of the stal.
lions "Sultan," ''Balrounie," "Trotting Child,
ers," anglo Saxon" and "Petersham Morgan, -
the bulls "Count" and "Crankill," together with
several specimens of South, down and Cotswold
sheep, and of some of the stock owned by the
State, and kept at the State Farm at Westboro'
These portraits add much to the interest and
value of the Report. and render it a valuable ad-
dition to.any public or private library.
THE BURNING OF STEAMER ELIZA BATTLE
Great Loss of Lite.-The telegraph recently re-
ported the burning Of the steamer Eliza Battle,
on the Tombigbee river, and the consequent loss
of a large number of lives. Mobile papers of the
4th inst, now at hand give full particulars of the
melancholy disaster. The Register says;
.On Monday morning, 1st inst, between two
and three o'clock, as the Eliza Battle, Capt S.
6. Stone, was coming down the Tombigbee river,
miles below Demopolis, she discovered to be
fire in the after part The alarm was immedi-
ately given, and every exertiOn made. to arrest
the flames but in vain; for owing to high
wind, and the point at which the fire first caught,
it communicated almost instantly with the ladies
cabin, and cut off all access to the life boat and
yawl. All on board were driven to the forward
part of the boat, where they remained until the
scorching flames drove them into the water.
Some were fortunate to get bales of cotton, and
some sustained themselves by clinging to the
limbs of trees for several hours, until rescued
from their peIilous position after daylight.
1t will be remembered that Sunday night was
bitterly cold and of the twenty or thirty
three who perished, it is more than probable
majority were frozen to death. The accident oc.
CURED, we learn, at point where the river was
swollen over its banks, and spread for half
mile or more into the swampy lowland, and that
when effort made to reach the shore, the
boat came in contact with large tree, which was
broken down by the violence Of the concussion,
and arrested her progress. There were between
nifty and sixty persons on board, and of these, it
is stated by some, twenty nine, and by others
thirty three, were lost. Between twelve and
thirteen hundred bales Of cotton were destroyed.
and the boat burned to the waters edge"
The Ne,oS states that the boat could not be
driven ashore on account of the burning of the
wheel ropes. BY working her engines, however,
which was done until the engineers were driven
from their posts by the fire, she was kept among
the trees until the passengers were enabled to eff
feet escape BY climbing to the limbs and
branches of trees, and by bales of cotton thrown
overheard After the wheels stopped the boat
swayed round and was driven across the river by
the force of the wind. This fortunate crcum-
stance probably saved the lives of many the sur
vivors, as they must otherwise persisted in the
flames OF the boat. The mate and pilot and some
others on cotton bales foated down the river some
four miles, shouting for help; before boats could
be obtained.
The residents of the vicinity, as soon as they
learned ofthe disaster, rendered what service was
in their power. Most of the lost were frozen
having been or less in the water and sub
jected for three or four hours te the cold North
ern blast. A list of the names of those known to
be lost is given, but none of them appear to have
belonged at the North. They we're, with one or
two exceptions, citizens of Alabama and Missis.
sippi.