Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1852-1859, 1858-06-21
sTDAMnR PENNSYLVANIA.

Thrilling Account q, the Disaster By he Isplo-
sion and Burning of The Steamboat Penn
syIsqnia.
We quote from letter written to the cinein-
natl Commercial, BY a passenger on the iIl-iated
Pennsylvania, the following passages Of vivid
interest:
The books were not saved, but careful esti-
mate of the number of persons on board, falls
but little short of four hundred and City souls
all that were saved cannot, by any possibility,
exceed $50. II is supposed that fifty or sixty
were lost in the cabin. The boilers seemed to
be hcaved upward and forward, parting the cab
in at the gangway, and rendering the upper
works Of the boat from that point forward n
complete wreck. Out Of twenty-six state rooms.
all full, only six or eight persons have survived
Those occupying rooms aft of the gangway were
nearly all saved. When the steam and smoke
had cleared up from the wreck, there. indeed,
was a mournful spectacle presented to the vision
of the few survivors The boilers and smoke
stacks were twisted together like huge serPents,
locking in their hot embrace scores of human
beings, dead and dying. Some were killed IN
stantly; others were buried beneath the rubbish,
! to await the advance Of the flames which as yet
islumbered in the hold. Small fires that sprung
up on the forward part Of the boat were promptly
extinguished, and for the time, all danger SEEM
ed at an end.
In. the meantime the Captain, togsther. with
others, had obtained fiatbOat at the wood YARD
I of -, and were slowly working It toward the
| wreck, which they succeeded in reaching after
about half an hours hard work. The Hat was
made fast to the sern, when nearly all who were
| left alive were taken in. All the lire IN the
| forward part Ofthe wreck had been exungulsh-
ed, and we were cOngratulating ourselves as TO
our chances Of safety one more, directing our ef-
forts to the wounded and dying, when the flames
burst out amidships, preceded only moment
| by dense cloud of smoke. Indeed, so sudden
and unexpected was the fire that those ar WHO
had not reached the fiat succeeded barely IN es-
GAPING with their lives Next came a new dan
ger, and many who had thought themselves sale
gIasped their life preservers and cast longing
anxious look at the muddy waters beneath
| there were pale faces and nerves unstrung, as
the huge wreck, with its eaping flames, nearly
kept pace with the unweldly fatbOat, for there
were no oars but those belonging to the skill,
and small pieces of boards, which by some acct
dent passengers had in their hands. II was bad
seaTnanship to go below the wreck, but coniu-
sion covers a multitude of blunders- At last
4 the fat was urged away from the wreck, and
once more the saved breathed free.
Some were still on the wreck, crOuchlng ana
trying to hide from the angry heat, staying un,
| til at last they seized some plank or drift and
committed themselves to the waters The hre
was so sudden aud unexpected that those on the
bow of the boat had no means OF escaping cx-
cept by swimming.
The fat boat with the wounded, all that
could be reached, and those that were unhurt,
was ut last ''tied up at 'ShiP Island" which,
i by the way, is no island now, as the water COW
ers almost the entire surface. Hero we lay I'M
! til nearly four O'Clock in the afternoon.
| The wreck hoated majestically down the
stream, until we lost sight of her around the
point below, going, as we ascertained, some mile
or two down, and lodging on a sand-bar.
| This is but general outline Of the disaster
| of that eventful Sabbath. ThOse who nave new
er seen destruction like this cannot form the
fainteSt idea oft. One was buried unhurt
beneath the rubbish, screaming and imPioring
| for mercy and for help-mercy which only God
could grant and help which no earthly force
could render. Here was one shaking the scald-
ed flesh from his hands and arms, leaving the
white bones dry and naked; another striving IN
vain to drag huge splinter from his side; an
other with his limbs caught beneath the heated
boilers, screaming in mortal agony some with
their heads blown of; some with their bowels
protruding; others sleeping quietly IN death,
| without a mark on their persons-One, a LADY,
! blown naked from her berth, scalded and nang-
| led in most shocking manner.
! No pen can portray scenes like these-no Ian
guage convey the CHASTITY horrors that Rover
around scene like that
As to the cause of the explosion, none can
tell. Some say it was burning coal In insult
able furnaces The CRATES had just been clean
ed, and new and powerful fires were just at
| their most intense heat Some say she was
working but little steam, and that the accumu-
lation of power overcome the old and somewhat
weakened boilers. Some attribute it to low wa
ter Some, if not all, Of these things might
have been the cause; but what, in all probability
will forever remain mystery. More Of the
deck passengers were killed from the fact that
! it was cool morning, and many were standing
and lying near the boilers to keep warm. The
cause of the sudden fire amidship was the tur-
pentine slowed below J.P. lice
Morrnournr,s Nou1nAr1on.-The Hon vii.