The western Democrat. [volume] (Charlotte, N.C.) 1852-1870, 1858-05-04
BURNING OF A STEAMER

1he st. LOUIS democrat contains detained ac-
count of the recent destruction of the steamer
Ocean Spray by fire, while racing with another
boat. We extract the following statement of a
passenger who was on board at the time of the
disaster
Mr. Deniston, of Lynchburg Ohio, who was a
passenger, states with much particularly the OIL
gin of the FIRE. He says that when the boat start
ed out the Hannibal City backed ont Just behind
her. and when under good Roadway she was about
hundred yards in the rear He says that when
the Ocean Spray was within about a mile of where
she took fire, ho saw the Hannibal City gaining on
her, and the command was given to put turpentno
in the furnaces. He says he had been very much
interested in the race, and had taken position in
front, where the steps down together, SO that
he could see them FREEING up. They first threw in
rosin, and then the mate suggested turpentne.-
The Capt. was by when the order was given, and
the men went down into the hold and brought up
barrel of turpentine, which had been consigned
to some person in Peoria. The men took an axe
and split the head of the barrel and then, under
orders of the mate dipped the fluid out and threw
it over the coal that was lying by. This was not
expeditions enough, and the head of the barrel
was knocked in, and bucket with piece of rope
to it was used to dip out the trrpentine. The
barrel at this time standing rot mo<e> than six
feet from the furnace doors. After dipping with
the bucket and sprinkling the Goals, sticks of wood
were taken up and their ends plunged into the
barrel, and then laid down between the barrel and
the furnace. While lying there, of the fire
men i'll pulling out his rake jerked out live coal,
as is supposed, on the wood, when it Immediately
ignited, and biazed up furiously The mate sworc
at the men and ordered them to throw water on
the fire. The water seemed to drive the flames to
the barrel, which was soon al-a blaze The mate
grew furious, and cursing the hands, ordered them
to cast it overheard. In attempting to do this the
barrel was upset, and the burning fluid in an in
slant spread all over the deck and poured in fiery
torrents down into the hold at this the cry Of
fire was shouted and the alarm became general.
Mr. Deniston says that he Immediately ran up
stairs for his baggage. He dragged his trunk
and carpet sack as far us the clerks office, when
he saw the flames coming in at the door in front
of him. He dropped the trunk, and made
dash for The stairway through the flames. Some
how, he says, he reached the bottom of the stairs
but not without having his hair and eyebrows
singed. Herer at the forward deck, he found a
crowd of men all waiting for the boat to strike
shore. He jumped when the rest did, and landing
safely, he began to throw in the river all the
peices of wood or logs he could gather On the
shore. While on the shore he saw the women
rushing over the top of the boat, some on the hur-
ricane roof, and some even with their children up
on the texas, all implorng for help and screaming
from the fright of the moment He saw one
mother bring three children to the edge of the
hurricane roof the oldest being probably about ten
years old She first caught the youngest in her
arms, and gave it desperate fling 1t struck the
shore with great violence, and must have been
riously injured. The second child she could not
throw so far, and it fell in the water, where its
little hands, padding above the surface, arrested
the attention of some gentlemen who reached in
and saved it. The third child, being heavy, fell
farther from shore, and would probably have
drowned but for some noble-hearted man, who,
having witnessed the efforts of the heroic mother,
plunged in head foremost and brought the child to
the shore. The mother afterwards leaped in the
water and was rescued. Some four FIVE
were found clinging to one woman who was hold
ing on to the rudder of the Star of the West. The
captain, clerk, pilots, and mate were saved
All the cabin boys but called Hank wercsavcd
Mr. Deniston thinks there have been less
than twenty lives lost There were some sixty or
seventy passengers in all, good many of these
deck passengers.