Weekly national intelligencer., 1860-05-12
A TERRIBLE CASUALTY.

/
The telegraph announced two or three days ago
the drowning of twentynne persons mostly young ladies'
who were participating in picnic party at Boykn's Mill
Pond Camden, South Carolina. The Sumter Watch
man the particulars of this terribly affecting affair
flat boat of considerable had short time pre-
vous been built and placed upon the pond for purposes
pleasure goody number (probaby thirty more) OF
the company embarked upon this boat intending pass
over and around the pond These consisted chiefly of
young ladies' there being but sufficient number of gen.
temen as was supposed, to manage the boat and afford
company and protection for the ladies' They had been
out some e and the centre of pond when
the boat ran on spag This excited little fears
was supposed that speedy extrcaton could be effected
All was life and spirit; all hope and happiness Soon
it perceived that the great pressure of the boat
the n consequence of the number it contaned)
puncturing its botom and that the water making its
way inside Now the excitement began. Now fear began
to picture its sad traces upon those just happy
tenances Now the tender and timid ladies' called upon
their protectors for that assistance and deverance which,
painful to say, they unable to afford Momentarly
the danger became greater and moentarily the excite
ment of those on board well those Shore became
more intense. 1t that deverance would have come,
and that the boat would have probably been pushed off and
enough to the shore for many if not ALL to have
escaped had not been that those who stood each end
Ga white man and negro with their poles, aborng with
all their power showed each in the same direction thus
mutually destroying the effect Of their efforts Soon in
few moments she began to sink When this was seem
and the fact that she could not be moved became pp
rent the scene became frghtful indeed The widest
excitement and fear seemed to seize every heart and but
few if any sufficiently collected to enable them to
employ their efforts for advantageoJsly In few
moments more she sank, when the scene may be better
imagined than described Piercing cries and shreks and
calls for help both from those shore and those on the
unfortunate boat filled the air Sisters and brothers, pa
rents and children relatives and friends whose hearts were
bound together by the and dearest Of earthly ties
and animated by the warmest and most tender Affection
there-some the sinking boat and some on the
shore. Oh how rudely those confding hearts
as4pder and ravshed with wild and aching grief! The
boat to have committed them to the bosom of the
water huddled together, mainly mass. The wateris
supposed to have been about twenty feet in depth Thus
which belongs only to those drowning condition. there
little opportunity for the males the company res
cue the ladies or even to themselves But few, we
have not been appr ed of the exact number saved of
those upon the Boat. -
The heavy afction suffered by two of the families in
Camden in consequence of this heartrendng calamity may
be learned from the following letter: .a s.. i, ,.
-taa.9 p s rs8s CAMDEN, Is. CO. MAY6, 1860 1#
''We in the midst of of the awful and nys-
terous provdences in the annals of any people fishing
party Of some fifty OF sixty started off yesterday morning
full of life, and twenty five of the number have met with
watery gravea of them quite young the eldest being
about thirty-fve. Such sight never witnessed May
God grant may another such have not had
hours sleep since Friday night and almost broken
down with fatigue and excitement You win probably see
the particulars in the papers, and will only add that in
one family there four and lin another five victims
We took them to their respective homes last night and OH
such waing and screams heard MAY the God az
Justice be God of Mercy and pour the oil Of comfort into
their hearts merely write to let you know that am
preserved and kept by the goodness and mercy of God
Oh that it may be a. warming ALL and that we may
lay it to heart 't5 s, ia y e3sal II I6i 't56 go