Daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1865, 1860-11-23
Destruction of the Steamer Pa.
Citlc by Fire.
[From the Lonlsviiie Courier Extro,7

GifiC by Fire.
! tFrom the Louisville Courier Extro.l ~
BOAT AND CARGO TOTAL Loss-cAPr. LAM
DnowNED-ALL THE cABIX PASSENGERS
1 SAVED But ONE-B0oKs AND PAPERS LOST
TWO OF THE CREW AND TWO cuILDREs
BURNT-NEARLY ONE THOUSAND HEAD Oh
STOCK BURNT-sTATEMENT or THE OFF.
GERS. te.z sr.,5 .+.=..,.
The officers and crew of the ill-fated
Pacific arrived here about O'Clock this
morning on the z. H. sFnirchild, and from
AIeSsrs. Smith and Barclay, the clerks
Frank Hurry, the bar-keePer, Mr.. Brad
shaw, the carpenter, and Others, we learn
the following particulars: E..
The Pacific, in charge of Capt Lamb,
left this port on Saturday evening, about
o'clock, and aftera brief stop at New
Albany, where she received few passeu-
gers and alot of cement anu other freight,
she proceeded on her voyage, stopping at
Canuelton, Evansville and Henderson. and
other ssPlnces, reaching Uniontown, Ky,
before dark, where she landed to coal.-
| She had been ut the coal landing about
three-quArteTS of au hour, with a coal float
on each side, when the fearful cry of fire
rcSonndcd through the boat, and in an al :
most incredible short space of time the
flames had gathered such Roadway that
it was found Impossible to save the bont,
and the passengers were hurried on shore
as fast as possible, the forward gangwuy
then being free. The fire caught in a lot
OF hay slowed on the deck on barrcadcs,
ms usual, alongside Of the boilers, on the
iarhoard or outside guard. The second
mate, Mr.. Mahoney; the carpenter Mr..
bradshaw; and Jacob Hess, one of the
t6reakag out the burning bales, but despite
their utmost efforts, the FIRE spread, invol-
wing the upper works in solid flame, and
at once the utmost disGnay aud confusion
cnsucd among the passengers and almost
all on board. The second engineer, B.
| NGwhall, who was on watch ut the time,
stood maufully at his post. making every
| effort to attach the fire hose to the pumps,
but in vain. He then raised the snfcty-
valves to let the steam escape, staying by
the boat to the last moment, and then
jumping overheard, swan ashore, losing
Everything but the clothes he had on.-
Most of the other officers and crew lost all
their clothing, except the first engineer
and one ofthe pilots. They saved trunk
apiece, we believe.
! Capt. Lamb, Frank Smith aud Robert
| Barclay, the clerks, were in the Hall to-
gether, with number of passengers and
citizens of UniOntown, when the alarm
was first given. The Captain, on ascer-
tanning the impossibility of saving the
boat, turned his attention to the pns5eu-
gers. and with the clerks was active in
getting the females ashore. Mr.. Smith,
the chief clerk, then sprang to the office to
save his money and books, b,it such was
the terrible speed of the dcvouring elc-
ment that he was barely able to save n
single package from the safe. All the
books, the cabin register, money in the
desk, clothing, and all lost. The package
saved was l,500 belonging to Capt. Brag-
don, the chief owner of the boat From
the time the first fire broke ont, it was less
than fifteen minutes before she was burnt
to the waters edge, n drifting mass of Ere,
the lines that held her to shore having
burnt off the bits on the forecastle. The
forward deck was slowed with bacon in
casks, all ofwhich was on ire in less than
FIVE minutes, and the escape of those then
on board to the shure was cut off.
Among those known to be lost by the
disaster were: Captain Lamb, who was
drowned from the stern of tue boat; Jacob
Hess, one of the crew, who had been on
the boat long time, and resided ut Port
land; Emily, slave girl, the property of
Mr.. Hurry, the har-kceper; - - Tazewell,
a free negro cabin boy from Lebanon, Ky;
1.-The othec a girlabout three years old
grand-child of ain Irish woman from Port
land, who was going to New Orleans; and
n femulc, supposed to be n servant of one
of the passengers. Three feulules were
seen to jump overheard together, and but
one of them was sHIel. Several of the
crew are missing. and one or two deck
passengers; also n Mr.. MNrmillion, q
Frcuchman, who took passage from tho
Louisville Hotel. The most of the passen-
gers stopped ut Uniontown, and several
went to Evansville on the E. a. Fuirchild
and from what could be learned, the above
are all VINO were missing.
A gentleman of the name of Mcdonald
: of Indiana, in the last stages of consump,
tion. who was passenger on the boat
, with his wife, journeying South, expired
in the arms of his faithful wife, amid the
excitement of the occssion.a She, howcv.
er, clung to him until the very last, anG
was only forced from the corpse by tbs
mate, who took her of in the yawl. The
boat was al ius fnmessaround her, and shI
= had to climb. down on II fender to the wa
:. ter. only y-about'a a moment before the decl
she had stood upon tell into the raging
4 fire below. This WAS after the boat hat
been burnt loose from her mooring
ashore. 5es
The last seen of Capt. Lamb was ats
he had passed the carpenter, Mr.. Brad
shaw, in the passage alongside of the cab
in, on his way aft. Thegcnrpenter jumped
Ebovcrboard aft of the water-wheel, ant
SWAN ashore, as the entire forward par
UEof the bout was q massIof flames. Cap
Etain Lamb procecded to the stern an
liclimbed downsthelderricllt thnt is usedtt t
susDendg tile iyRyyl. thinking to escape b,