Daily Davenport Democrat. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1864-1874, 1865-07-28
'DAILY DEMOCRAT.
less ~ l1szAsE IS 'ynnHNW'

re-eae II the passengers of tiic burned ship
/ William Nelson
On Tuesday, the 2stbs he ky w1A with
out "A cloud the SEA smooth and the air -u-
porb The deck Of the stetper was lumin
Gus with happy faces Bdt afcw moments
after we had taken our seats at the dinner
table. at 4 O'Clock y. IL. the ship sudden
Is came t. a stop No notice was taken Of
this In an instant more wc heard hurry
ipslffWs - uwl deck. aJidSa pq. Of "A
wreck" a wredk" brought u all to
our feet We rushed up the gangway-
aud saw little tos the southwest Of The
bow of the Lafayette two frail boats filled
with Aslf,yssk q men sad women, pudding
toward us for life.
as they nearsq the side ofour ship their
uptnrncd faces beafnel as If tlr gales of
Heaven were opened to them The steps
OF the Lafayette were lowered, and 80 help
less beings were rescuei from . vstery
grave. VIII teiItler iIanii Capt Dc Bo-
cande received them one by one, and caus
Ell chairs and mattresses to be brought for
those Who had lot strength enough t..
t'ansl The Sufferers were Silent. Tears
alone spoke their gratitude.
Now ensured great moral lesson for the
Ton believers in The innate grpdnt ~ Of thu.
human heart There was scarcely a dry
eye among the hundreds that crowded the
| d., k. of The Lafayette ysArt ssvv1 on
many che K anl IL eyes unaccuS'omcd TO
wcep Ladies took from their persons rich
silks and ST utis to clothe unfortunate wo-
men. Gcnlemen duiici thrlr brOaq cloth
fer the cess,f,a IT the men an weeldna
slilor7 stripped them elves for the benefit
81 tileir fell nv svi,mtn.
The kind purscr conducted those that
could wslk IN - the cabin. nsl y asssl the
best of the ships board before them; and
the helpless were fed like bat,rs We-aw
sailol- forcing mall piece. ofl,reai. dipped
| IN vine, b't.et.n ~. passllra lips OF thc
,Aiparcckci's,antn. N as slior, iIme i,
possible thcv were all maAc comfortable.
aud the history al tlalr misfortune lscrr
ttined They were passengers in the VII.
sam Nelson. from AatMerp which had
been burned at ~ O'clock, the 26th inst ;,
| III lat. iO2i, long 90 ~ h.s Satsa
Two boats were yet out the long boat, ,
containing 81 persons, and a small boat
containing I. and a raft Oh which were
| about 100 others
Capt de Bocandc ,nn, liat,ly put his
ship about and Mt ia the direction of the
wreck of the William Melon, with the
hope Of saving more lives. At half past
five the sailors ut masthead cried, Another
boat In about an hour We made IA Rus
sian bark bnunl 10 the south of FruIce.
winch picked up the small boat containing
~, before We reached her These consist
cal II u flniilt 81 vii he tut her and moth.
or and four children, the youngest only
few weeks old, and eight sts.nen They
were nearly exhausted, and to render them
more comiorInlae, una TO FORMAL, them 20
|ihelr homes with more ~luc1 than Wa- IN
The power al the captain Of the bark Cap
tain dc !}ucanic caused them to be trans
ftrf'u t. ihc Iaisiyc.tc, making in all III
ill.,, sthy sCr- eaH rendered rp 10 his
e.irr
As the purser of the l-.fays tie handed up
these littAe 81 fhiren to tile lhslies cn deck
| lie kissed each one oi tii.m with "a tender
! i,,s- that brought tears I" many An eve
Tho k.ng boat and the ratt yrre stnf out
Wi,ha pgvmpsueSs aud humanity thai wen
| the hearts of all on board Capt. dc Bpoandc
cruisesi. ip tho vicinity ut tin wreck, tiring
,aunon and rockets till nearly morning,
| 9ui could neither hear nor see anything Of
| tllt boat and raft H. ttc,' put his s'ipnn
| iiJ cpu% II the Lafayette had not been
! delayed the second day out She would have
been ~ miles beyond The scene Of the
wreck Of the Nelson nj the time she pick
,yi mp her luss.nycrs This anti he south
crly course of the Lafayette is something
| ior All to think of
William Hothsti,n's account OF the burn.
ing of he William Nelson have obi iin,d
us isdiows-s - is .F.v
| Thr Wiliiam Nelson was q first class pack
Il sup ot New York, commanded By Capt.
Levi spiiih. She left Antwerp on the 81
| nj june and Flushing on the 4th Tor New
| York, with $50 souls on h,ard On the
voyage .hcrc lad been two births, sixteen
eases of fever and six deaths, making Ec-
qls.nt tulliig .,ions oi the -hipueee~sary.
! The mCuning of the Goth Reth~ten de.
sten,ei into tn. ship where tho sick were
! wing. and found thc air so infected as to
make tumigation Immediately neoessaryTto
,Ist,fe Tho safety of the passengers. Cap
tain Smith gave Mr. Rothsticn charge of
,lta,fs'r- the ship. witch Is done By dip
| ping heated irons into tar and swinging
hem through the air. During this process
he of the men employ Ell in i,,mlgntine let
red hot iron fall into the pail of tar
which instantly hazcd up as high as the
.eeilIng EVtlisticn, Who stood behind the
men directing them. caught Up a nmttr.ss
and flung It and himself on the pail Of
bazin9 tar. With the idea of smothering
he flame, when it exploded and threw HIN
and the lnattra,S backward ten feet. The
men now became alarmed, threw upon il
straw beds and " her ccmbus,iblc substances
which burned ike torches. In ten minutes
the flames burst up the lateh"ay ana wcn,
running up the nriinln.lst and rigging lik.
fiery serpents.
Tie scenes are now ind,scrilablc The
flames bursting out in the middle Of tn,
hip, divide it into two parts. separating
friends and families and driving them I,
the extreme ends of the burning vessel
Some became frantic and lie .ped into tn,
sea, OILERS flew up aud down the deck
wrapped in the flames ofth own CLOTHES
rend,ng the air with their shrieks Strong
MEN clenched in deadly combat for the pos
session of u life-preserver or "a spar, and
CHASTITY men aud women, with infants lash
"a to thcm. swung themselves outside tn,
shy, By ronps, to which they dung Until
the fire burned them in two and Let then
down int watery gtsve. sks
About lM perso had gathered on thc
bowsprit when the foremost fell killing
many and hurting tic rest into the sea =
When the fire first broke out ~ slilon
Seixed the iicrg boat, capable Of lioldiae
20 or 20 persons, and rowcd. Oft The,
w repfdvai!el upon TO return and take il
81 passengers.
| Capt Smith, the two mates, Rothstine
and as many Of the sailors ~ they coulo
control. lowered the three small hoati
tneither of them seaworthy), and placed il
J them l,otllstieiis wife and four thildfch
liant the rest of the Nelson's passenger.
picked up by the Lafayette AS the boat
were rowed away firm the burning ship
some CHICKENS, TO escape the flames, flew
after them and alighted on the shoulder
Of the passengers A fat pig swan up b
one Of the boats and indicated desire t.
lie saved-o lie was picked up pnd, slrwet
his grntitnd. ~ rrrnainifrg Tuiet in TIL
bottom Of the boat Some Of the chicken
had appeasefl the hunger Of the voyaser
before they were rescued. TT
4 When Captain Smith and Rothstiel