Cleveland daily leader. [volume] ([Cleveland, Ohio]) 1865-1873, 1866-02-24
G0NvALESGENCE OF THE WIDOW.
Letters from Mr.. H. N. Raymond.

nObOOlS AOM MIs L. N' AtdJ AuVuu'
We have been kindly permitted to publish
passages from the following letters from Mr..
Henry N. Raymond, of the firm of Ray
mond, Lowe & Co., of this city, who is now
i IN vicksburg, Miss, attending upon his
mother, Mrs. Samuel Raymond, who was
seriously injured a short time after the ex-
plosion of the steamer wv. R. Carter" at
Island No. SO, Mississippi river, on
the morning of the I'd inst. 1t
will be seen that Mrs. Raymond is
convalescing, and a dispatch from her son,
received here yesterday noon, announces that
she is improving so rapidly, that they hope
soon to start for their home in this city.
The body of Mr.. Raymond has not been
found, Notwithstanding the vigilance of
numerous parties, and the son believes it
was swept into the Gulf. These letters give
a full and very graphic description of the
terrible events of that dreadful morning,
when q hundred people, while yet asleep,
were blown to atoms, and another hundred
persisted in the ice-cold water of the river,
into which they plunged, amid a struggling
herd of frightened mules and horses, to es-
cape the awful fate which all must have
met who staid on the burning steamer.
The following letter to his wife was re-
ceived from Mr.. H. N. Raymond, on Thurs
day afternoon:
VIcKsBURe, Monday, Feb. II, 1866.
arrived here in safety Sunday evening
IA fact which l telegraphed you this morn
ingl. When about two miles from Vicks-
burg, owing to a culvert having been wash
ed away by the late rains, the cars we're
stopped and those who could footed it the
rest of the way. On arriving at the Prem
tiss House, which is the best hotel here, l
found Mr.. Hoffner waiting for me in the
hotel office. Poor man, he looked care-worn,
and there was that on his countenance which
showed how great was his grief for his loss.
Whilst 1 was at supper he went ID stairs to
inform mother Of my arrival. When | went
up to see her, / found her bolstered up in
bed and looking very pale. Before went to
my room she gave me all the details OF that
terrible catastrophe, which in many respects
was different from my previously conceived
idea OF the accident. So far was their state
room removed from the boilers that she has
DO remembrance of having heard the explo-
sion. The boat Qike all the first class Mis-
sissippi boats) was long, and their state
room Gas only three doors from the end Of
the ladies cabin, farthest remover from the
boilers. The first thing that reused them
both from sleep was the sudden change in
the motion of the boat and the crashing
noise of broken glass and falling over of the
atOpaa NoFhar c0ua WithOuf onaniDn tho
door leading from their state room into the
main cabin, and without speaking, both as
quickly as possible commenced dressing.
There was also q door opening out Of their
state room on the outside. Father opened
this door and stepped out into the passage
way, and whilst putting on his pants there,
discovered that the boat was on fire, but
as the wind was blowing the smoke
away from where they were, they were not
Inconvenience by it. Though they knew
the boat was on fire, so far did the fire seem
from them, that they finished dressing with
considerable deliberation. Mother put on,
besides her underclethes, her balmoral skirt,
brown Empress dress, cloak, bonnet, and
even put on her hoop skirt, thinkingi in case
she should plunge into the water it might
help buoy her up. Both had on their life
preservers (made of cork.) The only article
# dress which mother has no recollection of
having put on was her cloak, which she
thinks father fastened around her neck when
he tied the life preserver about her. futAo-
as completely and deliberately dressed HIM
self, even to putting on his hat. It was 0y
his hat ttuJ she Knewlt was he whom she
afterwards saw floating in the water, as he
was the only one on the boat that had on a
''stoTe pipe" hat. The last thing mother
picked up on leaving her state room was
fathers watch, which she putin herpocket.
| mention this to show that amid all the ex-
element Of the hour she never once lost her
presence of mind, or acted other than with
wonderful GOODNESS and deliberatiOn most
wonderful. The last thing father did in the
state room was 60 open his satchel and take
his brandy flask out, or at least mother
thinks that is why he opened it, that by
some it might prevent their being
by the water. After dressing they
together to the stairway in rear of
the ladies' cabin, and descended to the laun-
dry room beneath, or nearly beneath that
end of the cabin, and were helped out ofthe
window by one of tho colored walters, who
was helping out some Of the colored women.
Mother was the only white woman saved
who escaped through the laundry room.
wrenched off one of the state room
doors and with it dropped himselfto the floor
Of the lower deck. Mother followed, but in
dropping held her limbs stiff, and Of course,
dropping a distance of not more
than six or seven feet, received
a terrible shock, and snapped in two one OF
The bones of the leg near the ANGLE. In an
she knew her limb was broken. for
,he could not step on it. She says before
she let go her hold she thought she would
irop squarely on her feet to avoid spraining
ler ancle, and SO you see it was this
.ndeavor to drop straight down thai caused
ler TO hold her limb stiff. When she found
Ter leg was broken she said she felt that she
must give up, and sat down on the lower
leck close to the bales of hay and mules,
which were fenced off from the space where
he sat. Before l proceed farther with an
.ccount of what followed, l will explain
the engine and boiler were placed in
he front of the boat on the lower deck the
cabin was above and behind
hese; the ladies' cabin in the rear of hat.
on the upper deck, in the rear of the
aides cabin, il a stairway leading down TO
laundry room, which extends about half
yay down in the space between decks. Just
Jack of this was the window out of which
aother was helped when she received the
and below this was the place where
he sat down in despair Of being able to save
lerselE At the rear of this deck the darkies
vere pitching of bales of pressed hay.
had dragged herself TO this place,
nd drew herself up on one of the bales, but
caring she would be pitched off with one of
be bales, she drew herself along to the
light hand. On that side of the boat the
were confined within an enclosure,
ut the outer ratings being knocked down,
hey began jumping into the water, and soon
ne water about the boat was filed with the
animals. There were 300 mules
nd 80 horses. 1t is supposed many persons
Tere drowned by being trampled down by
&c mules. When father let himself down
/, the lower deck he dropped upon the spot
here mother had crawled. She says from
le time father tore off the door he lost his
resence Of mind, though perhaps he was
of what he was doing when he
Ient into the water. Mother soon lost sight
T HIM. He was floating, when last seen by
er, on top of the door, or rather his arm
as over the door, and he holding on by it.
Iother, seeing a bale of hay floating by
18th five or SIX men (blacks) on it, thought
trying to get on it, but feared she might
; pushed off by them. She lowered hero
III, however, into the water by means of a {
'Pe which hung down from above (proba-
y one OF the life boat ropes), and seized
Did Of the first object that came within her 1
aeh, which, fortunately, was a.bale of hay 1
ith one man on it. He took hold of her {
IN, and thus helping her to keep her head '
It of the water they hoated away. All of
,r person was submerged in the water but
n head and one arm. so they hoated down
the Steamer Evening Star, which, /
rtunately, came along in about thirty 10 0
Ety minutes. Life boats sent out picked !
mother aud this mar. There is but lit I
: doubt but that nearly every soul on board d