The Marietta journal. [volume] (Marietta, Ga.) 1866-1909, 1871-09-08
THE moRrLE HOLOCAUST.

The Register prints minute details
Of the awful catastrophe at Point
Clear last Sunday. The main facts
have already been given in our tele-
grams. One of the witnesses says:
There was a large number of
Creole girls on board, only one of
whom escaped. noticed a party
of young ladies-all strangerS-in
charge Of young man from the
city. | saw them all blown up. |
saw one of the young ladies up in the
air. estimate the loss in killed
and wounded at about 20.
Another witness says:
was sitting in the eastern end of
the hotel piazza, about sixty yards
from the boat. A young girl, one
of the passengers, attracted my at
tention by her tardy movement to-
wards the boat. She was walking
very slowly, though the boat was
about to put off. She seemed to
hesitate and look back. Then she
started forward at quicker pace,
and was about 40 yards from the
boat, when the explosion occurred.
In that case there was safety in de-
Law, for a half minute more, and she
would have reached the fatal spot.
The boat gave out queer, Kissing
sound, for some time before the eX-
plosion, Then came the report, fol-
} lowed by a rumbling, Kissing sound.
Fragments of timber and metal flew
in all directions. The forc-part OF
the boat and cabin were completely
carried away. The chimney fell to-
wards the stern of the boat crushing
the upper cabin. The boat imme-
diately sank, with her bow submerg-
ed. The tide was rather high, and
the depth of water around the boat
was not less than about seven feet.
| knew, in a moment, that it must
be a great disaster, and | hurried to
the spot to see what | could do for
Q the victims. met wild, surging
crowd of consternated survivors hur-
i rying from the scene, some wild with
3 grief at the loss of relatives. JUS
7 under the boat were several persons
e some swimming, some holding on tt
: pieces of floating timber, and some
@ who could not swim, alternately ris'
f ing and sinking, soon to perish i
i help came not. Hardly boat was
: to be had, until too late to rescue tho
i drowning. The guests of the hote
= and the residents turned out IN g
i body, and rendered every possible
G assistance. Large numbers of boats
S were hurried to the scene, but they
S arrived too late to save the drown
S ing, All was over with them in less
G than five minutes.
The number of passengers OF the
f Wave, is only conjectural, and so is
Y the number of the lost But the
( boat was certainly crowded, and it is
4 safe to estimate the number aboard
: at over two hundred. Very many
r of these were children, and many lit
, tie hats and bonnets came ashore to
tell the tale of the little victims be-
meath the waves. How many were
, lost, it is impossible to know. The
} number will probably never be &C
curately known.
The same witness says, the boiler
was not so much exploded as torn
open with long seam. 1t was so
rotten as literally to tear open. The
Advertiser gives the following incl
dent editorially:
HAPPY AND UNCONsCIoUs.- Among
the many scenes incident to the
} blowing up of the Ocean Wave, we
turn from those of a narrowing ma
ture to note that of a little babe
about seven months of age, who was
found Immediately after the acct
dent TANNED in between two heavy
; beams kicking up its little heels and
smiling amid the dreadful carnage,
perfectly happy and unconscious
In this condition it was found by its
asonized mother, who was rushing
frantically about, suppOsing her IN
fnnt 10 he lost