The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1872-09-07
Burning Of the Bienyille.
Full Details of the Dlsaster.-suGer.
Iugs OF the Survivors.

NEW 1Oltk, september O.-IlC btea'
mer Moro Castle which arrived to-day
from Havana, brought Capt. Maury and
iorty.One Of the survivors Of the steamer
Bienville. The number Of passengers
saved, thus Tar reported, Is thirty.eieht;
number Of officers and crew forty.six,
making eighty.fOur in all known 10 be
saved number known 10 be drowned,
nine; number missing from boat five, and
possibly drowned, ten; number unheard
from, twenty.four-total 1877. A list OF
the saved has been sent by telegraph and
no additional names have been reported
by the arrival Of the Captain.
Capt. Maury makes the following re.
port TO the agent Of Pacific Mail Steam
ship Company:
Sir:-I have to report the total
loss by fire Of the chartered steam
ship Bienville under my command
on the morning of August 18th, at sea, in
latitude %, II north, longitude "a, 10
west, by account. At3:45 on the morning
Of August 10th, the officer OF the watch
called me and reported that the ship was
on fire in the forehold. ! gave orders to
call the crew to fire quarters quietly, and
to have the pumps started and steam
turned to the fire extinguishers leading to
the iorehold and toward freight room, at
the same time keeping the ship of before
the wind and hauling down the head sails,
leaving the head of the jib and stopping
the engine. Captain Maury says that he
had the hose laid down TO the forehstch
and endeayored 10 get below with water
cut so great volume Of smoke came out
thatit was necessary to close the hatch
Immediately, He then had the matches
Oaltened over with wet awnings and
started the hose at the venlilatOr,
but the steam pumps were quickly
disabled and the water cut of. Mean
while fire eXtinguishers and buckets
were used TO keep the fire under, and
boats were made ready and manned.
The two large lie boats were provisioned
and watered and full supply OF life
preservers were passed TO all the pass
engers. Al half past five o'clock in the
morning Capt. Maury thought that the
fire was so lar smoothered that he
would be able 10 run Tor Walling's
Island, about sixty-fve miles distant.
Capt, Maury soon discovered that the
ire was working It's way through both
sides oi the ship abreast Of the boiler,
and that it would be necessary to aban.
don the vessel. The passengers then
disembarked, the women and children
being equally divided, as near as posi-
BILE, in each boat. The two boats were
safely loaded and sent off A third was
also sent OF, but was caught under the
current OF the ship and capsized All
in her were rescued and placed
in an other boat. At7A N. all but two
small boats had been loaded and sent of
and there were still more persons on board
than the boats could hold. The two
small boats were then sent Oft with
passengers 10 be distributed among others
which had the lightest loads, from
which they were to return to the ships.
BY that time the flames had gained such
Roadway and the heat was so intense
that all the remaining persons hastened
into boats US quickly rs possible and at
1:3O A. N. Capt. Maury left the ship. The
Ilames were bursting from the cabin :.
this time; The largest llle-boat filled
and Cap1ized. The sea was increasing,
but by the aid of the wreck Of the stoven
lile.bOat, which was floating around, they
were Tighted and bailed. Seven or ten
others, however, were lost.
An account is then given oil their
voyage to land and the landing Of passen.
gers at Nassau. Ono boat capSized in the
surf and nine persons were drowned
None Of the names OF the lost are known,
except Mrs. Brauder and her three chill
dren. All OF the bodies were recovered
and buried by the authorities Of Elenthria
Island. There is still one boat missing.
She was only moderately loaded and one
OF our best boats. 1t was well provided
with water and food. The fire broke out
between the decks Immediately over the
boiler, and not in the iOrehOld hs 1t was at
frst supposed. l am unable TO give the
origin Of the fire.
E q. Lawler, Of Albany, gave an In.
teresting narrative of the burning of the
steamer and the subsequent suffering Of
the survivors. He says at about 3 o'clock
on the morning Of the 18th, smoke was
discovered issuing from the hstchway be.
low the steerage dock. The donkey en-
CINE was set at work, but soon broke
down, when the flames still continuing 10
increase, orders were issued to batten
down the matches, and TO prepare to take
TO the boats at seven O'Clock. Captain
Maury ordered the life boats to be
launched; they were seven in number,
and ought TO have been capable Of carry.
ing all the passengers. The number
placed IN these, varied from ten to thirty.
two. Tho latter number was far too
great, and some Of the boats were unsea.
worthy. The SEQ was very rough, and
terrified the passengers; with no land in
sight they saw death staring them in the
face. The first boat launched contained
twenty persons, and was swamped at the
ships stern. After much trouble, how.
ever, all the passengers in the boat were
saved, and lshould observe that the plac.
ing Of ten persons In some boats, caused
an undue proportion to be thrown into
the others, and in this way life was un-
necessarily sacrificed. The sun was
blazing hot, so that our suferings
were terrible after we had left the
ship about ten minutes. The second
mate, John Goff, approached in another
boat and signalled US; he told Us that we
must take iour persons more In our boat
in which there were already twenty-sev'
en-. Three clambered in and simultan'
eonsly with the fourth getting in ouI
boat Capsized and we were all thrown in
TO the sea. There twenty.seven and
four ladies and incredible as It may seem
the mate turned towards his ship aud
made no effort whatever to save US, moi
even the ladies' The mates boat took
on other passengers at the steamer and