The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-10-17
BURNING OF THE AMERICA.
IN EYE WITNESS THRILLING &C
COUNT OF THE DISASTER.
Man. Women and Children Burned and
Observation-Disclosures Conduct OF Captain
no.n.-The Terrible Struggles for

- xu.men and Children Burned and
.nrnwned-Heroic Conduct OF Captain
~no.n.-The Terrible Struggles Tor
Life.
from the San Francisco Bulledn.l
YOKOHAMA, JAPAN, August 26.
The America reached the harbor OF Yoko-
hama safely and In good trim at seven O'CLOCK
A. NJ. Saturday, August "a, 1872, WITHIN an
hour of the time she was due. Soon alter sue
was fastened to her buoy I went ashore LOT D
day or two until the branch steamer LOT
shsnghae should sail. The same evening l
went aboard The America for q few mlnutes'
and while there learned that during the day
the Yokohama and Shanghai freights, the
moro and all of the treasure, excepting
SIon nm. had been transferred, and that she
would depart for Hong Kong on the money
following. Everything was quiet and oroerly
as usual. Ali the officers; WIN aa. one e1Se anS =
eoodIy number of visitors were there also: l
fsIt nv trunks, containing everything had
with me excepting the linen suit Oh ciOtles !
wore, locked up inthe stateroom which MAD
occupied, little dreaming OF the 1earlui calam-
1. !ty which 30 soon followed.
TIE .C~oNFL.AGRATIoN.
Shortly before midnight, was aroused oy
an alarm Of fire. I rose hastily, and, Wltlout
stopping to dress looked out upon Ine naluopt T.
The night was calm as death. The Bay OF
Yeddo law before me still and lranqull; q dense
cloud of smoke, rlsing above the naroor nSe
amountaIn spectre, lowering and darkenlng
the face and light OF a iull moon, anu the
naked musts of the different ships lying al an
Choir, deeply tinged with a lprld fiame 1ust
burstISe through the cabin of the America,
constImIed The main outlines OF the scene
disclosed by, The oonfagratlon as nrst De-
Nearly ali the officers and employees OF the
ship were there, manfully dispullng ING pr.
gress of the flames. Foremost among tnem
was Captain D Ls,a ;, Who mo d an n a9noi mi IL every VeT;
man had forsaken her, and every passenger
was zone or dead. Then, and not until tnen,
he threw himself over the ships BOWS INTO inc
bay To share the fortune and chances Oh the
poorest coolle.
THE ANXIETY OF THE CHINAMEE.
The America, at the time of the fire, layath her
buoy. about half mile from the hatooa lwnar1
AS soon as the alarm was given, oil tne SAN
mans NATIVE boats) left the hatoba, where
fhev we're anchored for the night, and Hooked
around the burning ship. Every sanpan was
zone when I reached the haloba. and It was
impossible for me to get nearer the snip. l
wag snficIently close, however, to marx very
distinctly, by the light of the IRE, everything
thst passed on the Americas upper deck. me
Chinese passengers o mere !aE Iiksi sash o one had
his box or bundle of effects Oh bis back or IN
his arms. determined 10 save that or Ole IN
the attempt. Many of them, L am sorry TO
sav. lost their lives, beyond douDr IN luis ioOl,
ian attempt TO save q trihtng bundle Oh oi9
clothes. seeing that no, hopes now remainea e.
of saving the ship, an attempt was made 10 let
the Chi1ese down to The boats below oy q
nrwsy on the port side. The terror-strlcken
5yhInese rusbed per-mell upon the gang~ay,
each with his package OF worldly gooos, unlll
the ladder, overburdened win the greae
weight, fell with q heavy erasn, preclpltatlng
over sixty Cinnamon INTO the water. Many VI
these were rescued, and quite a NUMBER were
drnwned. The passage TO the gangway on
the other side of The ship by this time was en-
tIrely cut eff BY the flames; nothing remained,
therefore. for those remaining on board lover
one: hundred and ffty In number) put 10 dump
overboard from the forward deck Into the
water, a distance of fully twenty-five feet, or
to remkin and be consumed by IRE.
TIE SCENE ON THE FORWARD DECK.
The scene on the forward deck Of the burn
ing ship at this moment beggars description.
The Americans, few 10 number compared Win
the whole, were working with all The energy
Of desperation to lower the life-boats; but be,
fore they could be swung on the davis all
hands we're driven forward by the flames. The
door Chinese were now rushing hither and
tbither across the hurricane deck, screaming
and throwing their arms In the air most lran-
tIcally. Now picking up their bundles, now
dropping them again, then selling them once
mora and throwing themselves headlong
overheard. box In arms. By this time all the
upper deck over the dining saloon was larry
consumed, and the fire had climbed the main
mast to the yards. The smoke-stack, thirty.
- foronna nd forty fQQf Qh0VQ
the deck, was red hot to Its nppermost ex,
IRENE, and shooting from 1t was a bright RED
tongue Of fire, Kissing and swapping and
fairly leaping to the sky. The heat by this
time had become unbearable anywhere eX-
cept on the extreme forward deck: very lew
persons were there now. All the Cnlnese nad
zone overheard and were struggling IN the
water below. Around the buoy the drowniog
WretcheB were 30 thick that there was
nowhere close room for another head. me
etrugelipa Of those poor creatures around Inc
buoy was touching. The stronger man held
his place, the weaker was overcome ana
drowned. The fear OF an explosion or the
falling OF the ships giant masts nad now
, driven every boat from near the wreck.
THE DEATH CIRCLE.
Those VINO had jumped Into the water and
now swim through the death circle, within the
boundary Of which no boat could venture. 1t
vas IL this fearful crisis that Capt. DOane,
having flooded the magazines, and finding
that every one else had fed, plunged over the
ship,S bows, and fell ,paralyzed In the water.
Btav6ma n overcome with almost superhuman
efforts to save his ship, his proud spirit cowed
and. broken at the loss Of the veiy apple of his
eve. Unable 10 use his legs, he sank and
rose, and sank again. Oh, Is there no hand to
reach out and save our gallant commander ?
Yes, thank God Just as he was sinking Tor
line last time the friendly hand of Capt. VII
llsma seized him by the collar and rescued him
from q watery grave.
About this time a very painful thing occur
red. which / deem worthy of note. There
were Q few beef cattle on board, and quite q
number of pigs, sheep, turkeys and chickens.
The cries of distress from these poor, unfortu-
ateanImats, which were distinctly heard on
shore. above the roar of the conflagratlon,
war. painfully touching. Poor things, they
had thus far escaped the butcher knife only TO
meet death with q thousand fold more terrors.
THE PERSONAL ADVENTURES.
The, personal adventures of those who es-
caped would make q volume OF thrilling In
terest. One OF the cabin boys had two thous.
- f. - 10 1l,a IN hloh ha nf Nonroo triad