Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1873-09-04
The Wawaset Disaster.

disaster TO the steamer WaWaScl uOu ulcet
with much favor at the hands OF many III this
city, who say they have paid particular atten-
ton to the investigation during It's entire con-
tipuapcc, and have had lrruueut conversations
with some of the rescued passengers about the
incidents Of the terrible calamity; and they say
that to an unpreiudiced mind the report OF the
commission must have been made in conse-
ouepce of desire to crafty the popular wish,
common in all such cases, for something upon
which vengeance can be wreaked, or to justify
the palpable shortcomings of their fellow steam
boat inspectors. They say that 1t Is not within
the bounds Of human reason to suppose that
company owing steamboat, classed A No. |.
and which had only last spring been put III
thorough order and greatly improved, would
risk their valuable property in tho hands OF IN
compctent or unreliable hands; that so far from
pursuing such course, the company would, If
its directors had ordinary understanding, exert
| itself to secure the most competent officers that
| could be obtained, and that 10 the Wawascts
| case they had succeeded better than most COM
panies do, for that the conduct OF their cngl-
| neer, Notwithstanding the intense heat 10 the
| engine room, in remaining there and blowing
off his steam to prevent the boilers from burst
| ing when the piston had become so much eX-
banded that it would not work; and that OF the
| Captain, who stood at bis post near the pilot
house, directing the pilot, and in being the last
man to leave the doomed steamer, aud then
not until both his ears had been burned nearly
off, show conclusively that'they were in every
re.pect the right men IN the right place, and
that to put any other construction upon their be-
havior, is doing them great Injustice, And to
show they say, that the company had exercls,
ed its best efforts in securing competent officers,
| and had not struck upon them haphaZzad,
is the fact that Captain Wood had grown up
| from boy n the compauy's employ, having
successfully filled all the subordinate positions
on a steamboat, and been found thoroughly ef-
! fcicnt in every one Of them; aud that MI. Nash
was noted amoug all the steamboat men on the
river for his superior qualifications as an cngl-
neer, and his invariabe sobrety that ne was
| not standing ut his engine when the fire was
| first discovered they admit, but be was no fur
Their off than he would have been had he been
on deck, where be frequently has to 80 to oil
his machinery, nor was he ont OF sight OF his
steam and water gauges They say that 1t is the
veryest toolishness for the commission to find
that the boat exceeded the privilege stated to
was restricted to carrying capacity OF fifty
| carry six hundred, and last year one hundred
been greatly enlarged last spring, and that upon
excursions her papers allowed her to carry an
| unlimited number, as many IN this city who
have been upon them and others who have
seen her pass by here loaded to her guards,
we'll know Fifty passengers would not have
supported the boat and the papers on her al
lowed her to carry one hundred and fifty pas
sengers, though the certificate 10 the Custom
House only allowed steamer Of her capacity,
and passed as 4 No. l, to carry fifty, Besides,
it was impossible to keep the number OF pas
sengers within any specified number, for they
were getting off aud on in variable numbers at
all the landings on the river, and how could she
| refuse to take On people who had, perhaps rid
den ten miles to board her? Another thing
they smile at, is the finding by the commission
that the officers were thinking more Of saving
their boat than the lives Of their passengers; as
though driving boat under full head OF
steam directly upon beach was good way to
save her! That there were plentiful supply
of lite-preservers on board, and that all who
were cool enough might have gotten them,was
| proved by the fact thar Mr. Emerson, o! this
city, got one without any trouble, adjusted 1t
properly, and by means OF it saved himself and
his little niece. Admit that the Captain was
ignorant of the steamboat laws, they say, can
Captain Of an inland steamer be found who
is familiar with their provisions? Where even
can one be found who has so much as read
them? That the Captain had no license was
as much the fault of the inspectors as OF him
SELF Among the other duties of the inspec-
tors is to fad out whether Il Captain has his
license or not, and they were equally to blame
! with him il he had none, for when they gave
his boat her papers they should have been
positive in regard to bis legal qualifications to
take charge of her. The calamity, in their
opinion, was one Of those unavoidable accidents
which 20 foresight or precautlon usually used
on steamboats, could have avoided, for nobody
has ever yet discovered how the fire originated,
and when it was discovered it progressed at
such rapid rate that nothing human could
stop it; and the most intelligent witnesses aud
those best known in this community concur 10
this opinion, and say that the officers did all to
save the passengers that could have been done
under the circumstances, but the evidence OF
these witnesses is utterly ignored by the com
mission. The flames divided the boat amid
ship, almost Immediately, so that it was mpos-
sible for any communication to exist between
those aft and those forward Of the engine, and
though the Captain urged upon the passengers
to keep cool as their only means OF safety, the
colored people were seized with such panic that
there was no use reasoning with them. And
here comes most unleasant circumstance 1t
is positively asserted that the colored people
crowded into the small boat, swearing they
would monopolize it, and it has been stated
that they were seen to throw some OF the white
people overheard. When the boat was full to
overlooking, instead Of waiting until it was low
cred from the davids by some of those who re-
manned on deck, or if none were left on deck,
for two of them to get out and lower it them
selves, one ruan in the bow pulled out his
knife and cut the rope holding up that end Of
the boat. It's support being gone, Of course the
bow fell, and every one in her was thrown out,
the boat swinging for an instant by Its stern,
its bow dragging in the water below, until thef
stern gave way, and the boat fell upside down
upon many of those who 4 few moments before
had been its occupants. or the whole number
lost, owing to the comparative cooncss of the
white passengers, but thirteen Of them were
drowned, and of that small number but three
we're men, the rest being women and children,
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