The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1874-08-27
A COwardly Act-..Incident OF the Late
Steamboat Disaster.
From the Louisville courlcr.Journal.I !

lfIoH Tue ioulsNlIlr NOuflcf-JunfhaI.
In our notices of the late disaster tc
the steamer Pat. Rogers we have giver
many instances of her0ism on the part
of officers, crew and passengers. But
there is one instance of such brutal
cOwardice that the story of its details
will hardly be believed. We have the
facts from sources whose truthfulness
cannot be doubted. After Charlie Du.
four, who was at the wheel at the time
of the disaster, found it impossible to
longer control the boat, and with the
flames rapidly nearing his post of duty,
he ran down stairs to the passenger deck.
The passengers, men, women and chill
dren, who had escaped from the cabin,
were gathered in group, with many
members of the crew and deck pas
sengers, at the bow of the boat on the
lower deck. Defour found that the large
life-boat, which is placed bottom upward
just outside the guards on the lower
deck, had no. been launched. He
quickly turned it over, Caught hold of
the long "painter," the other end of
which was attached to the bow of the
life-boat, and showed it into the water
1t struck fairly upon the water and
floated buoyantly, and without having
shipped an ounce of water. 1t was
capable of holding eighteen or twenty
persons, and with it every one of the
women and children cOngregated at I'll 9
bow of the boat could have been saved
The boat was launched just forward o,
The wheel-house. Still keeping his end
o, the rope, Dufour ran with it toward
The bow, dragging the boat with him
through the water. 1t must be re-
membered that Dufour was OH the sc cond
deck, those whom he meant to rescue
being on the deck below him. In
moment more the boat would have been
within reach of the eager hands and
brave hearts who were waiting to size
it, place the women and children in il,
and send them to shore and to safety.
But when within ten or twelve feet of
the eXpectant group, a white man and Il
negro jumped in, and before they could
be prevented cut the rope and pushed
the boat out into the stream. The
negro seems to have made some re-
monstrance, to which the white scoun-
drel replied, "Shut your mouth or I'll
break your head" Deaf to the cries of
the shrieking women and children, thus
cut off from the rescue which was near,
unmindful of the demands of the men
to return and save the helpless ones, the
cowardly brute rowed rapidly to the.
shore, and reaching safety, pulled the
boat up upon the bank, and it is sup
posed fed to the woods. BY its first trip
twenty of the women and children could
have been taken to shore. Using this
large boat afterward, many of those
struggling in the water, drowning one
by one because help could not be had,
woIlL have been rescued. We have ac-
co Us of fifty deaths by the disaster
Thirty of them, it is confidently as
serted, Could have been averted had
this life-boat been put to its proper use
We are not informed whether the
name of this wretch is known. We
suppose that some one who witnessed
his cowardly act recognized him. If so,
it is due to the public, for the honor of
manhood, that his name should be pub
lished far and wide, that the execrations
of the world may follow him to his
grave, if there be 10 other punishment
possible in his case.