Connecticut western news., 1874-08-28
A COwardIy Wretch.

| In our notices of the late disaster to
 the steamer Pat Rogers, says Louis vile paper, we have given many in- stances of heroism on the part of officers,
 crew and passengers; but there was
 one instance of such brutal cowardice
 that the story of it's details will hardly be believed. We have the facts from sources whose truthfulness cannot be doubted, and which demand more elaborate account than that given in our river columns this morning. After Charlie Dufour, 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 children, who had es-
 capped from the cabin-were gathered
 in group, with many members of the
 crew and deck passengers, at the bow
 of the boat on the lower deck. Dufour
 found that the large lifeboat, which is
 placed bottom upward, just outside
 of the guards on the cabin deck, had
 not 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 lifeboat, and
 showed it over into the water. It
 struck fairly upon the water and hoated
 buoyantly, without having shipped
 an ounce of water. It was capable of
 holding eighteen or twenty persons,
 and with it every one of the women and
 children congregated at the bow of the
 boat could have been saved.
 . The boat was launched just forward
 of the wheelhouse. Still keeping his
 end of the rope, Dufour ran with it
 toward the bow, dragging the boat with him through the water. It must be re-
 membered that Dufour was on the second deck, those whom he meant to rescue being on the deck beneath him.
 In moment more the boat would have been within reach of the eager hands and brave hearts who were waiting to seize it, place the women and children in it, and send them to shore and to safety. But when within ten or twelve feet of the expectant group, white man and 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 remonstrance, to which the white scoundreI replied, "Shut your mouth, damn you, 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 safely, pulled the boat up upon the bank and, it is supposed, ded to the woods. By it's first trip twenty of the women and children could have been taken to shore. Using this large boat afterwards, many of those strug- gling in the water, drowning one by one, because help could not be had, would have been rescued. We have ac- counts of fifty deaths by the disaster. Thirty of them, it is confidently as- serted, could have been 'averted had this lifeboat been put to it's proper use.
 We are not informed whether the name of this wretch is known. We suppose that some one of those who witnessed his cowardly act recognized him. If 50, it is due to the public, for the honor of manhood, that his name should be published far and wide, that the generation of the world may follow him to his grave, if there be no other punishment possible in his case. Does any officer of the boat, or do any of those saved know the man ?