The weekly Oskaloosa herald. [volume] (Oskaloosa, Iowa) 1855-1885, 1874-01-22

could be got at, for the whole for
ward half Of the boat was a shape
less ruin, with the great chimney
laying across it, and underneath
were a dozen victims imprisoned
alive and wailing for help, while mer
with axes worked with might anC
main to free the poor fellows, the
Boreas' boat went about, picking up
stragglers from the river.
And now horror presented it.
self. The wrack took fire from the
dismantled furnaces. Never did men
work with heartier will than did
these stalwart braves with axes. But
1t was no use. The fire ate it's way
steadily, despising the bucket brig.
ade that fought it. 1t scorched the
clothes, singed the hair of the axmen
drove them back inch by inch,
foot by foot-they wavered, struck a
final blow in the teeth of the enemy,
and surrendered. And as they fell
back they heard prisoners voices
crying:
Don leave us Oh don't leav e
us =
And one poor fellow said
I'm Henry Worley, striker of the
Amaranth. My mother lives in St.
Louis. Tell her lie for poor dev.
IFS sake please. Say l was killed in
an instant, and never knew what
hurt me, though God knows I've
neither a scratch nor bruise this mo.
ment It's hard to burn up in a coop
like this, with the whole wide world
SO near. Good-by, boys, we've all
got to come to it at last, anyway
The Boreas stood away out of dam
ger, and the ruined steamer went
drifting down the stream, an island
of wreathing and climbing flame that
sent forth clouds of smoke from time
to time, and glared more fercely and
sent its luminous tongues higher and
higher after each emission. A shrek
at intervals told of the captive that
had met his doom. The wreck
lodged upon a d-bar, and when
the Boreas turned the next corner
on her upward journey it was still
burning with scarcely abated fury.
When the boys came down into
the main saloon of the Boreas, they
saw pitiful sight, and heard world
of pitiful sounds. Eleven poor crea-
tares lay dead and forty more lay
moaning, or pleading and screaming,
while a score of good samaritans
moved among them Going what they
could to relieve their sutferings-
bathing their skinless faces with lin
seed oil and lime water, and covered
the with bulging masses of raw cot
ION, that gave to every face and form
D dreadful and unhuman aspect.
A little wee French midshipman of
fourteen lay fearfully Injured, but
never uttered a sound till a physl
,ian of Memphis was about to dress
MS wounds.
'Can get well ? You need not be
afraid to tell me-
'No,-l-am afraid you can't
Then don't waste your time on me
help those that can get WE'LL
But
'Help those that can get we'll ! 1t
is not for me to be a girl. I carry
the blood of eleven generations of
soldiers in my veins.
The physician, man who had
seen service in the navy in his time,
touched his hat to this little hero,
and passed on.
The head engineer of the ANA.
ranth, grand specimen of physical
manhood, struggled to his feet, a
ghastly spectacle, and strobe toward
his brother, the second engineer, who
was unhurt, and said {:
You was on watch. You was
boss. You would not listen to me
when / begged you to reduce your
steam. Take that take it to my
wife, and tell her it comes from me
by the hand of my murderer. Take
it-and take my curse with it, to
blister your heart hundred years,
and may you live so long,
And he tore ring from his finger,
stripping flesh and skin with it, threw
it down, and fell dead
But these things must not be
dwelt upon. The Boreas landed her
dreadful cargo at the next large
town, and delivered it over to a mul-
titude of eager hands and warm
Southern hearts-a cargo amounting
by this time to thirty-nine wounded
persons and. twenty-five dead bodies.
And with these she delivered list
of ninety-six missing persons that
had drowned or otherwise perished
at the scene of the disaster.
Ajury ofinquest was impaneled,
and, after due deliberation and in
quiry, they returned the inevitable
verdict, which has been so
familiar 20 our ears all the days of
our lives-'Nobody to blame.'